The Royal BC Museum and Colwood’s Royal Bay development will write their next chapter together, with Friday’s announcement that Royal Bay will be home for a new branch of the Royal BC Museum.
As part of a long-term modernization plan, the new 150,000 square foot public facility will house the museum’s growing collection of over eight million artifacts, alongside research labs and educational space. Land preparation for the mass timber building will start this fall and the new branch will open its doors to the public in 2024.
“The selection of Royal Bay as the planned home for the new RBCM Collections and Research facility, along with the recently announced elementary school site, have created a unique opportunity for our community to grow around these cultural and educational amenities,” said Ben Mycroft, Senior Development Manager of GableCraft Homes. “We’re incredibly grateful to Mayor Martin, Colwood Council, and CAO Robert Earl for their hard work in ensuring this world-class facility chose Colwood. The new Collections and Research facility will be the anchor of an ambitious new vision for Royal Bay, and Colwood as a whole taking on a more significant role in the Capital Region.”
Momentum is building in Royal Bay, with the museum announcement hot on the heels of a new elementary school announced last Thursday. Next up in October, the first of many commercial services will open their doors, with the introduction of locally-owned Sequoia Coffee.
Royal Bay is a master-planned community situated only steps away from the waterfront of Royal Beach, a 1.3-kilometre waterfront. Spanning over 400 acres, the next chapter of Royal Bay, Latoria South, will see the former rock quarry transformed into a new hub for Colwood and the Westshore, with 2,100 new homes, parks and pathways, safe bike routes, a grocery store, neighbourhood shops and services, and an elementary school.