Hillside-Quadra News fall 2016

By Kelly Greenwell, ED of Quadra Village Community Centre

Th e f o r m e r B l a n s h a r d Elementary School and playing fields have come

into sharp focus over the last few years. The purchase by the Capital Regional Hospital District (CRHD) of the entire seven acres of land and buildings (comprising 955 Hillside and 950 Kings) has been on many residents' minds, raising both concerns and possibilities. With the zoning in place for CHRD to develop the site, it has taken c o n s i d e r a b l e e ff o r t b y neighbourhood representatives to ensure that the development will include amenities that are relevant to Hillside-Quadra.

Construction of “The Summit at Quadra Village” (a facility that will provide residential and day care for adults with complex needs) at 955 Hillside is now underway in the form of major excavation and site preparation. The facility is expected to open in 2019. The idea of including common spaces on the

site, which can be accessed by ne ighbourhood and fac i l i ty residents alike, is alive and well. But it will take substantial work in the days, weeks and years ahead to ensure that such a vision is realized.

In the meantime, negotiation and collaboration has taken place between the City of Victoria, CDI College, CRHD and Quadra Village Community Centre (QVCC) to ensure that there will be more immediate benefits for the people of Hillside-Quadra at 950 Kings (the

Blanshard School building). Thanks to these efforts (and an engaged neighbourhood speaking its truth about the importance of the s c h o o l p r o p e r t y ) t h e fi r s t achievement is now official: the Quadra Village Community Centre will be the new operator of the former Blanshard Elementary School gym.

This is fantastic news. When the Community Centre was built, there

Neighbourhood Gym Soon to Be Reality

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Local kids enjoying the gym at CDI College (Photo by Sarah Harris)

(continued on page 2)

Live Music on Graham Street - Page 3

Latest Neighbourhood Highlights - Page 5

Giving the Gift of Good Food - Page 8

Fall 2016Hillside-Quadra News Fall 2016 Page 3Hillside-Quadra News

Neighbourhood Small Grants Bring Music to Graham Street

By Dawn Wilson, John Walmsley and Tracy Byrne

The 2900 block of Graham Street was jumpin' and jivin' on the evening of Saturday

10th September, as residents gathered to celebrate the diverse m u s i c a l t a l e n t s o f t h e neighbourhood.

Building on the popularity of our December 2015 Lantern Party, the residents of Graham Street invited the local community to an all ages musical get-together complete with a potluck dinner. This was the inaugural "Singing in the Streets". It proved so popular that neighbours are already looking forward to next year's event!

A r o u n d 1 0 0 c o m m u n i t y members came out to share food and enjoy a variety of singers, bands and musicians (as well as danc ing dogs! ) . Per formers

included: vocal ensembles, The Sassy Singers, Quadra Four and Winterlong; blue grass band, Little Crow; country and blues outfit, The Urban Song Birds; teen jazz ensemble, The Phatfunks; and young indie pop band, Tilted Frame. In addition, an open mike session attracted several young performers.

Not only did the event provide a musical treat for all attendees, it a l so enab led ne ighbours to reconnect, meet and chat for the first time, and simply enjoy some unstructured social time together. What's more, the members of the organizing team had the chance to get to know each other better and experience the satisfaction of

contributing to the life of the neighbourhood.

While the community has held modest block parties in the past, the Neighbourhood Small Grant enabled organizers to dream big and convene a truly memorable even ing fo r Graham S t r ee t residents, neighbours and friends.

O n e p a r t i c u l a r p i e c e o f feedback captures it all perfectly:

"Singing in the Streets was a great event! I was so happy to be a part of it and have told many friends what a lovely community feeling was generated by the music. People were literally coming out from their homes into the street to listen, chat, share food, and have fun. Toddlers, youth, adults and seniors – all enjoying an evening together in their neighbourhood! What a great concept. Hope this is just the beginning for what might become an annual event.”

