A 134-acre seaside development in Colwood once known as Royal Beach has been rechristened the Beachlands, in part to differentiate it from the Royal Bay development next door.
Mayor Doug Kobayashi joined representatives of Reliance Properties and Seacliff Properties for the announcement Saturday on the stage of the city’s annual Eats & Beats Beach Party.
Reliance chief executive Jon Stovell said the new name better reflects the 1.5-km waterfront area within the $1.2-billion development.
“Our waterfront is a cherished treasure that defines our community,” Kobayashi said in a statement, adding that the city is excited to work with the developers to realize Colwood’s potential as a cultural destination.
The city’s popular Eats & Beats Beach Party is expected to permanently relocate from Esquimalt lagoon to the new master-planned community.
In future years, visitors to the festival will have access to a central plaza as well as 43 acres of park space.
Former mayor Rob Martin once touted the Beachlands as a terminal stop for a potential passenger ferry service linking Colwood to downtown Victoria.
Stovell said that land is still being set aside for a potential ferry terminal, a commitment that will last another three years or so.
“In any event that the ferry company and senior government wants to fund a terminal building here, we would make that land available,” he said. “But I think we haven’t heard much about it for a while now.”
The two Vancouver-based developers have submitted subdivision applications for the first two phases of the Beachlands, along with a development permit application for a 12,000-square-foot commercial building located at Metchosin Road and Latoria Boulevard which will act as the development’s sales centre.
The area has been marked for growth, with plans for a 306-bed long-term care home, a new elementary school, as well as the new Royal B.C. Museum collections building.
Colwood’s population is forecast to grow by 35 per cent to about 22,700 in the next five years.