Neighbourhoods

Victory Square

The Victory Square area lies within several zoning districts; the central downtown business district to the west and the south, Gastown to the north, Chinatown and International Village to the southeast and Oppenheimer to the east. Victory Square Park and the war memorial cenotaph anchor the area which was an off-shoot of the Gastown area dating back to the 1890's, and was part of the commercial and administrative centre of the city.

While the Victory Square area has faced the same economic and social problems as its neighbours in the Downtown Eastside, the area is still home to many businesses, and is within close proximity to the downtown campuses of several post-secondary institutions. Victory Square is also an established residential neighbourhood, being home o approximately 1,500 people. Its single room occupancy hotel rooms house most of the area's residents.

Victory Square Policy Plan

The Victory Square Policy Plan, as approved by Council on July 19, 2005, states the vision for the area: a vibrant, mixed-use and mixed-income inner city neighborhood that retains and improves its affordable housing and builds on the strength of its heritage character. The Plan is comprehensive and covers a range of issues including: land use, built form, housing, heritage, health and social issues, and economic revitalization. At the time of approval of the Policy Plan, Council also approved the extension of the Heritage Incentive Program to Victory Square. This five-year program (which ends in 2008) aims to help the retention and upgrade of heritage buildings in the designated areas and to help kick start area economic revitalization.

The Downtown District Official Development Plan has been amended to reflect proposed zoning regulation changes under the Policy Plan. Victory Square Guidelines are also in place to guide development activities in the area.

More info:

• Victory Square Policy Plan (2005)

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Last modified: Wednesday, October 14, 2009