"What a wonderful party that was!" (“Singing in the Streets” attendee)

was no gym facility included because it was assumed that there would be an ongoing arrangement with Blanshard School to have liberal access to its gym. However, when Blanshard School was closed, that arrangement came to end. University Canada West and (more recently) CDI College continued generously to provide some gym access to QVCC, though this was quite limited. With the purchase of 950 Kings by CRHD, the issue of community access to the gym seemed once again to be in question.

However, since CRHD and the City of Victoria made it clear that QVCC was a strong contender to

take on the gym, CDI College has increased access for Community Centre programs. And now, as the official operator of the gym, and w i t h Q V C C c o m m i t t e d t o maximizing the benefit of the facility to the residents of Hillside-Quadra, the potential for the increased health and wellness of program participants and the neighbourhood as a whole will be considerable.

Generally speaking, QVCC will significantly increase the recreational components that we build into our programs. We will also use the gym to host new activities and events. These will become available to all residents over the coming several months. Ultimately, we expect that we will

go from the current level of 130 hours of gym access per year to over 3 0 0 0 h o u r s o f g y m - b a s e d recreational and community-building activities by the end of our fourth year of operating the gym.

QVCC anticipates that we will start operating what will now be known as the “Quadra Village Community Gymnasium” in January 2017. In a neighbourhood that contends with a number of economic and social challenges, this gym facility represents an important opportunity for the Community Centre to help enhance the lives of many Hillside-Quadra residents.

Inquiries can be directed to [email protected] or by calling 250 388 7696.

Neighbourhood Gym Soon to Be Reality(continued from cover)

Check out the planters at Basil, painted poles on Hillside and the mandala on Fifth St. behind Quadra School. For more info on Neighbourhood Small Grants and upcoming projects check out events in the online edition!

Small Grants, Big Community Spirit

Neighbourhood kids dance to the music of Tilted Frame on Graham Street. (Photo by Teresa Cowley)

mailto:[email protected]

Fall 2016Hillside-Quadra News Fall 2016 Hillside-Quadra News

Neighbourhood Small Grants Bring Music to Graham Street

By Dawn Wilson, John Walmsley and Tracy Byrne

The 2900 block of Graham Street was jumpin' and jivin' on the evening of Saturday

10th September, as residents gathered to celebrate the diverse m u s i c a l t a l e n t s o f t h e neighbourhood.

Building on the popularity of our December 2015 Lantern Party, the residents of Graham Street invited the local community to an all ages musical get-together complete with a potluck dinner. This was the inaugural "Singing in the Streets". It proved so popular that neighbours are already looking forward to next year's event!

A r o u n d 1 0 0 c o m m u n i t y members came out to share food and enjoy a variety of singers, bands and musicians (as well as danc ing dogs! ) . Per formers

included: vocal ensembles, The Sassy Singers, Quadra Four and Winterlong; blue grass band, Little Crow; country and blues outfit, The Urban Song Birds; teen jazz ensemble, The Phatfunks; and young indie pop band, Tilted Frame. In addition, an open mike session attracted several young performers.

Not only did the event provide a musical treat for all attendees, it a l so enab led ne ighbours to reconnect, meet and chat for the first time, and simply enjoy some unstructured social time together. What's more, the members of the organizing team had the chance to get to know each other better and experience the satisfaction of

contributing to the life of the neighbourhood.

While the community has held modest block parties in the past, the Neighbourhood Small Grant enabled organizers to dream big and convene a truly memorable even ing fo r Graham S t r ee t residents, neighbours and friends.

O n e p a r t i c u l a r p i e c e o f feedback captures it all perfectly:

"Singing in the Streets was a great event! I was so happy to be a part of it and have told many friends what a lovely community feeling was generated by the music. People were literally coming out from their homes into the street to listen, chat, share food, and have fun. Toddlers, youth, adults and seniors – all enjoying an evening together in their neighbourhood! What a great concept. Hope this is just the beginning for what might become an annual event.”

