Tenants in two Esquimalt buildings are organizing against a proposal they say will push them into precarious housing situations as the developer says the project will add hundreds of homes and a new park to the area.
The majority of residents living in the neighbouring apartments located between Saunders and Sussex streets have formed the Nelson Street Tenants Association to push back against a 21-storey redevelopment that's still in the initial stages of the approvals process.
“The ultimate goal is to stay in our homes, we don’t want to leave,” said association member Dan McDonald, who lives in one of the buildings called Sussex Lodge.
While the low-rise apartments are around 50-years-old, they've been maintained well with upgrades to the structures and individual suites, the tenant said.
“They’re still in good shape, there’s no reason to tear them down."
The association says close to 70 families will have to find new homes if the properties are redeveloped. The apartments house many low income tenants and seniors living on pensions – two groups who would have no way of affording the local market rent, McDonald said. That market rate is three times what tenants are currently paying, he added.
“This is our home,” he said. “I don’t know where I’m going to go.”
The Intracorp proposal envisions a mixed-use building that's close to transit and holds 355 homes, most of which are intended to be big enough to support families, according to the developer. The plans also call for a new pet-friendly public park along Sussex Street that would feature a pirate-themed play structure, washroom and pollinator gardens.
Even Allegretto, Intracorp Homes BC's president, told Black Press Media the project responds to Esquimalt's community plan, notably the township's need for housing and its goal of creating a network of parks and open spaces.
"The project contains an extensive amount of shared amenity space for residents such as (a) fitness centre, multi-purpose room and greenspaces," Allegretto said in a statement. "The design is contemporary with nautical elements referencing the neighbourhood area."
Intracorp will host an open house on the project and it said the proposal will be shaped by feedback. The plans are expected to be presented to council early next year.
Allegretto said it's important to Intracorp that residents understand the supports available to them through Esquimalt's tenant assistance policy, such as getting the right to return to the new building at below-market rents.
The tenant association said those polices are insufficient to address their concerns and McDonald flagged how the compensation they'd get upon moving out would offer little help against the pricey local housing market.
He’s been in his building for 12 years and said some other tenants have lived there for over four decades. The security guard and his wife, who works as a housekeeper, both make low incomes as they near retirement age.
He noted both of their roles add value to the local economy, but McDonald expects they'll have to move away from the area they've called home for decades should the project go ahead.
“We’re not going to be able to live in the city anymore if this (redevelopment) happens,” he said. “If we fight this and we stand up to this corporation, then we might be able to stay in our homes."
