383 replies to this topic

[Mike K.]

The building has improved over the years and isn't nowhere near what it once was.

I had a friend who lived there once. He moved out shortly after seeing a fellow with a handgun drawn chasing someone through the hall. Unfortunately before he vacated his suite someone jumped to their death from a unit several floors above his.

Can you share the ballpark rental rate with us if you're comfortable doing so?

[gumgum]

A friend of a friend lived there a few years ago and hated it. He felt very unsafe. It was referred to as Crack Towers dor good reason I think. Hopefully things have improved.
Can't beat the location!

[VicHockeyFan]

I actually don't think it's much more unsafe than any other address. Yes, many people have been murdered, shot, or beat up there (I'm not kidding), but it hasn't been stranger-on-stranger. Remember the one time they had a shooter, and bullets recovered from walls, but no victim/target?

[LJ]

The suites look fine... I'm moving into a bachelor on the 5th floor. I'm just a young feller looking for a cheap place to live alone after drifting through too many houses crammed with friends looking for the cheapest rent possible. I'm studying for my class 1 driver's license and need a reasonable level of peace and solitude.

From the short walk-through I did a couple of weeks ago, the suite looks really well maintained, albeit a little too sterile. It has the look of a whitewashed 1970's hospital room but I care little for aesthetics so long as the place is clean, in this subject my room gets a passing grade (fresh paint, waxed floors, white countertops, baseboards not chewed to bits, shower not outfitted with horrible cracked tiles). Every room has a balcony, fairly spacious closet, large main room and rather roomy full kitchen and bathroom.

I don't know what to expect from my neighbors except that I've been told to keep to myself as much as possible, particularly in the elevators. These sorts of warnings always seem like paranoia; call me ignorant but Victoria's "seedy underbelly" has always seemed like a total joke to me. Maybe the big meanies just aren't interested in me. As far as I can tell, View Towers must be invaluable to some people who would otherwise be wearing very cold wet socks on a day like today.

As far as the outer appearance of the building goes, any complaints in that department should be reserved for business discussions alone. If View Towers keeps people off the streets, it's worth it's weight in gold (or heroin... kidding). People's lives are at stake at this time of year: Monday Magazine - Homeless death rate spike.

When I went to pay my deposit, I saw mainly clean-cut young student archetypes hopping off the elevator. Go figure. The outer appearance of a building should say nothing of the tenants contained within. Those who can afford to live in professional-oriented, pristine, stainless-steel sky kingdoms should restrain their snobbery and enjoy their own personal homes nestled in arguably the most beautiful city in Canada, while the rest of us do just the same without the glamorous facade.

If anyone has a personal anecdote to share, even rumors or horror stories about life in VT I would love to hear about it.
Also, I'd be happy to snap some photos when I move in.

You sound like you will do just fine there Geoff, good attitude.

Sorry I can't give you any insight into living there, and it looks like nobody else will give you any constructive hints.

Good luck with your Class 1.

Cheers LJ

[GeoffGimble]

My rent for a bachelor suite is 590, with lower suites starting at 580. The higher the floor, the higher the rent so I'm told. Parking is $30/month, and any tenant who desires a storage locker gets one for the price of a padlock. I think that's a huge feature. There's a sauna and hot tub for daring individuals as well.

[aastra]

...call me ignorant but Victoria's "seedy underbelly" has always seemed like a total joke to me...

It's the same seedy underbelly as you'd find in any other place. I'll never understand what people mean when they say stuff like this. Crime is crime. Drugs are drugs. A stabbing is a stabbing.

I've never lived there but I've known people who were living there at one time or another (15-20 years ago). It sure wasn't great but it seemed to be fine for the price, and I'm inclined to think the scene in View Towers was worse back then than it is now.

[aastra]

The building definitely has some history. Then again, it's a very large building:

 

**********

 

April 2012
A fire on the ninth floor of the View Towers apartment building Saturday morning has left its tenants without a home.

Black smoke was coming from the suite's balcony when firefighters arrived just after the emergency call came in about 10: 20 a.m. Crews were able to quickly get the fire under control and limit it to one suite. The 18-storey building does not have a sprinkler system, according to the Victoria fire department.

No one suffered any injuries in the blaze...