"What a wonderful party that was!" (“Singing in the Streets” attendee)

was no gym facility included because it was assumed that there would be an ongoing arrangement with Blanshard School to have liberal access to its gym. However, when Blanshard School was closed, that arrangement came to end. University Canada West and (more recently) CDI College continued generously to provide some gym access to QVCC, though this was quite limited. With the purchase of 950 Kings by CRHD, the issue of community access to the gym seemed once again to be in question.

However, since CRHD and the City of Victoria made it clear that QVCC was a strong contender to

take on the gym, CDI College has increased access for Community Centre programs. And now, as the official operator of the gym, and w i t h Q V C C c o m m i t t e d t o maximizing the benefit of the facility to the residents of Hillside-Quadra, the potential for the increased health and wellness of program participants and the neighbourhood as a whole will be considerable.

Generally speaking, QVCC will significantly increase the recreational components that we build into our programs. We will also use the gym to host new activities and events. These will become available to all residents over the coming several months. Ultimately, we expect that we will

go from the current level of 130 hours of gym access per year to over 3 0 0 0 h o u r s o f g y m - b a s e d recreational and community-building activities by the end of our fourth year of operating the gym.

QVCC anticipates that we will start operating what will now be known as the “Quadra Village Community Gymnasium” in January 2017. In a neighbourhood that contends with a number of economic and social challenges, this gym facility represents an important opportunity for the Community Centre to help enhance the lives of many Hillside-Quadra residents.

Inquiries can be directed to [email protected] or by calling 250 388 7696.

Neighbourhood Gym Soon to Be Reality(continued from cover)

Check out the planters at Basil, painted poles on Hillside and the mandala on Fifth St. behind Quadra School. For more info on Neighbourhood Small Grants and upcoming projects check out events in the online edition!

Small Grants, Big Community Spirit

Neighbourhood kids dance to the music of Tilted Frame on Graham Street. (Photo by Teresa Cowley)



An Update from École Quadra SchoolBy Marilyn Campbell, Principal

The fall is a fun time as school s tar ts up and students refresh their friendships

after the summer break. With our beautiful, freshly painted and oiled totem greeting new and returning students, we are settling in to a new year with a significant increase in our enrollment. Additional staff members have joined our team and extra-curricular activities are getting under way with choir and cross-country.

Recently, our PAC hosted a wonderful BBQ as part of our “Meet the Teacher” event. It was well attended, with everyone enjoying the food, the bake sale, and even a rubber boot exchange to get ready for the fall weather.

The students of École Quadra School have many opportunities to pa r t i c ipa te in some un ique programming. We are a dual track K-5 elementary school, which means we have K-5 classes in French Immersion and English. In addition, here are some of the programs we offer:

Ÿ All Day Kindergarten – French and English;

Ÿ Strings Program for Grade 5 students;

Ÿ Choir;Ÿ Creative Writing Club;Ÿ Sports opportunities throughout

the year;Ÿ Strong Inclusive Learning

Team;Ÿ Unique First Nations Program,

focused on cultural awareness;Ÿ Youth and Family Counsellor

and District Counsellor;Ÿ Hot Lunch Program; andŸ Breakfast Club.

During the fall, we will be

celebrating the life and memory of Terry Fox with our school run and p ledge dr ive . We ' l l a l so be encouraging staff and students to wear orange shirts for “Orange

Shirt Day”. The motto for “Orange Shir t Day” is “Every Chi ld Mat te rs” and i t ' s a t ime to remember and reflect on the impacts of the Residential School

System in Canada. Later in the fall, our school community will be involved in a pilot project for the BC Shakeout Drill. We will be monitoring a number of activities with respect to our school 's earthquake preparedness, with the goal of helping all schools in Vic tor ia and across Br i t i sh Columbia to learn how to increase their readiness to deal with a significant earthquake.

