THE SAWYER - 840 FORT STREET

With an eye on urbanization, population growth and efficiency, micro unit housing is occurring in downtown Victoria. The Sawyer is a collection of smart-design urban rental micro units located just steps from restaurants, groceries, theaters, cafes & everything downtown Victoria has to offer. This project incorporates the redevelopment of the former home of the Sawyer Sewing Centre, a two-storey brick building along the Fort Street allows the development to provide a refreshed - but historically consistent - retail store presentation which is appropriate to the scale of pedestrian and vehicular traffic along Fort Street, and consistent with the local mix of retail and commercial uses in neighbouring buildings along this block. In behind, the Sawyer Building is a new six storey, 59 rental micro-suite, wood frame building that has a rental covenant with the City of Victoria and was one of the first in Victoria to utilize the National Housing Co-Investment Fund. The project targeted the young people working in the downtown in the services and high tech industries and was completed January 2020.

Each studio unit averages around 280 square feet and features a combined living area/bedroom area with a smart designed kitchen. The micro-apartments are designed with use of scaled-down, adaptable furniture and decor that make urban dwelling more compatible with the way people increasingly live now – and help cities as they attempt to absorb more people in the future. The smart standouts: an extra-deep counter space; more storage space than usual; and integrated space-saving appliances, including a combination convection oven-microwave, a dishwasher, and fridge. Fitting right in: all the elements that allow you to cook, warm, toast, roast, chill, freeze and do all the clean up.