Upper Yates Street in downtown Victoria's Harris Green neighbourhood is undergoing significant change, with approximately 1,000 units of purpose-built rental homes currently under construction on opposite sides of the thoroughfare at Cook Street, as seen in this May, 2026 photo. A new task force called CORUS, made up of downtown building owners, is hoping to elevate the voice of the property ownership community to shed light on how government decisions impact property operations, and their effects on commercial tenants increasingly struggling to sustain their businesses in the city centre.  Citified.ca
Downtown Victoria property owners launch 'CORUS' task force to restore safety and promote business-friendly city centre
Ten on the 10th
Published May 11, 2026
Citified's Ten on the 10th is a monthly question-and-answer segment connecting our readers with the insight and knowledge of Victoria's top real-estate and business professionals.
Ten on the Tenth's May, 2026 segment features Ross Marshall, a key figure of an emerging group called CORUS, that represents the voice of downtown Victoria property owners who are organizing to help Victoria's economic hub work its way out of social problems, and to restore the city centre's economic vitality. Typically, Ross Marshall, the Senior Vice President of the Victoria offices of commercial real-estate brokerage CBRE, is asking the questions in Citified's Ten on the 10th segments. This month, Ross switches roles and discusses the CORUS effort, with questions asked by Citified's Mike Kozakowski.
Would you like to be featured as part of a future Ten on the 10th Q&A? We'd like to hear from you.
What is CORUS, and how did the name come about?
CORUS is the collective voice of downtown commercial property owners. The name itself comes from Downtown CORE + US = CORUS, a name that signals both place and people, centrality and unity. It implies “us” at the heart of the core and reflects a shared commitment to the stewardship, vitality, and future of downtown Victoria. We’ve defined the core with Cook Street to the east, Bay to the north, Humboldt valley to the south and the waterfront in old town for the west. This area includes approximately 1,100 commercial and multi-family properties (not including government-owned buildings and strata-titled condominiums).
The idea really came from conversations I was having with Victoria property owners on an ongoing and regular basis. A consistent theme kept coming up, like “my voice isn’t being heard,” or “someone needs to do something about it.” That wasn’t just one conversation, it was many. And eventually, a small group of owners came together to talk about it more formally. That’s how CORUS was born.
What started as a shared frustration has evolved into something much more purposeful …a unified voice focused on bringing clarity, advocating effectively, and helping shape better outcomes for downtown. CORUS is the collective voice of downtown property owners and more importantly, it’s a platform to re-frame the public conversation. CORUS represents the owners carrying the financial risk in the core, and our role is to bring clarity to the realities of cost, safety, and economic sustainability that are too often misunderstood or ignored.
Why was CORUS created? And why now?
Because the narrative around downtown has become disconnected from reality, and property owners need to be heard.
Costs are rising, risks are increasing, and confidence is slipping, yet many of the voices most impacted haven’t been heard. CORUS was created to close that gap and ensure commercial property owners have a say in decisions being made at municipal and provincial levels of government. Government should be informed by the people funding and sustaining all the buildings downtown that make up our beautiful city. The people carrying the most financial risk in downtown don’t have a proportionate say (or in many cases do not have a vote) in the decisions shaping it, and that’s a structural issue. There is a real imbalance between economic exposure and political influence and that is part of what CORUS is working to address through a unified voice.
My understanding is, that CORUS is connected with the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce. Can you speak to that?
Good question, and an important one. CORUS is operating as a task force under the Chamber of Commerce, which is a model that’s been used successfully before. Groups like the Downtown Victoria Business Association (DVBA) and the South Island Prosperity Partnership (SIPP) both started out in a similar way, and the reason is pretty straightforward. The Chamber already has strong ties to the business community and the broader public, and they’ve built the kind of infrastructure that allows something like CORUS to move quickly and be effective right out of the gate.
John Wilson and the team at the Chamber were supportive in giving us that platform, so instead of spending time and money building governance structures, websites, and membership systems from scratch, we could focus on what actually matters: bringing property owners together and getting to work. It’s really allowed us to mobilize quickly, build momentum, and start having an impact much sooner than we otherwise could have.
What does “collective voice” actually mean and how are you different from the DVBA and other organizations in Greater Victoria?
It means shifting from isolated frustration of individual property owners to organized influence. Individually, owners absorb rising costs and risk. Collectively, CORUS can quantify those impacts, communicate them clearly, and push for change. It’s about turning private concerns into a public, data-backed narrative that can’t be dismissed by government and policy makers.
CORUS brings a balance of data and lived experience. Where the DVBA advocates for business owners, CORUS is the voice of the landlords and property owners. And we’re not just advocating, we’re educating. We’re showing how policy decisions translate into real-world impacts: higher taxes equal higher operating costs which have a negative financial impact on tenants which can lead to increased vacancies, and reduced capital improvements and investment in all the buildings that define our downtown. And we’re connecting those dots for government, media, and the public.
What are property owners referencing as some of the biggest challenges in downtown Victoria today?
