A major residential construction project on Uplands Dr. was the crown jewel in a record year for the City of Nanaimo's development permit approval office. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Alex Rawnsley

BANNER YEAR

City approved record volume of residential development in Nanaimo in 2019

Feb 27, 2020 | 7:39 PM

NANAIMO — The numbers are in and Nanaimo officially gave the go-ahead on more construction projects by value in 2019 than any other year previous.

Over $445 million worth of residential development was given the go-ahead by the City of Nanaimo.

City director of development approvals Jeremy Holm said the requests are a direct response to more people wanting to call Nanaimo home.

“Construction is market driven, obviously there’s a strong market demand in the City,” Holm said. “Right now we have very low vacancy rates and there’s a strong demand…this is the market response to that.”

In January, the CMHC said Nanaimo’s average rent had increased an average of $69 per month thanks in large part to a lack of housing supply.

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The City’s own State of the Nanaimo Economy report also showed an increase in population with the city projected to cross the 100,000 resident threshold in 2020.

In total, 1,877 residential units made up the record year with approximately 60 per cent set to be multi-family units.

“In 2019, we had 260 per cent increase in multi family units, so we’re seeing a shift towards multi-family residential and a high demand for that in our community,” Holm said.

Development was led by a $47 million apartment complex along Uplands Dr. that will hold 251 units.

Other significant wins included construction beginning on a long-awaited new nine storey, 172 unit Gordon St. hotel valued at $22 million.

“There’s a time of change and growth, the real defining time for the City as far as achieving some of the residential density targets that we set,” Holm said.

alex.rawnsley@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alexrawnsley