Victoria’s City Council unanimously approved the rezoning application for Dockside Green, a development project which will take 15 acres of brownfield in Victoria West and transform it into a vibrant, mixed use community dedicated to the triple bottom line approach to sustainable development and LEED Platinum certification.
Once complete Dockside Green will be a community for 2,500 people incorporating the very highest green standards. The $350-million project includes residential, live/work, hotel, retail, office and light industrial uses. It will comprise of 26 buildings totalling 1.3 million square feet.
“As a company dedicated to working with local groups and societies to improve the quality of life in communities, Dockside Green is a project we can all be proud of,” says President & CEO Jacques Khouri, Vancity Enterprises, one of the co-developers of the project. “Our goal is to transform traditional development practices and we know we will do that with this community.”
“The city and province of BC showed great leadership in supporting this project”, says Joe Van Belleghem, Managing Partner of co-developer Windmill Developments.” We have set unprecedented goals to become LEED Platinum certified, creating a community that will lead the world in sustainable development.”
This approval to move ahead comes after four years of work by the City of Victoria. Over 30 public consultations were held and it is the single largest piece of land available for development that the city currently owns. Ownership of the land will be transferred to Vancity Enterprises and Windmill Developments at the end of the month. They will then begin remediation of the land in preparation for phase one of the 10-12 year build-out.
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System(r) is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings. Points are awarded to buildings that incorporate the design and construction practices and technologies listed in LEED. By accumulating points, a building can achieve a rating of LEED Certified, Silver, Gold or Platinum.
The co-developers have committed to an allocation of $3,000,000 (with an escalation factor for inflation) over the course of the build-out of Dockside Green to be specifically used for the development of affordable housing. The Dockside Affordable Housing Committee will determine the number, size, tenure and location of units, as well as management of these units.
The next step for Dockside Green is remediation of the land. In the meantime, a presentation centre will be opened on Wharf Street in late October, highlighting the upcoming real estate opportunities and providing a venue for people to learn more about sustainable development.
For more information, people may also go to www.docksidegreen.ca.