A new kind of rental option is coming to Victoria 鈥� and it鈥檚 nothing like your typical apartment building.
Neighbour, a 15-storey co-living community at 1468 Vancouver St., will welcome its first tenants on Aug. 1.
The building, believed to be the first of its kind in Canada, blends shared and private living in a modern, amenity-rich environment aimed at addressing the city鈥檚 housing crunch.
Built by Townline Homes, Neighbour features 54 co-living apartments with three to five bedrooms each, alongside 67 traditional one- and two-bedroom units.
The co-living suites offer renters private, fully furnished rooms 鈥� some with ensuite bathrooms or private patios 鈥� while sharing common kitchens, bathrooms (unless ensuite), and lounge areas. Each renter also gets a personal storage locker, and rent includes utilities, WiFi, and bi-weekly cleaning of shared spaces.
Daryl Simpson, president of Townline, said the project evolved from a traditional rental concept when the developer applied to rezone the site back in 2021.
鈥淏ut as affordability worsened and vacancy rates stayed low 鈥� around 2.7 per cent 鈥� our founder Rick Ilich wanted to try something new,鈥� Simpson said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a first for Victoria, and likely for Canada, but we鈥檝e seen it work elsewhere in North America.鈥�
Rents for the co-living suites start at $1,275 per month, significantly lower than Victoria鈥檚 average one-bedroom rent of $2,053 in May, according to Rentals.ca and Urbanation.
For those seeking more conventional housing, the building鈥檚 standard apartments start at $1,975 for a one-bedroom.
Each unit 鈥� whether co-living or traditional 鈥� comes with access to a range of amenities including a gym, poker room, music room, work pods, and over 10,000 square feet of shared social and recreational spaces.
鈥淓verybody values something different,鈥� Simpson said. 鈥淪ome people want space, some want a view, and others want privacy. For those people, we offer private bathrooms and a huge variety of breakout areas.鈥�
He emphasized that Neighbour was designed to balance autonomy and community. Tenants can choose how much they want to interact with others, and flexible lease options 鈥� from three to 12 months 鈥� provide added freedom.
鈥淚f someone truly prioritizes privacy above all else, co-living may not be for them,鈥� Simpson said. 鈥淏ut for those facing affordability constraints or who want to build community 鈥� maybe they鈥檙e new to town, maybe they鈥檙e living alone 鈥� it鈥檚 a fantastic alternative.鈥�
While the model may appeal most to younger renters and students, Simpson said interest has come from a surprising range of demographics.
鈥淲e鈥檝e had people my age and older 鈥� in their 50s, 60s 鈥� coming through. Some are new to Victoria, some recently widowed. What they have in common is wanting to be around others,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e think we鈥檒l see a real mosaic in the building.鈥�
Townline鈥檚 $100 million investment in Neighbour underscores their belief in the potential of co-living.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 have another co-living building planned yet, but we鈥檙e watching Neighbour closely,鈥� Simpson said. 鈥淚f it takes root, there鈥檚 nothing stopping us from incorporating this model into future projects.鈥�
For now, all eyes are on August, when the first residents will move in and begin shaping what Simpson hopes will become a new way of living in Victoria.
鈥淚t鈥檚 new, it鈥檚 bold, and it鈥檚 something Victoria hasn鈥檛 seen before,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut that鈥檚 exactly why we think it鈥檒l work.鈥�
