The high-density growth of Royal Oak continues with a series of major projects underway while more are in the early planning stages.
In June, Saanich council pushed the 60-unit residential Radius at Royal Oak forward to a public hearing (date to come). The six-storey wood-frame building will sit at 4396 West Saanich Rd., adjacent to the Royal Oak Shopping Centre. It’s the latest partnership of Saanich builders, Tri-Eagle Developments and Jawl Residential, who sold the last of their 76 suites at Uptown Place in February.
At the same time, Mike Geric Construction continues its five-phase Travino development at 742 Travino Lane, beside Royal Oak middle school.
The Geric name has a rich history in Royal Oak, having built homes in the neighbourhood since 1968. Most recently it has focused on high-density, including the Duval condo building in 2012 and the 45-unit Heatherdale in 2010.
The newest of the Travino buildings, Travino Landing, has an anticipated completion date of next summer (2017). Sales for Travino Landing’s 46 condos are ongoing. The first three Travino buildings, 36, 36 and 50 condos each, are completed and sold.
Another major project, but one that’s still in the back-and-forth stage with Saanich Planning, is the 161-unit Doral Forest Park condos at 4734, 4744 and 4754 Elk Lake Dr. The trio of lots are on a triangle that abuts Beaver Lake Park. Rezoning is still needed for the KPL James Architecture designed project, which means it’s still in the exploratory stages before Planning will recommend it go before council. The project would have a multi-family focus and is spread throughout four separate buildings over an underground parkade.
KPL James is also in the pre-planning stages for a proposed 38 units of attached housing, or townhomes, at the south end of Royal Oak, 4355 Viewmont Ave., near the Saanich Tennis Club. Rezoning is still needed for this development, which also involves Mike Geric Construction.