 

**********

 

December 2011
Former View Towers resident John Smith thought nothing of it when he walked by what turned out to be the body of Paul Rouxel sticking out of a closet in his 17th floor apartment, a B.C. Supreme Court jury heard Wednesday.

Smith was testifying at the trial of Wyatt Prince, who is charged with the second-degree murder of Rouxel and robbing Rouxel on the night of April 9, 2009.

Prince, a well-built man with short, blond hair and a goatee, looked on as Smith gave a graphic account of drug use and the drug trade in the downtown apartment building, sometimes referred to as Crack Towers.

Smith said he often saw people in the hallway with needles sticking out of the arms or passed out in the hallway.

 

**********

 

December 2011
A 25-year-old Victoria man is not co-operating with police after they found him suffering from multiple stab wounds to his head and hands Saturday night.

Police and ambulance paramedics responded to the View Towers parking lot at 1147 Quadra St. at 9 p.m. The man, who was taken to hospital, refused to talk to Victoria police about his alleged attacker, or where he was knifed.

 

**********

 

September 2011
Shots rang out in a downtown highrise Sunday night, but Victoria police can't seem to find a victim or a shooter.

Several tenants of View Towers apartments at 1147 Quadra St. called police around 9: 20 p.m. to report hearing multiple gunshots, said police spokesman Const. Mike Russell.

Officers, including a canine unit, rushed to the scene. While forensic investigators found shell casings in one of the hallways, police have no suspects, Russell said.

Officers canvassed the suites on that floor but could not find anyone who had been injured. Hospitals and ambulances were also canvassed for possible victims, Russell said.

There was no blood or evidence that indicated someone had been hit, he said.

**********

 

January 2011
The death of a young man in View Towers is being treated as suspicious by Victoria police.

The man's roommate called police to the apartment building, at the corner of View and Quadra streets, on Monday and said the man was not breathing.

Police and B.C. Ambulance paramedics attended and the man was pronounced dead, police spokesman Sgt. Grant Hamilton said. The man, 20, was known to police and was a drug user, Hamilton said. But the man's roommate said he did not think the man had recently used drugs.

Hamilton said the man might have been involved in a fight in the days before his death and police are trying to determine if that was a factor.

 

**********

 

 

August 2009
A fire contained to a second-floor suite in View Towers on Quadra Street is under investigation.

The fire was reported Thursday, shortly after 5 p.m.

Victoria Fire Department Battalion Chief Bruce Rees said "there was quite a bit of smoke in the area" when crews arrived, but the blaze was put out by firefighters within 10 minutes..

"The building is thick cement, so it also helps reduce the spread of fire, so it was contained to the one suite."

No injuries were reported.

 

 

 

January 2008
Two View Tower residents were injured in an early morning fire that broke out in their third-storey suite at 4:24 a.m. yesterday.

A man and woman were taken to hospital and treated for burns and smoke inhalation. Their injuries are believed to be minor, said acting battalion chief Pat Matthews.

Other residents, forced to evacuate the 19-storey apartment building, found shelter from the cold morning on three B.C. Transit buses. The Salvation Army's Beacon Bus served hot drinks, said Rob Johns, deputy emergency co-ordinator for Victoria's emergency management agency.

 

 

 

January 2006
Four people are facing weapons charges after Victoria police seized a loaded .32-calibre handgun during a search of a View Towers apartment unit the night of Jan. 15.

Based on information that the occupants of the apartment were in possession of weapons, police deployed the Greater Victoria emergency response team.

The arrests were made without incident. Police also seized a small quantity of drug paraphernalia, including glass pipes used for smoking crystal methamphetamine.

 

 

 

February 2003
Flames shot from the suite at the 16-storey highrise before crews from the Victoria and Oak Bay fire departments brought it under control.

[Richard Couch] said the fire was attacked with a full complement of equipment from Victoria fire stations, including three engines and a ladder truck, along with the Oak Bay crew.

 

 

 

January 1995
View Towers has attracted criminals and endless criticism since it was built more than 20 years ago with federal help.

The 19-storey concrete highrise has been in the news of late after drug dealer Samir Bithyoon Shamoon was killed this week in a shooting in a View Towers apartment. Thursday, an 89-year-old resident jumped to his death from the 19th floor.

 

 

 

February 1995
It's time for the community to help clean up View Towers, says Victoria Coun. Helen Hughes.

