Mayor Lisa Helps says a new proposal that is being floated by members of the public, would see low-income housing and a 100 spot underground parking lot adjacent to Crystal Pool in Central Park. "The community thought that if we need parking anyway, why have a surface parking lot when the parking could go underground and we could have housing above."
Helps says she is going to contact the nonprofit housing sector with the proposal. "What the proposal is, is to do a request for expressions of interest to the nonprofit housing sector, and say we need 100 spots of under parking for the pool. But we also need some kind of community space, day care and housing. You bring us back the best option; we want to leave it flexible at this point."
Mayor Helps states that BC Housing is behind the project. "BC Housing already wrote a letter of support that is included in the package that I am bringing to council, which says they would fund and finance the housing part of the project. The city would be putting up the land which would otherwise be surface parking lots. Between BC Housing and the non-profit housing provider, they would work out the financing for the rest."
Last year Victoria council voted to replace Crystal Pool which was built in 1971, the cost estimate for the replacement is $69.4 million dollars.