Mrs. Campbell and Mme. Rolston lead an enthusiastic team of educators at École Quadra School and together they look forward to a year of providing numerous learning opportunities for all!

Hillside Quadra NeighbourhoodAction Committee Highlights

Submitted by Janis La Couvée, on behalf of the Hillside-Quadra Neighbourhood Action Committee

Q-NAC Email List: To Hsubscribe to this list, p l e a s e e m a i l

[email protected] with SUBSCRIBE TO LIST in the subject heading.

High-Profile Development Proposals in Hillside-Quadra Neighbourhood: Our group is designated by the City of Victoria as the contact for developers who are proposing changes that require a change in zoning for a property. We host meetings on the first Monday of the month to which neighbours, and any other interested persons, are invited to hear about the p roposa l and p rov ide the i r comments. After that, the project goes through a formal review process at City Hall. Ultimately, City Council holds a public hearing before any approvals are given or denied.

2560 Quadra Street (beside t h e W o o d e n S h o e ) : T h e development of this property for 15 units of rental housing (4-storeys) was approved late in 2015. The original house was demolished in late spring and excavation on the site has now begun.

2740 Fifth Street: After many proposals for re-development during a three-year period (2012-2015), this single-family home site was purchased and is currently being developed as a passive energy efficient duplex

The Residences at Quadra Village (formerly Quadra Villa) 2835-2855 Quadra Street

Primex Investments, owners of the existing rental buildings on the

site, purchased the duplex at 2780/2782 Fifth Street to add to the existing site. The proposal is now amended to add 33 units of rental housing in three buildings rather than the 24 units in two buildings proposed in early 2016. One of the buildings would front onto Fifth Street and the other two would be situated on the existing parking lot. Access/egress would now solely be off Quadra Street (rather than exiting onto Fifth). On-site parking w o u l d b e r e t a i n e d f o r approximately 80 vehicles, and some mitigation measures are to be considered (e.g. car-share and bike parking/s torage) . A formal community meeting under the CALUC process was held in early September and HQ-NAC will write a letter outlining neighbourhood comments.

2648 Graham Street: This proposal is to add 14 rental units in a four-storey addition to the existing 1960s building. Two units would be at grade and the other twelve would be over three storeys. The addition would run parallel to the existing building and would necessitate e l imina t ion o f the ex i s t ing driveway. Parking lot access would be off the two lanes. The developer is asking for FSR (floor space ratio—the ratio of a building's floor area to the size of land that the building sits on), parking and front setback variances. A formal community meeting under the CALUC (Community Land Use Association) process was held in early September and HQ-NAC will w r i t e a l e t t e r o u t l i n i n g neighbourhood comments

3031 Jackson Street: The proponents wish to remove the existing house on the property and

replace it with four buildings containing a total of 10 townhouses, each with a single garage. Eight additional parking spots would be added. 21 trees would be removed. The proposed development would require rezoning of the property from R1B Single Family Dwelling t o a s i t e - s p e c i fi c z o n e . A community meeting under the CALUC process was held in late April 2016 and a letter from the HQ NAC was submitted to the City of Victoria Planning Department. The proponent submitted an application to the City of Victoria Planning Department in late June. Staff have reviewed the application and p r o v i d e d c o m m e n t s t o t h e applicant. Once these have been addressed, the next step is for staff to forward the application to Council.

How You Can Get Involved: If you would like to know more or be involved in any neighbourhood land use or transportation matters, please contact NAC via e-mail. If you can help out on an occasional basis, we'd love to hear from you. Email: [email protected]

T h e H i l l s i d e Q u a d r a Neighbourhood Action Committee (NAC) is a sub-committee of the Downtown Blanshard Advisory Committee (DBAC) (the not-for-profit that is our neighbourhood's Community Association and runs the Quadra Village Community Centre), and is comprised of a group of volunteers that works on i s sues r e l a t ed t o l and u se , transportation, and parks in our neighbourhood. Anyone with a connection to our neighbourhood is welcome to come to meetings.

