Residential construction is taking place all over Nanaimo, including around Nanaimo North Town Centre near Long Lake. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Jordan Davidson

building boom

City reports second-highest year for construction in Nanaimo

Mar 7, 2023 | 4:20 PM

NANAIMO — 2021 put Nanaimo in the category of one of the fastest-growing urban centres in the country, and it appears the trend is continuing.

In 2022, the City issued building permits with a total construction value of $410 million, the second-highest year on record, far beyond the ten-year average of $250 million.

During a Monday, March 6 council meeting, general manager of development services Dale Lindsay outlined numerous notable projects approved last year and those still in the permitting phase.

“Number of single-family units…were 144 last year, and that’s down from approximately the ten-year average being 250. Nanaimo historically built single-family homes, we’re around 60/40 in terms of the composition of single-family versus multi-family, but I can say the trend is very much moving away from that.”

Lindsay said housing is a critical need for the mid-Island, and the trend shows the shift from single-family units to mixed-family units.

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Some of the biggest projects approved last year include over $100 million in builds near Long Lake, including:

• $21.5 million 98 residential unit commercial/retail building at 4831 Cedar Ridge Pl.
• $22.6 million 98 residential unit multi-family building at 4961 Songbird Pl.
• $29 million 160 resident seniors care residence at 4979 Wills Rd.
• $29 million 152-unit multi-family residential building at 6020 Linley Valley Dr.

Another notable project which received a development permit in 2022 included twin apartment complexes currently under construction at 41 and 45 Haliburton St.

Rezoning applications under review include the high-profile Sandstone project in South Nanaimo, and the current site of the long-closed Howard Johnson Hotel located at 1 Terminal Ave., to transform the area into a comprehensive development, including mixed-use residential, retail and hotel development.

Lindsay said lack of land and cost issues were some of the factors in the slowdown of single-family home construction, coinciding with an increase in people building secondary suites onto existing homes.

He said the percentage of new home construction with secondary suites has stayed fairly consistent since suites were legalized in Nanaimo in 2005.

“It’s always kept right around 60 per cent…but the last ten years was right around 60 and last year we were at 65 per cent.”

Lindsay said the overall unit count in 2022 was just under 1,400, with multi-family dwellings making up about 78 per cent, with the rest being single-family homes or suites.

The number of new residential units required annually to keep pace with population demand is 1,400, according to Lindsay, citing 2021 census data.

Lindsay expects a staff report on Nanaimo’s housing needs for the next decade will be presented in the near future.

340 Campbell St. is one of several proposed residential developments under review for a building permit. A six-storey, 163 unit rental building is envisioned for the site. (City of Nanaimo)

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jordan@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @JordanDHeyNow