A major condo development will soon begin on 8th Avenue.
Nanaimo architect Raymond de Beeld plans to replace the 40-year old Woodland Village with four new 5-storey buildings, increasing the number of units from 37 to 150.
Mayor Sharie Minions says this proposal is an exciting development in local real estate.
“This is the first time I’ve seen somebody come forward and want to take something down that’s old, and build brand new,” she said. “We’ve seen development applications for bare land, but to see somebody actually taking down existing rental units, recognizing they can build higher value, bring in more revenue, and that our market justifies that, is a really exciting point for our community to be at.”
Minions said construction will be staged, so not all the current buildings will be coming down at once, and there is a plan for current tenants to move into the new buildings at below market value once complete.
She said the development will require some zoning changes, so there will be a public hearing on the development on August 12th.
