Developers of the long-vacant historic Northern Junk buildings near Victoria’s Johnson Street Bridge had promised rental housing but now have permission to build strata units instead. Victoria council approved a proposal in 2021 by Reliance Properties to rehabilitate the gold rush-era buildings and incorporate them in a six-storey mixed-use building with 47 rental residential units, commercial space, a waterfront walkway, a public alley and an elevator to connect the street to the waterfront.
Just over two years later, construction costs are up by 50 per cent and interest rates have skyrocketed, making the rental project unfeasible to finance, said Jon Stovell, president of Reliance Properties. While the overall cost of the project is relatively similar whether it’s rental or strata units, a strata project allows the company to borrow a larger percentage of its costs, Stovell sai