VICTORIA -- Workers have reached a milestone in the construction of Victoria’s new downtown fire department headquarters and emergency operations centre.
City of Victoria staff said Tuesday that concrete has now been poured for the fire truck and ambulance bays at 1025 Johnson St.
The 12-storey public safety building will also include 130 homes for low- to middle-income residents. The top eight floors of the building will be owned and operated by Pacifica Housing, with funding from BC Housing.
The 41,700-square-foot fire hall will replace the current 26,700-square-foot headquarters on Yates Street, which has operated since 1959.
BC Emergency Health Services will lease 3,200 square feet of the new building from the city to operate a standalone paramedic station as part of a 20-year service agreement, according to the city.
The new building is being constructed to post-disaster seismic standards by Dalmation Developments with an expected completion date of early 2023.
The city estimates the cost of the project at $33.7 million, paid for through city reserves.
“I’m pleased that we have reached this construction milestone and that the project remains on budget,” said Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps in a statement. “We are one step closer to having a mixed-used development and a leading-edge public safety building that will serve our downtown and Victoria neighbourhoods.”
