The owners of Royal Oak Shopping Centre are asking the District of Saanich to take a more integrated approach as it moves ahead with rezoning its municipally owned land.
Hansbraun Investments, which owns the 11-acre shopping centre adjacent to the district’s 2.7-acre parcel, says nearby landowners should be included in the planning process to ensure a cohesive redevelopment of the area.
“We support the district’s intentions,” said Victoria Shannon, Hansbraun’s chief operating officer. “But we feel this is an opportunity to plan together for the future of the entire Royal Oak core.”
The district is currently engaging the public on plans to allow for up to 12-storey buildings and between 350 and 400 housing units on its site.
For Niall Paltiel, representative for Hansbraun, a more holistic dialogue with the district would ultimately benefit the entire Royal Oak community.
“Hansbraun’s vision for the property is to take the preliminary work that Saanich is doing and... create a fitting and contextual mixed use, retail, commercial and residential development plan that both integrates, compliments and meets the needs of the community.”
This cooperation, he believed, would align and benefit the neighbourhood on a variety of topics, including future transportation planning, infrastructure needs, cycling and pedestrian paths, community amenities and park space, among other things.
“Their property has the exact same official community plan designation as our property,” said Paltiel. “Ultimately, from a civil engineering and urban planning standpoint, there are so many good reasons… to integrate the two plans in one discussion as opposed to looking at the two sites in isolation.”
While Hansbraun has already been in touch with the district, describing them as “supportive” actors, they are asking the municipality to delay rezoning approval and re-engage with surrounding landowners before moving forward.
