A Group of Brutalist Townhomes Brings a Bit of Relief to a Canadian City’s Overheated Housing Market
Pearl Block by D’Arcy Jones Architects and developer Ryan Goodman provide a middle ground for six families in Victoria, British Columbia.
Pearl Block by D’Arcy Jones Architects and developer Ryan Goodman provide a middle ground for six families in Victoria, British Columbia.
If Western Canadian cities were a family, Victoria would be drama queen Vancouver’s hippie-granola kid sister: easygoing and low maintenance. For the new class of remote workers emerging out of the pandemic, this coastal city presents the allure of a promised land, where you can get more bang for your buck, maybe even snag a little property, and still have some world-class restaurants just down the street.
Developer Ryan Goodman built a complex of six townhouses in Victoria, British Columbia, all priced below the median for the city. The design, by architect D’Arcy Jones, has a striking facade made largely from textured stucco panels. "During construction, I bet people thought we were building a bridge," says Goodman with a laugh.
Photo by Grant Harder
But even before the wild real estate ride set off by Covid—with big-city dwellers everywhere seeking space for working remotely and entertaining safely—Victoria fell prey to its own allure. A boom of young families flooding in during the last several years jacked up the housing market and exacerbated a lack of midrange, modestly sized starter homes.
The driveway brings residents together. "We were hoping there would be people with similar values moving in," says resident Michael Imperial—and that turned out to be the case. One neighbor owns a street wear shop; another has talked about starting a board game night. Two other toddlers also live in the complex—built-in buds for Michael’s son, Nathan.
Photo: Grant Harder
There were expensive heritage homes aplenty and condo towers galore (perfect for the empty nesters and university students who make up much of the city’s population). But that Goldilocks sweet spot of not too big and not too small became more and more elusive.
By early 2021, the median home price was flirting with CAD $1.2 million (USD $940,000) for the first time—and often for a teardown structure or at least a property needing major renovation. The middle, as they say, was missing.
Michael and his family were among the first residents when the project finished in 2020.
Photo: Grant Harder
See the full story on Dwell.com: A Group of Brutalist Townhomes Brings a Bit of Relief to a Canadian City’s Overheated Housing Market
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