Skip to content

Plan will turn Victoria parking lot into residential homes with no parking

The six-storey building will boast 42 units
broughtonstparkingless
A residential building proposal with no parking spaces was approved by Victoria's Committee of the Whole on Oct. 24

The City of Victoria is moving forward with a development permit for a residential building with no parking spaces on the site of a downtown parking lot.

At Thursday's (Oct. 24) committee of the whole meeting, council voted unanimously in favour of the proposal for a six-storey rental development on the site of a current parking lot at 837 Broughton St. 

The 42-unit building calls for zero residential parking space, though the requirement is 25, and zero visitor parking spaces while the requirement is four. The developers, Fort Properties, appealed to add a mid-block crosswalk at the building to further promote a car-free lifestyle.

Coun. Marg Gardinier called it a "very unusual" proposal, but she did like the design.

"I like the fit and form, it fits. It's not overboard with other plans with the city [despite] the variances and the design does not copy the historical buildings nearby but it does reflect some elements and complements them and I found that very appealing with this application," she said.

Coun. Dave Thompson said the building could prove to be a positive for Victoria's downtown, by bringing foot traffic to local businesses, and there will be no displacement as construction starts.

"I'm glad to see what I think is going to be unanimous council support for a car-free, parking-free building. Maybe it's because we're all recognizing that 40 per cent of downtown households are already car-free. This building is very walkable, it's bikable, it's got the Fort [Street] and upcoming Blanshard [Street] protected bike lanes nearby, frequent transit," said Thompson.

The plan still needs to gain approval in a council meeting at a later date.

Breaking News You Need To Know

Sign up for a free account today and start receiving our exclusive newsletters.

Sign Up with google Sign Up with facebook

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Reset your password

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

A link has been emailed to you - check your inbox.



Don't have an account? Click here to sign up


Bailey Seymour

About the Author: Bailey Seymour

After a stint with the Calgary Herald and the Nanaimo Bulletin, I ended up at the Black Press Victoria Hub in March 2024
Read more