Building & Industry News
Minister Says Obstructive Municipalities May Lose Funding
Housing Minister David Eby said recently at a housing conference: “It’s fine to say that you are not interested in bringing more people into your community, but when you have thousands of people arriving in your community, through federal immigration policies and...
2021 CARE Awards Celebrate Projects and People
On Saturday, Nov 13, VRBA announced the Gold winners for our 30th Anniversary Construction Achievements and Renovations of Excellence (CARE) Awards of Vancouver Island. The 30th Annual CARE Awards event showcased 41 categories hosted by CFAX’s Al Ferraby, and was...
Greater Victoria Housing Starts Increase While Inventory Declines
CMHC reports Greater Victoria housing starts reached 3,825 single detached and multi-family units from January to October this year. That's an increase of 45% over last year's 2,896, which was the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Total starts for the month of October...
Community Builders Building Our Community
As 2021/22 President, it is a pleasure to be part of an outstanding VRBA team, building our community. I want to thank Dusty Delain, Past President for his leadership. I look forward to continuing to work with Dusty and this year’s Board of Directors to safely address...
2021 CARE Awards Winners Announced at Fairmont Empress Hotel
The Victoria Residential Builders Association (VRBA) returned to the Fairmont Empress Hotel to announce the Gold winners for the 2021 Construction Achievements and Renovations of Excellence (CARE) Awards of Vancouver Island held Saturday, November 13. The 30th...
Thank You Times Colonist Readers
In my final week as VRBA President, I want to thank Times Colonist readers for reading this column. It has been another challenging year of COVID-19 and I would also like to offer congratulations to the health care professionals and front-line staff including trades...
Changing World Requires Housing Leadership
Recently, New Zealand passed a law enabling the construction of up to three homes per lot in single family communities without municipal approval/rezoning. The BC government introduced legislation enabling municipalities to approve multi-family projects without public...
Beware a Scary Renovation!
Little guys and gals dressed up as ghouls, ghosts and goblins will be visiting on Oct 31, so be careful answering your door. Be prepared with treats to avoid any tricks. At this time of year, there may be a knock on the door from bigger guys or gals dressed as...
Seismic Safety More Than Drop, Cover, Hold On!
The Annual BC Shakeout Day teaching residents to Drop, Cover and Hold On is useful, especially for school children living in an earthquake zone. However, the BC govt should be doing much more to address an inevitable large earthquake. There is a 10% - 15% chance of a...
New Housing Up 49% Year-To-Date
CMHC reports housing starts are up 49% from 2,347 (Jan to Sept 2020) to 3,488 (Jan to Sept 2021). The total new homes for September was 416 vs last year's 193. While rising starts are encouraging, Greater Victoria has been facing housing challenges for some time,...