Sensitive and thoughtful neighbourhood-scaled development improves life for everyone
›› Lee Herrin

Ben lives on Yukon Street with his ­daughters in Fernwood NRG’s ­affordable family housing. Harry lives across the street, in one of the beautiful character houses that make Yukon Street a gem in Victoria. I know Ben because we are both on the Board of ­Directors of the ­Community Social Planning Council. Ben is the ­Vice-President. I hadn’t met Harry before, until Ben introduced us.

Ben and Harry were sitting at the ­Cornerstone Café one night in early April having a beer together with another friend. They were taking in the ­Wednesday ­evening bluegrass which has been a ­Fernwood fixture for a decade. I came in after a ­neighbourhood meeting to see what was going on.

I spotted Ben and came over to say hello. He introduced me to Harry, telling Harry I was “the guy who runs Fernwood NRG.” (I have a lot of help!) I asked them how they knew each other, and they said they were neighbours on Yukon Street. Harry then told me the story of how he and his wife initially opposed, then later accepted our project on Yukon Street. I was moved by his complete candor—“we were NiMBY *#$%s,” he said. I told him if he sent me an account of his experience, we would print it in the Village Vibe. The story in his own words appears here.

Things change all the time, and the ­prospect of change can be disconcerting, provoking fear of the unknown. Harry’s experience though, demonstrates how things more often turn out. Change can be for the better. Harry and Ben are friends and neighbours who can walk to their ­neighbourhood café and share a beer and each other’s ­company. This is what a n­eighbourhood is supposed to be.

It’s going to happen again. After nearly three years, our next project at 1310 ­Gladstone Avenue is moving to public ­hearing. We’re proposing to add a mixed use building similar to the Cornerstone ­building, but smaller. We feel it will round out ­Fernwood Village, adding ­commercial space for a few more neighbourhood ­businesses, and some small apartments upstairs. If you want to see Fernwood develop gradually with sensitive and thoughtful buildings scaled and designed to fit in to the ­neighbourhood, watch for more ­information about our upcoming public hearing date.

Who knows, one of the people who moves in might become your friend.