It’s at the intersection of cost, risk, safety and accountability. Operating costs, especially taxes, continue to rise. We need more equitable allocations of the property tax burden by the City of Victoria between businesses and residents (the ratio in Victoria is a mill rate spread well in excess of 3:1 even though businesses consume less municipal services). And there’s a growing perception that tax dollars are not being deployed effectively. That combination is eroding confidence at every level.
Safety concerns (largely a result of the drug and homelessness problem) impact business performance due to a lack of people shopping and visiting the core and that results in tenants moving out of downtown and an increase in vacancies in both office and retail space. Many private sector office tenants have left the core or are reconsidering whether to renew their lease because their staff do not feel safe coming to, or leaving the office.
What about government workers working from home? Should the choice to not work out of the office be reined in?
Absolutely. We need to compel the Province and the City to have their workforces return to their offices as this will dramatically enhance populations downtown and have a positive effect on patronage of downtown businesses and safety. Approximately half of all the office space in downtown Victoria used to be occupied by government (approximately 74 buildings), now most sits vacant or mostly vacant.
Why should a property owner join CORUS?
Because this only works if owners show up together. There are approximately 1,100 property owners in the downtown core, and the more that come together, the stronger and louder that voice becomes. Individually, it’s easy to be overlooked. Collectively, it becomes very difficult to ignore.
A big part of this is awareness. There are real challenges property owners are facing and those realities aren’t always fully understood by government or the public. CORUS is about bringing those issues forward in a clear, credible way so they’re properly understood.
And importantly, no owner is too big or too small. Whether you own one property or an entire portfolio, you’re experiencing many of the same pressures, and that’s what makes this effort so powerful. At the end of the day, this is about having a voice, protecting your property, and contributing to a stronger, more sustainable downtown. If we are going to drive real change, we need to do it together and give owners the ability to push back, shape policy, and ensure the long-term viability of their investments.
What does success look like in 12–24 months?
Success, in my opinion, starts with momentum and we’re already seeing it. Even before formally launching, we’ve had dozens of owners step up and get involved, which tells you there’s a real appetite for this. Over the next 12 to 24 months, success is growing that membership into the hundreds because the more owners we bring together, big and small, the louder and more effective that voice becomes.
So as an integral part of CORUS' effort, is to emphasize first-hand accounts of issues as experienced by building owners, and elevate them before the public and governments?
Yes, as a big part of this effort will be story telling and pairing real-world experiences with data so government and the public truly understand what property owners and tenants are dealing with on the ground.
And ultimately, success shows up in visible change. Safer streets, a more balanced and fair approach to taxation, and a downtown core that people want to be part of again. Where retail and office tenants are choosing to locate, where residential development is moving forward, and where the broader economy and tourism are thriving.
What is the best way to get CORUS' message out to building owners and their representatives?
That’s a great question, and honestly, probably one of the most important because CORUS is still very new and we need to boost membership to make a real difference. At this stage, the best way to grow the movement is through word of mouth and owner-to-owner outreach. What’s been really encouraging is that even before formally launching, we already have a significant group of owners involved, and many of those members are now reaching out to their own networks of other building owners, neighbours, friends, and business associates to help spread the word organically. That’s a great sign because it shows this is in response to something people genuinely feel is needed.
We are convinced CORUS is going to resonate with many more property owners throughout the downtown core because so many are facing the same challenges and feel their voice hasn’t been adequately heard. The more owners that come together, the louder and more effective the voice becomes which will lead to results at various levels of government and eventually translating to real, measurable improvements at the street level! Our hope is that the CORUS brand and message reach all 1,100 property owners in the downtown core while also educating the public at-large, so we can all be part of shaping a stronger, safer, more vibrant future for downtown Victoria. C
It’s very simple to set up your CORUS membership with the Greater Victoria Chamber. Simply click this link and you’ll be directed to the Chamber's online membership form, Step 1 of the process (if you're already a member, please see two paragraphs below). You’ll be asked a few questions, and we suggest that you complete the form as fully as possible. When you get to the section "Membership Level," assuming your building ownership is a bare trust, please use the 0-5 employees in the Membership Level section when prompted.
Alternatively, you can view a printable PDF version of the sign-up form, here.
Once you’re a member of the Chamber – or if you are already a member – please send a quick email to consultant@victoriachamber.ca to confirm that you would like to be flagged as a member of CORUS.
Alternatively, you can view a printable PDF version of the sign-up form, here.
Once you’re a member of the Chamber – or if you are already a member – please send a quick email to consultant@victoriachamber.ca to confirm that you would like to be flagged as a member of CORUS.
To be more engaged with directing the work of CORUS, please indicate your desire to serve on the CORUS Task Force by emailing govrelations@victoriachamber.ca
Thank you for your interest in CORUS and in The Chamber, and your commitment to helping shape the future of our city and for advocating for the sustainability, prosperity, and future of downtown Victoria.
© Copyright 2026 by Citified.ca. All rights reserved.
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