More fencing was erected on Pandora Avenue this week as the City of Victoria moves forward with its plan to clear an encampment in the 900 block.

The city began installing fencing around the 900 block of Pandora Boulevard in September in an effort to prevent camping. It was a phased approach, with fencing first at the ends of the block and eventually in the middle to close the boulevard and allow the grassy area to recover, Mayor Marianne Alto said.

The fence, which cost about $10,000, will remain in place for the foreseeable future, she said. The city will give the grass time to grow and will then likely begin landscaping the area.

Although sheltering is not allowed on the boulevard, the city turned a blind eye to an encampment that began during the pandemic, Alto said.

“There comes a point where this type of use is simply no longer tenable,” she said. “The threshold for the city was that there’s no point in just saying, ‘You have to go, unless there’s somewhere to go.'”

BC Housing and its community partners assessed 62 people sheltering in the neighborhood and offered them all shelter space, a BC Housing spokesperson said. Of these people, 29 had moved into a shelter as of October 25.

There are no tents left in the neighborhood and Our Place shelters are now full, said Grant McKenzie, communications director for Our Place Society.

There are still people hanging around the block, but it feels calmer than it has since camping in the neighborhood boomed during the pandemic, he said.

Demand for meals at Our Place has increased by about 30 percent, and McKenzie attributes the increase to people’s feeling of safety. Staff are reunited with familiar faces who have been absent for some time, and the center is beginning to expand its programming to match its pre-pandemic offerings, including yoga, music and craft workshops.

“It gives hope,” McKenzie said, adding that he thinks the block will look a lot different by the end of the year.

Plans for city-owned land at 926 and 930 Pandora Ave. are also progressing, with a proposal for a 20-storey development with 205 new homes.

The proposal, a partnership between the city, BC Housing and the Capital Region Housing Corporation, would include 158 affordable rental units, 47 supportive housing units and 16,000 square feet of community space.

British Columbia plans to manage supportive housing through a non-profit service provider and this would include supports such as meals, counseling, health care referrals and training to life skills. Residents are assessed and selected by BC Housing based on the services they require.

Eligibility for affordable housing is based on income.

The project is awaiting planning permission and is expected to begin construction in early 2025.

“It will still be a few years before the work is actually finished, but it will make a really significant difference and a lot of people will come to the area,” Alto said.

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