Development on the way

By Sarah Pugh

Two lots south and west of the legislature are in the process of being sold to Jawl Developments of Victoria and Concert Real Estate of Vancouver.

The James Bay Neighbourhood Association hosted several open-house meetings on the developments, and reports an overall positive reception from the community. The planned lease-back of 180,000 square feet of office space in the development to the provincial government will ensure a strong government presence in the area for a long time to come, and the mixed retail and residential spaces planned will bring more vibrancy to the area.

With vibrancy, however, comes traffic and parking requirements, and issues relating to these have yet to be addressed.

The land to be sold includes the large lot at the corner of Menzies and Superior, which itself includes space currently used by the allotment gardens at the corner of Michigan and Menzies. In 2008 the garden's usage was transferred to month-to-month tenancy, and the gardeners who use the space were, according to Marg Gardiner of the JBNA, always aware that the space was only temporarily theirs. Gardiner says that the JBNA has been proactive in attempting to find a new spot for those allotment plots. "We had a very positive meeting with the garden people," she reported, while noting that coordinating meetings is difficult because the gardeners using the plots have no formal organization.

The other lot to be developed is a small section on the far west side of the parking lot at Kingston and Menzies. The community market area is not currently up for development.

The JBNA has no idea when building will actually start, as complete architectural plans have not been presented. A visioning plan is expected in a month or two. Gardiner says that she is confident that the plans, when presented, will be in keeping with the spirit of the Victoria Accord on land use in James Bay, if not exactly to the letter of it. She explains that since the Accord is 20 years old, public expectations for requirements such as designated public-access spaces have changed. She also has no concerns about the height of the development, because the developments will be behind the legislature building , and the view from the harbour or downtown would not be affected. However, the view from James Bay would be affected.

The survey results from the JBNA's open-house meetings (including more information about the proposed development) are available on the JBNA's website: )