Crews have completed concrete pours on the foundation of Victoria’s new state-of-the-art, post-seismic Fire Hall and Emergency Operations Centre on Johnson Street.
In a first for the region, the 12-storey building will include 130 purpose-built affordable homes for low- and moderate-income seniors, families and individuals. With funding from BC Housing, Pacifica Housing will own and operate the top eight storeys of the building. This new housing is part of more than 3,000 new affordable homes either completed or underway in the Capital Region by the province, including more than 900 underway in Victoria.
The new 41,700 square-foot downtown facility replaces the current 26,700 square-foot fire headquarters building on Yates Street that has served the citizens of Victoria since 1959. In addition, BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS) has agreed to lease 3,200-square-feet of space from the city to operate a stand-alone, downtown rest and ready location for paramedics under a planned 20-year co-service agreement.
The new public safety building will meet new B.C. Building Code standards for buildings designed to remain operable post disaster, with the seismic design load is significantly higher than typical commercial buildings. The fire hall features six fire hall apparatus and two ambulance bays.
The new Victoria public safety building is being built under an agreement reached with local developer Dalmatian Developments Limited Partnership, a Jawl Residential and Nadar Holdings Ltd. venture, as part of a new mixed-use development. Dalmatian Developments is working with HCMA Architecture + Design.
“We are incredibly proud of our construction and design team. They deserve a lot of credit as they’ve not missed a day of construction, even though we broke ground just weeks before a global pandemic hit. The hardworking crew members on site, who can’t work from home, have adapted to these challenges and continue to move the project forward safely and efficiently,” said David Jawl, director of development, Dalmatian Developments.
Construction is anticipated to be completed by early 2023.