Tony Hunt Jr & friend make some final touches to the totem at Ecole Quadra School (photo provided)

“The students of École Quadra School have

many opportunities to participate in some

unique programming.”




Meet the news team

Co-Editors:

Tracy Byrne

Rowena Locklin

Assistant Editor:

Helen Cowley

Design & Layout:

Teresa Cowley

Committee Members:

Kelly Greenwell

The Hillside-Quadra News is a forum and information source

about projects, issues, meetings, events,

history and people in Hillside-Quadra and surrounding area.

Hillside-Quadra News is produced through

Quadra Village Community Centre.

[email protected]/ILoveQV

The deadline for the next issue of the HQ News is

Sunday, November 6 2016.


Celebrating the Harvest

By Trish Irish

ou may have heard the Ysounds of music and celebrations coming from

the corner of Dowler and Kings on July 23 this past summer. You were hearing the sounds of the second annual “Harvest Celebration” at Evergreen Terrace. This is a community gathering for people in Victoria and Saanich who live in housing complexes managed by BC Housing. Everyone is invited to come toge the r to ce leb ra te community programs and the actions each of us takes to put fresh food on our tables.

The coo rd ina to r s o f BC H o u s i n g ' s C o m m u n i t y Development programming and the P e o p l e , P l a n t s a n d H o m e s gardening program explain that the

goal of “Harvest Celebration” is to share everyone's ideas about how to put fresh food on our tables and to enjoy growing, harvesting and cooking fresh food (and growing flowers too). Other important goals are to celebrate together, to connect tenants with their neighbours, and to link people with fresh food resources in the community.

Some of these goals are accomplished throughout the year with BC Housing's gardening program and community kitchen program, and different partnerships with initiatives such as LifeCycle's Fruit Tree Project, the Victoria Master Gardeners, and Wark Street Community Gardens. Everyone's participation makes for wonderful opportunities to build community and to find new ways to grow or cook simple, healthy, fresh food.

BC Housing tenants enjoy cooking demos and a garden celebration at Evergreen Terrace (photos by Helen and Teresa Cowley)

Improving the public realm at Smith Hill

By Ben Isitt, City Councillor

eighbourhood residents Nmay have noticed the recent improvements to the

paths, stairways and public realm around the Smith Hill Reservoir adjacent to Summit Park. If you haven't been up there recently, I encourage you to take a walk up to the site.

T h e p r o j e c t m a r k s t h e culmination of two years of advocacy by residents at the Spencer Castle apartment complex, who identified safety hazards along the trail and embankment at the old CRD Water Services asset. (The reservoir itself was built in 1909, but has not been used for water supply purposes for many decades. The CRD retains ownership to allow for future expansion and balancing of the regional water supply system).

Beginning with a letter from residents Eleanor and Bruce Dean, the initiative was spearheaded by re t i red gerontologis t Nancy Gnaedinger, with support from Laura Taylor and other volunteers w i t h t h e H i l l s i d e - Q u a d r a Neighbourhood Action Committee (NAC).

With the support of Victoria City Council, including former mayor Dean Fortin, the CRD Water Commission was convinced to a p p r o v e a n e x p e n d i t u r e o f $211,000 for the safety upgrades.

Work proceeded over the winter and spring of 2015 and 2016 by CRD Water Services staff, who installed two new stairwells, levelled the pathway, and created a viewpoint and other improvements around the perimeter of the reservoir. The project came in about $5,000 under budget. The costs were apportioned among ratepayers

of the water supply service in the 13 municipalities.

I would like to thank everyone involved in making this project happen , par t i cu la r ly Nancy Gnaedinger, Ted Robbins (General Manager of CRD Water Services Ted Robbins), and CRD Water Services staff.

The Smith Hill pathways were an eyesore and safety hazard for many years. We can now visit the site and get exercise and fresh air with a sense of pride in our neighbourhood and the “upland” area at Smith Hill and Summit Park.

