Once known as the “Dogpatch” of Greater Victoria – a sleepy bedroom community with few jobs and even fewer amenities – Langford has spent years reinventing itself. Today, it's hailed as one of B.C.’s fastest-growing communities.
But amid the cranes and condos, some residents fear the shine is starting to fade – as garbage, graffiti and squatters creep into neighbourhoods now dotted with empty, rundown homes awaiting demolition.
And with that decline comes with it a new nickname making the rounds among frustrated locals.
“Slum city,” suggests Heidi Viher. “The situation has become a a dumpster fire.”
Brock Avenue resident Viher looks out her front window every morning at two derelict houses across the street – one with a blue tarp makeshift roof, the other its windows and doors boarded up. “It breaks my heart,” she says.
The two vacant homes, along with three currently occupied Strathmore Road houses, are slated to make way for a new six-storey apartment building, named Oak House.
The properties are owned by Langford Landing Development, which last year applied to the City of Langford to rezone the five lots to allow for the 123-rental unit building.
Viher says she was aware a new development was planned when she bought her home three years ago – but she’s seen little progress since, only mounting problems.
“It's become a magnet for crime,” she says, listing break-ins, late-night prowlers and drug use as some of the incidents she and her neighbours have endured. “These are big issues and at least some of them are attributed to having these slum elements in our neighbourhood.”
Rodents have also become an increasing problem in the area too, she says.
More recently, squatters moved into one of the buildings – fencing erected around the two lots after they were evicted.
“It reduces the morale of our neighbourhood,” said Viher. “We are feeling fearful of our neighbourhood.”
Another resident neighbouring the Brock Avenue lots says life next-door has been “horrific.”
“It’s just an eyesore,” they said. “I actually want to flee Langford … I don't want to live here anymore.”
The issue extends beyond Brock Avenue.
On Arncote Avenue and Sunderland Road the story is much the same – boarded-up homes, smashed windows, graffiti-covered walls and an ever-growing collection of garbage.
“It makes me uncomfortable living here,” said Samantha Proctor, who lives nearby with her husband and seven-month-old twins. “It's sad to see that the developers just don't care.”
Similar to Viher’s experience, Proctor says her neighbourhood has seen a rise in anti-social behaviour.
“I don’t feel as comfortable walking by myself around town anymore, which is kind of sad … it makes us think about having to leave,” she said.
The affected properties are owned by Langford Gateway Developments, which in 2021 announced plans for two condominium towers – one 22-storeys, the other 18.
Those plans were later scrapped, and the land put up for sale earlier this year under a court order after Lanyard Investment Inc. said Vancouver-based Cynterra Group, the company behind the project, and Langford Gateway Developments had defaulted on their mortgage.
CBRE Victoria, the commercial real estate investment firm overseeing the sale for Lanyard, says it has received a "conditionally accepted offer" for the land assembly.
“While we understand and share the concerns raised by the City of Langford and neighbouring residents (and would note that such condition of the property is a breach under the mortgage), the mortgagee does not have the legal right to enter or undertake any work at or on the property,” said senior vice president Ross Marshall.
“Legal control and responsibility for site maintenance remain with the registered owner, Langford Gateway Developments Inc.”
Elsewhere in the city, other land assemblies sit in limbo – marked for development but showing few signs of progress.
On Dunford Road, five vacant houses stand behind a tall blue fence, their windows and doors boarded up, waiting for demolition.
Meanwhile on Knotty Pine Road, there appears to be some relief for nearby residents, as remediation work is underway on four buildings, slated for demolition - a townhouse development proposed instead for the site.
Viher wants developers to be held accountable and required to follow strict timelines once projects are approved.
“Once that’s done, they need to demolish the area they’re redeveloping and clear the site,” she says. “If it has to sit as bare land for five years until they have funding, fine – but don’t leave these derelict buildings in our neighbourhood.”
She believes the City of Langford must do more to support affected residents, by putting policies in place that compel developers to maintain or clear properties in a timely way – without leaving surrounding residents to live with the consequences.
Langford Mayor Scott Goodmanson says the city shares residents’ concerns about properties left unfinished or “significantly neglected.”
“While Langford supports development to meet housing needs, council is concerned about the negative community impacts from some construction sites, including those where construction has been substantially delayed,” he said in a written statement.
To address those issues, the city is bringing forward its Construction Impact Management Strategy and a new Good Neighbour Policy, with the first round of bylaw and policy amendments expected this fall.
“These initiatives aim to ensure development is timely, respectful, and considerate of neighbourhoods, and will encourage vacant building removal in a timely manner and more comprehensive property maintenance prior to construction commencing,” said Goodmanson.
He added that the city is also considering designating “certain properties” as nuisance sites under the Community Charter. A staff report outlining next steps is expected to be presented to council in the coming weeks.
In the meantime, a city bylaw enforcement officer has been assigned to focus specifically on construction site compliance and development.
“This officer works directly with developers, ensuring they understand their responsibilities and adopt best practices from the earliest stages of permitting,” explained Goodmanson.
For Viher, the city’s Good Neighbour Policy can’t come soon enough. Now, she’s organizing her neighbours to launch a Block Watch program – not because she wants to, she said, but because she feels she has no other choice.
"The disrespect for our community by these developers is disgusting," she said.
