Apartments, short-term rentals and food and retail space may be in the works for the old Sassy’s Restaurant site in Central Saanich.
The 43-year-old family-owned restaurant officially closed at the end of August, but redevelopment plans for the 6719 West Saanich Rd. site have been in the works for some time.
Eric Barker Architect submitted an initial proposal to the District of Central Saanich in July 2020, but it fell through. More recently, Greater Victoria firm Finlayson Bonet Architecture took up the project and submitted its own plans this past July in a bid to transform the property into a tourist-oriented mixed-use development.
The fresh plan calls for a three-floor building with 12 short-term rental units, 20 long-term ones, live-work units for local artisans and producers and a commercial space for a restaurant, market and cafe. Residential units would face West Saanich Road, while the commercial area and short-term accommodation would look out onto Keating Cross Road.
Short-term units would range between one and two bedrooms and 608 to 1,095 square feet. Long-term ones would include bachelor suites and one- and two-bedroom units, ranging in size from 437 to 853 square feet. An additional accessible one-bedroom unit would be 947 square feet.
Council has not yet set a date for consideration of the proposal.
More than 100 people showed up to Sassy’s Restaurant on its closing day last month. Owner Cory Potter said he was excited not to have to wake up at 5:30 a.m. anymore, and to spend more time with wife, who recently received a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.
READ ALSO: Central Saanich says goodbye to Sassy’s Restaurant
