evening perspective from Wallace St. of a housing development from Telus to be located at Wentworth St. City councillors issued the 197 unit project a development permit on Monday, Aug. 30. (City of Nanaimo)

By Ian Holmes

significant projects

Development permits awarded for pair of large Old City Quarter housing complexes

Aug 31, 2021 | 12:32 PM

NANAIMO — City councilors endorsed a pair of significant housing complexes which will boost the downtown area’s population by several hundred people.

Council issued a development permit with height increase variances to build a pair of buildings with 197 units of market rental housing on vacant land on Wallace at Wentworth streets.

The project, called Telus Living Nanaimo, is located next to the telecommunication company’s central office on Fitzwilliam St.

A City staff report showed the proposal includes one ground level commercial retail unit, underground parking and a public plaza at Wallace and Wentworth streets.

Combined height increases of eight meters to the six and seven storey buildings were approved after City staff and the independent Advisory Design Panel signaled their support.

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Mayor Leonard Krog applauded the project during a Monday, Aug 30 council meeting as a sustainable way to provide more downtown residential density.

“You really want to be going up not out as a general proposition. It’s easier to service, easier to provide access, amenities can be closer,” Krog said.

The mayor also highlighted positive spin-offs for area businesses challenged by the pandemic.

Coun. Ben Geselbracht was the lone dissenting voice from an otherwise enthusiastic council.

He specifically took issue with the height variances, citing how the decision will impact future developments, as well as negative impacts on views.

“I think that we can lose out on city skyline and avoiding that feeling of sort of having towering objects over our head, which is not a pleasant feeling,” Geselbracht said.

The development involves housing from studios to three bedroom units, which Telus estimates will be home to 500 people.

Meantime, councillors awarded another substantial development permit to a project on the Old City Quarter’s western edge at 388 Machleary St.

A 133 unit seniors’ housing complex at the vacant site involves three buildings, with one presenting as high as five storeys tall from Kennedy St. sloped below.

The project involves more than 100 underground parking spaces, far beyond City requirements.

Building a seniors’ care home was the back-up plan for the developer, who unsuccessfully attempted to rezone the site for a 175 unit housing complex.

The previous pitch sparked a pair of contentious marathon public hearings in 2019.

The Machleary st. site once housed Nanaimo’s hospital, which eventually transitioned to Malaspina College and then a seniors’ care facility before being demolished in 2017.

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On Twitter: @reporterholmes