Royal Bay
Vancouver Island | Colwood, BC
With an oceanfront seat on Victoria’s most iconic views of the Salish Sea and Olympic Mountains, Royal Bay serves as the west shore’s destination waterfront.
Having initiated the mixed-use village with the design and adoption of Colwood’s Royal Bay Area Plan, we are proud of our continuing work with Gablecraft Homes in the design of its newest Royal Bay neighbourhood of Latoria South.
CLIENT
bcIMC and Royal Bay Community | Gablecraft Homes
DATE
2013-17 | 2022 – present
LOCATION
Vancouver Island | Colwood, BC
SCALE
460 acres | 2,100 homes
WEBSITE
SERVICES
Community Planning
Urban Design
Land Development
Public Engagement
Project Marketing
With its spectacular seaside location and proximity to Victoria, Royal Bay represented a singular opportunity for a master-planned community on the West Shore. Through the reclamation of the historic metchosin gravel pit, the design of the sustainable mixed-use village also held the potential to establish a public destination waterfront for Colwood.
Anchored by the mixed-use Village Commons at the central crossroads, and complimented by a commercial waterfront Landing, the Plan provides for a diversity of housing to meet the needs of a range of lifestyles, life stages and incomes. The Plan is structured into a series of distinct neighbourhoods, each designed in response to its unique natural features and views. While each is distinct, the neighbourhoods of Royal Bay all share a walkable scale, linked together through a network of public parks and multi-modal streets, tree-lined pathways and forest trails.
Following an extensive community consultation, the Royal Bay Plan set new standards for neighbourhood planning, public engagement and complete community development with Colwood. Placemark continues to build on this legacy with designs that celebrate all that Island living has to offer.
Process + Entitlements
- Royal Bay Master Plan | 2013
- Royal Bay Area Plan | 2014 + 2017
- Meadows Neighbourhood + Rezoning | 2016
- Meadows Park Concept + Interpretive Signage | 2016
- South Latoria Neighbourhood | 2022 – present
Paul Fenske and his team continue to lead the planning and design of Royal Bay as Placemark, reflecting the long-term working relationship, expertise and legacy built with Gablecraft while at Ekistics.
Royal Bay was designed by EKISTICS Town Planning Inc. between 2013-2017. Fenske actively participated in the design of the project. The design is the intellectual property of EKISTICS and cannot be used, adapted, copied, or published without the express written consent of EKISTICS.