Victoria
All roads lead to the City of Victoria.
The thing about Victoria is that it’s very small. It has only about 80,000 full time residents.
But taken together with the 12 surrounding municipalities, the local population is about 325,000 or so. Many commute to work in the City of Victoria.
Why? It is the oldest community, being established as an outpost of the Hudson’ s Bay Company in 1843, and was always the center of the universe for Vancouver Island. Its selection as seat of government upon British Columbia becoming a Canadian province in 1891 elevated it further in status and commercial activity. The government jobs, and the commerce to support government, were in Victoria. The ‘downtown’ that emerged from this beginning, with its cultural, political and legal institutions, served the southern part of Vancouver Island.
In its early days, Victoria was fortunate to attract some highly talented architects of the times. Their work helped define the unique character and charm of the city. Notable examples include the BC Parliament building, the venerable old old Empress Hotel (now the Fairmont Empress), the Crystal Gardens, as well as a good stock of fine heritage residences scattered throughout local neighbourhoods.
Victoria’s natural beauty and temperate climate added to the allure of the area, and by rights you might expect Victoria, and its surrounding municipalities, to be much more populous than they are today. But there is a giant natural moat around Vancouver Island to separate it from the hustle bustle of the mainland. That single geographic reality likely explains how Victoria for many years was able to retain its small town atmosphere and quaintness that its residents love so much.
How nice is it? In 2003 it was voted top city in ‘the Americas’ by Condé Nast Traveler magazine, based on ambience and environment. Victoria has been ‘discovered’ as a world class destination and place to live.
But that discovery can only mean change looms ahead as more people are attracted to the area. The building boom of unprecedented scope which began in Victoria in about 2000 is tangible evidence of that fact. More construction is underway, and still more is planned. Much of it will be ‘vertical’. Why?
The virtual non-existence of land for development is one reason - ‘highest and best use’. The others are things few anticipated just a year or two ago - issues of sustainability, and the escalating dollar cost of oil. The transportation corridors to and from the communities surrounding Victoria are already stressed with commuter traffic. There is increasing pressure to build, and the choice is mainly to build ‘up’.
But these pressures will lead to some exciting benefits, locally and otherwise.
Smart ‘densification’ of Victoria’s urban core will breath new life into areas that have been hollowed out by the suburbanization and shopping center sprawl which have been hallmarks of recent decades. Urban decay is a widespread phenomenon, and little Victoria has not been immune. Smart downtown development will reverse that trend.
The process has begun with Victoria’s approval of rezoning of the square city block formerly home to ‘The Bay’. This urban residential project is approved to include three condominium towers, the tallest of which will be 24 stories. That will be the tallest building within the City of Victoria. When complete, this project will add about 600 residential units to an area of downtown that is currently deserted at night. This an excellent beginning, and will bring ‘community’ back to downtown Victoria.
