Our new format has officially been launched! In this edition we cover: live music on Graham Street, the latest neighbourhood updates, Giving the Gift of Good Food and more.

1. By Kelly Greenwell, ED of Quadra
VillageCommunityCentre
The former Blanshard
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
toHillside-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
neighbourhood and facility
residents alike, is alive and well.
But it will take substantial work in
the days, weeks and years ahead to
ensurethatsuch avisionis realized.
In the meantime, negotiation
and collaboration has taken place
between the City of Victoria, CDI
College, CRHD and QuadraVillage
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
Schoolgym.
This is fantastic news.When the
Community Centre was built, there
Neighbourhood Gym Soon to Be Reality
HILLSIDE-QUADRA
NEWS
ALL ABOUT YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD
Fall 2016 www.hillsidequadranews.com
Scan for
our website.
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

2. Page 2 Fall 2016Hillside-Quadra News
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
fourthyearof operatingthegym.
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
info@quadravillagecc.com or by
calling250 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

3. Fall 2016 Page 3Hillside-Quadra News
Neighbourhood Small Grants
Bring Music to Graham Street
By Dawn Wilson, John Walmsley
and TracyByrne
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 tonextyear's event!
Around 100 community
members came out to share food
and enjoy a variety of singers,
bands and musicians (as well as
dancing dogs!). Performers
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
also enabled neighbours 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
evening for Graham Street
residents,neighboursandfriends.
One particular piece of
feedbackcapturesitallperfectly:
"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
anannualevent.”
"What a wonderful party
that was!" (“Singing in
the Streets” attendee)
Neighbourhood kids dance to the music of Tilted Frame on Graham Street. (Photo by Teresa Cowley)

4. Page 4 Fall 2016Hillside-Quadra News
An Update from École Quadra School
ByMarilynCampbell,Principal
The fall is a fun time as school
starts 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
getreadyforthefallweather.
The students of École Quadra
School have many opportunities to
participate in some unique
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
programsweoffer:
Ÿ All Day Kindergarten – French
andEnglish;
Ÿ Strings Program for Grade 5
students;
Ÿ Choir;
Ÿ CreativeWritingClub;
Ÿ Sports opportunities throughout
theyear;
Ÿ Strong Inclusive Learning
Team;
Ÿ Unique First Nations Program,
focusedonculturalawareness;
Ÿ Youth and Family Counsellor
andDistrictCounsellor;
Ÿ HotLunchProgram;and
Ÿ BreakfastClub.
During the fall, we will be
celebrating the life and memory of
Terry Fox with our school run and
pledge drive. We'll also be
encouraging staff and students to
wear orange shirts for “Orange
Shirt Day”. The motto for “Orange
Shirt Day” is “Every Child
Matters” and it's a time 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
Victoria and across British
Columbia to learn how to increase
their readiness to deal with a
significantearthquake.
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
learningopportunitiesfor all!
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.”

5. Fall 2016 Page 5Hillside-Quadra News
Hillside Quadra Neighbourhood
Action Committee Highlights
Submitted by Janis La Couvée, on
behalf of the Hillside-Quadra
NeighbourhoodActionCommittee
Q-NAC Email List: To
Hsubscribe to this list,
p l e a s e e m a i l
nag@quadravillagecc.com with
SUBSCRIBE TO LIST in the
subjectheading.
High-Profile Development
Proposals in Hillside-Quadra
Neighbourhood: Our group is
designated by the City ofVictoria 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
proposal and provide their
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 Wo 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
sitehas 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
efficientduplex
The Residences at Quadra
Village (formerly Quadra Villa)
2835-2855 QuadraStreet
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/storage). 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
elimination of the existing
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
neighbourhoodcomments
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
provided comments to the
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:nag@quadravillagecc.com
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
issues related to land use,
transportation, and parks in our
neighbourhood. Anyone with a
connection to our neighbourhood is
welcometocometomeetings.

6. Page 6 Fall 2016Hillside-Quadra News
Improving the public realm at Smith Hill
ByBenIsitt,CityCouncillor
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
thesite.
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
retired gerontologist 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
approve an expenditure of
$211,000forthesafetyupgrades.
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 apportionedamongratepayers
of the water supply service in the 13
municipalities.
I would like to thank everyone
involved in making this project
happen, particularly Nancy
Gnaedinger, Ted Robbins (General
Manager of CRD Water Services
Ted Robbins), and CRD Water
Servicesstaff.
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”
areaatSmithHillandSummitPark.
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
bisitt@victoria.ca or by telephone
at250-882-9302.
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:
hqnewseditors@gmail.com We’d love to hear from you!

7. Fall 2016 Page 7Hillside-Quadra News
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.
hillsidequadranews.com
hqnewseditors@gmail.com
facebook.com/ILoveQV
The deadline for
the next issue of
the HQ News is
Sunday,
November 6 2016.
Scan for
our website.
Celebrating the Harvest
ByTrish 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 together to celebrate
community programs and the
actions each of us takes to put fresh
food onourtables.
The coordinators of BC
H o u s i n g ' s C o m m u n i t y
Development programming and the
People, Plants and Homes
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
resourcesinthecommunity.
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
cooksimple,healthy,freshfood.
BC Housing tenants enjoy cooking demos and a garden celebration at
Evergreen Terrace (photos by Helen and Teresa Cowley)

8. Page 8 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
initiativehascomearoundagain.
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
theirkids willblossom.”
** 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
kathryn@fernwoodnrg.ca or
kelly@quadracomvillagecc.com,
o r v i s i t o u r w e b s i t e :
https://thegoodfoodbox.ca/donate
formoreinformation.**
**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 Vi 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
andtheirpatrons.
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
accomplishthisgoal!
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
childreninVictoria.
Ÿ $5feedsachildfor aweek
Ÿ $20 feedsachildfor amonth
Ÿ $200 feeds a child for the
entireschoolyear.
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
towww.myevent.com/fb2b
The Breakfast for Beethoven Program