Ben Isitt is a Victoria City Councillor and Regional Director. He serves as Council Liaison to the Hillside-Quadra neighbourhood. You can reach Ben by email at [email protected] or by telephone at 250-882-9302.

Recent improvements to the pathways and public realm at the Smith Hill Reservoir near Summit Park.Source: CRD Water Services

Let us know what you think! Do you have any comments on articles or H - Q Community News? Concerned about something in our neighbourhood? Share your thoughts with us in a

letter to the Editor: 901 Kings Rd. Victoria B.C. V8T 1W5 or email: [email protected] We’d love to hear from you!

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Fall 2016Hillside-Quadra News

Support Quadra Village families with the Gift of Good Food

By Kathryn Juricic

Every other Wednesday, eight families from Hillside-Q u a d r a d r o p b y t h e

Community Centre to pick up their Good Food Box, a bag full of mostly local fruits and vegetables. These boxes were bought for the families last Holiday Season through The Gift of Good Food program. Now, the chance to support local families with this initiative has come around again.

The Gift of Good Food supports local families in need with a Good Food Box every two weeks for the entire year. Last year, Quadra Village Community Centre chose eight families to receive this gift and we have been seeing these families at Centre every two weeks since.

“The benefits are concrete,” Executive Director of Quadra Village Community Centre, Kelly

Greenwell, comments. “Families are provided with a base of sufficient nutritious food over the course of the month.” This is an important support for Quadra Village Community Centre to offer families in the neighbourhood who are in need. Moreover, donations provide assistance beyond the

Holiday Season. “It's gratifying to be able to support families who are struggling year round,” Greenwell notes.

Every $500 raised provides a family with The Gift of Good Food. Quadra Village Community Centre sends gratitude to all who gave donations to last year's campaign. Says Greenwell, “This program makes a big difference in the lives of families. Having good food helps them cope and thrive. The more we see that, the better the chance that their kids will blossom.”

** If you are interested in donating to The Gift of Good Food, p l e a s e c o n t a c t e i t h e r [email protected] or [email protected], o r v i s i t o u r w e b s i t e : https://thegoodfoodbox.ca/donate for more information.**

**To purchase your own Good Food Box, please visit our website: https://thegoodfoodbox.ca.**

wo local middle schools, TCentral and Lansdowne, recently received cheques of

$3500 each to support breakfast programs and to provide a bursary towards a music program from the Victoria Conservatory of Music. The funds were provided by From Breakfast to Beethoven (FB2B), a non-profit program whose goal is to provide a nutritious breakfast to some of our city's most vulnerable school children, while exposing them to both classical and high-quality contemporary music. The program is the result of a wonderful partnership among a group of local v o l u n t e e r s , t h e V i c t o r i a

Conservatory of Music, and more than 40 local restaurants. Last year, the FB2B charity event raised nearly $10,000 in one day, with the help from these Victoria restaurants and their patrons.

The goal of the FB2B project is to help eradicate hunger and end the cycle of poverty that exists in our community. Its volunteers believe that by providing a nutritious breakfast and exposing children to potentially life-changing musical training through the VCM, we can accomplish this goal!

Good Nutrition + Good Music = Success

This year the campaign will be held over a three-day period – Thursday October 20, Friday October 21, and Saturday October 22, 2016. We hope you will join us in addressing the cycle of poverty that is a daily reality for so many children in Victoria.

Ÿ $5 feeds a child for a weekŸ $20 feeds a child for a monthŸ $200 feeds a child for the

entire school year.

F o r a l i s t o f a l l 2 0 1 6 participating restaurants and to make a donation online, please go to www.myevent.com/fb2b

The Breakfast for Beethoven Program



https://thegoodfoodbox.ca/donate

https://thegoodfoodbox.ca

http://www.myevent.com/fb2b

Hillside-Quadra News fall 2016

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Transcript of Hillside-Quadra News fall 2016