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Case Study: Bill 44’s Uplift Economy in Esquimalt

How Xquimalt Developments Ltd. Extracted Millions From Two Modest Lots While Delivering Zero Affordability


By M. Rose Munro
Feb 7, 2026


Bill 44 and the Missing Middle Housing Initiative were sold as pathways to “gentle density” and “attainable homes.” Instead, they opened the door to a new form of civic freeloading -developers who extract millions in uplift from modest neighbourhood lots while contributing nothing back to the community that makes their profits possible. This case study shows how missing‑middle policy is being exploited to convert modest lots into multi‑million‑dollar private assets while delivering no affordability or community benefit.

Xquimalt Developments Ltd, active in Esquimalt since 2019, has perfected this model. The company captures public‑policy windfalls, externalizes neighbourhood impacts, and then commissions glowing write‑ups on RENX (Real Estate News Exchange) praising its ‘service to middle‑income families,’ even as every unit lands firmly above what any missing‑middle household could afford. It is a redevelopment strategy built on three moves: take the uplift, dodge the accountability, and manufacture your own applause.

RENX write-up on “middle-income affordability”

633 Nelson Street: Three Townhomes, Zero Affordability

•             Purchase price (2020): $529,000

•             Lot size: 5,263 sq.ft

•             Redevelopment: 3 townhomes

•             Listing prices: $928,500 each

•             Total revenue: ≈ $2.79 million

·         Land uplift: ≈ $529,000

633 Nelson Street multiplex listed at $928,500 each

770 Dominion Road: A Duplex Becomes an Eightplex

•             Purchase price (2022): $1,025,000

•             Lot size: 8,016 sq.ft

•             Redevelopment: 8 units

•             1 bed / 1 bath: $625,000 (x1)

•             2 bed / 1 bath: $929,250 (x3)

•             3 bed / 2 bath: $1,227,948 (x4)

•             Total revenue: ≈ $7.03 million

•             Land uplift: ≈ $2.5 million

Combined Uplift: ≈ $3.529 million extracted from two modest lots.

770 Dominion Rd #3 listed for $929,250

770 Dominion Rd #2 listed for $1,227,9489

None of this uplift was shared with the community. None of it delivered affordability. All of it was privatized so the developer could target more modest single‑family houses, rinse, repeat, and call it ‘helping middle‑income families’, not just with a straight face, but with the kind of combative confidence used to shut down anyone who dares to question the impacts. A practice that wraps profit‑taking in the language of public service while offering neither the affordability nor the honesty the rhetoric claims.

Community Feedback: A Pattern of Dismissal and Social Pressure

Public posts in the Esquimalt Residents Facebook group reveal consistent themes:

1. Dismissal of neighbour concerns

Privacy, parking, massing, and neighbourhood character are reframed as anti‑housing sentiment rather than legitimate planning input.

2. Affordability rhetoric masking market-rate outcomes

The developer frequently invokes ‘missing‑middle family housing,’ yet the actual units range from $625,000 for a one‑bedroom to $1.227 million for a three‑bedroom – prices that sit nowhere near the reach of missing‑middle households.

3. Social pressure against dissent

Residents describe feeling targeted or publicly criticized when they raise concerns about redevelopment impacts.

Esquimalt Community Connection Facebook group

Xenia Vins, owner of Xquimalt Developments Ltd. backpedals on “middle-income affordability”.

The Xquimalt Redevelopment Model: A Privatized Uplift Engine

•             Acquire modest lots

•             Maximize density

•             Produce high‑priced units

•             Capture uplift privately

•             Externalize impacts to neighbours

Implications for Esquimalt

•             No affordability delivered

•             No uplift captured for infrastructure

•             No community benefits

•             Neighbourhood stability eroded

•             Land values and assessments driven upward

•             Residents marginalized in the process

1114 Munro St before speculative redevelopment

1114 Munro St speculative redevelopment in progress. Notice the surrounding houses.

1114 Munro St Advertisement 1million multiple unit each 

Call It What It Is

Xquimalt Developments’ projects at 633 Nelson Street and 770 Dominion Road show how missing‑middle policy is being used to convert modest single‑family lots into multi‑million‑dollar redevelopment assets. The uplift is captured privately. The
community absorbs the impacts.

Just because a developer buys land does not mean that council is obligated to rezone it or change variances and setbacks to maximize private profit. Zoning exists to protect communities, property values, and the people who have invested their life savings into their homes. What Xquimalt Developments Ltd. does is not gentle density. It is a privatized uplift economy, and Esquimalt deserves better.