A huge new development is coming to a currently vacant lot in Parksville's resort district after their council approved a development permit at 1180 Resort Dr. for three, six-storey buildings with 233 rental units between them. (City of Parksville/Raymond de Beeld Architect Inc.)

By Jordan Davidson

huge development

New, three-building rental complex approved for Parksville’s Resort Dr.

Jul 15, 2024 | 4:38 PM

PARKSVILLE — A sizeable three-building rental development is one step closer to being built in the city’s resort district.

Councillors approved a development permit on Monday, July 15 for the project at 1180 Resort Dr. along the Island Hwy. to build three, six-storey multi-family residential buildings with 233 rental units in total.

Developer Greg Mitchell of Primex Investments said the rental buildings would only cover about half of the lot in the northwestern corner, with future plans being considered to bring in retail options on site.

“I don’t want to over-promise because we are working through the process. Ideally, in a perfect world, that would be a grocery-anchored small retail centre, with perhaps some residential on that side as well, but again, we haven’t figured all the details out.”

The buildings will be a mix of one, two, and three-bedroom units, as well as three junior one-bedroom units, which are a bit larger than a studio apartment.

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Additional proposed amenities include a swimming pool and hot tub, gathering room, gym, outdoor kids play area, dog park/wash and community gardens.

Coun. Sylvia Martin said she’s excited to see the currently empty lot transformed into something useful.

“I’m very pleased to see…some three-bedrooms, I know there’s families that want to house together. We’ve been wanting that land to be done for years and watching it, so finally we’ll have something that’s presentable and beautiful.”

Long and short-term parking spaces for Ebikes are also included in the project, along with extended multi-use pathways and a new bus stop. (City of Parksville/Raymond de Beeld Architect Inc.)

Coun. Sean Wood spoke about how housing affordability is a major issue across Canada right now, with projects like this allowing people to find affordable housing.

“While people may not like the idea of tall buildings being built, that is part of what we need to do for people who cannot afford a $55,000 down payment, and Parksville is doing their part in looking at projects like this.”

All but 10 of the 275 parking spaces will be underground, with all underground spaces pre-wired to facilitate the future installation of level 2 EV chargers.

The proposal also includes an estimated $420,000 worth of landscaping work, mainly to the north end of the lot.

Also included in the proposal were changes recommended during a February advisory design panel meeting, including increased accessibility on walkways and parking stalls, doubling the size of the community garden space, and expanded ground-level unit patio spaces.

While a building permit still needs to be submitted, Mitchell said they’re hoping to get started in 2025, with a timeline of approximately 30 months from start to finish.

He said while all three buildings will be built at the same time, they’re hoping to be able to move people into one of the buildings before construction is finished on the other two.

Coun. Amit Gaur was the lone vote against issuing the development permit, mentioning traffic and environmental concerns surrounding the development during the discussion period.

An ariel rendering from the south shows how the new development is planned to work with excisting roads and walways. (City of Parksville/Raymond de Beeld Architect Inc.)

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jordan@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @JordanDHeyNow