Helios

The Opportunity

Pacifica Housing redeveloped 2006 Sooke Road by replacing 12, forty-year old townhouse units with an 82-unit apartment building. The four-storey building is comprised of studio, one, two, and three -bedroom units to provide affordable housing to median income earning one-parent households, two-parent families with children, and single person households (including adults with disabilities and seniors).

The Approach

Pacifica Housing redeveloped 2006 Sooke Road by replacing 12, forty-year old townhouse units with an 82-unit apartment building. The four-storey building is comprised of studio, one, two, and three -bedroom units to provide affordable housing to median income earning one-parent households, two-parent families with children, and single person households (including adults with disabilities and seniors).

Westbrook Consulting was engaged by the building contractor, TL Housing Solutions as the civil engineering consultant to provide the detailed design for site grading, storm water management, and site servicing. Close coordination between CRD-Integrated Water Services, CRD Parks, and British Columbia Transportation Finance Authority (BCTFA) was required to provide a water service that crosses the Galloping Goose Trail corridor.

The storm water management system was designed such that 100% of the site’s rainfall runoff is infiltrated to the ground, mimicking the predevelopment condition.  Infiltration was attainable as the site is located within an area comprised of the Colwood Delta glacial sediment deposits, which has high infiltrative properties.

A project challenge arose when determining the route for the new water service. During discussions with the CRD – Integrated Water Services and the BCTFA, it was discovered legal documentation between what was the Greater Victoria Water District and the Ministry of Transportation was not properly registered in 1955. As a result of the lack of formal permission for the CRD to trespass on BCTFA property with their transmission watermain, documentation had to be finalized to present standards, which also provided the opportunity to incorporate a distribution main to service the project.

The project is due to be complete in late autumn of 2018.

Key personnel: Bruce Crawshaw; Joe Warne