Jerry St. Amour, View Towers manager, said Tuesday that he would have attended the meeting if organizers had reminded him Monday morning, as he had asked.

He is willing to meet with the committee and said steps are already being taken. "Less than 30" trouble-making tenants have been evicted over the past two months and security has been hired, St. Amour said.

A large part of the blame rests not with tenants but visitors, he said.

 

 

 

January 1995
Mike Atkin was in his View Towers s apartment when he heard the gunshot that killed a 32-year-old Victoria man.

He resisted the urge to run to the door and see what was happening: "I don't open my door to anybody." Infamous among city police as one of the busiest crime spots in Victoria - second only to the "kick-ass nightclubs" - View Towers is in the news again after a man died Monday from a gunshot wound outside the 19-storey apartment, the first murder of 1995.

A trail of blood was found inside the building, leading from suite 615 through the hall to the outside.

While View Towers is notorious for drug deals, police aren't speculating as to whether drugs played a role in the shooting of the man, whose name is being withheld until next-of-kin are notified.

The apartment block's reputation is so bad that some officers jokingly suggest that a community detachment be established there. Last year, there was a fatal overdose, suicide and stabbing at the Quadra Street apartment block, in addition to countless other smaller crimes.

 

 

 

January 1995
A 28-year-old man who lived in the View Towers apartment block was charged Sunday with assault with a weapon, unlawful confinement and robbery with violence after a beating at the Quadra Street building.

Vincent Slof was remanded in custody after appearing in front of a justice of the peace Sunday, and is to appear in Victoria Provincial Court today.

A 19-year-old man was beaten at one apartment in the low-rent, high-profile building, then dragged to another and beaten more, said police.

The victim was released from hospital, but is expected to need plastic surgery to his face.

 

 

 

December 1994
Two men and a woman carrying a loaded shotgun forced their way into a Victoria apartment Wednesday night and threatened the lone occupant with violence.

Victoria Police said the same three people were suspects in similar home invasions on Monday and Tuesday.

Staff Sgt. Kevin Worth said home invasions have become a chronic problem in View Towers - there have been five reported cases over the last few months. He said the same people are believed to be responsible for all the incidents. "Once they set up housekeeping in these places, they use it as a base of operations to traffic in drugs," Worth said.

 

 

October 1994
A 48-year-old man was stabbed in the neck at the View Towers Apartments, 1147 Quadra St. shortly before midnight Friday.

"The victim apparently lived in one of the suites but he was moving between two or three of the suites in the building, possibly looking for help," said Victoria Police Cpl. Daryl Maclean.

The man was taken into surgery at Royal Jubilee Hospital and moved into the intensive care unit. He is expected to recover, Maclean said.

Edited by aastra, 20 June 2019 - 05:13 PM.

[sebberry]

For some reason, whenever I picture burning furniture being thrown from a balcony it's always View Towers that comes to mind.

[aastra]

The 1995 View Towers murderer was the same guy who committed the Chelsea Apartments murder on the next block over in 2004:

Chelsea Apartments, 2004:

A man wearing a dark hoodie walked across the front courtyard of the Chelsea apartments, buzzed apartment 1011, then stepped back into the shadows and waited. A light-coloured scarf covered his face. A small yellow towel disguised a gun in his left hand.

It was just before 11 p.m. on Dec. 28, 2004. Five minutes later, Adan Merino pushed open the lobby door of the View Street highrise and walked outside.

The gunman dropped the towel and stepped forward. The first gunshot shattered the glass of the door. The second hit Merino in the neck.

He began to roll to the ground, trying to spin away from the shooter. But the gunman kept firing as Merino fell. A second bullet pierced his back. A third entered his left shoulder.

The killer escaped, slipping through the breezeway to a getaway car on Fort Street...

Daniel Christopher Myles Aitken was arrested and charged with the first-degree murder of Merino

View Towers, 1995:

The jury was also never given the details of the Shamoon killing. At the 1995 trial, Aitken was a young-looking 19.

He testified he bought a gun for protection in case he ran into someone to whom he had sold bad cocaine. He feared revenge because he'd stabbed one of Shamoon's dealers.

On Jan. 2, 1995, Aitken, Poole and Poole's brother were visiting a friend at View Towers when Shamoon came to the door of the friend's apartment. Aitken and Shamoon had an argument.

Shamoon swung a kitchen knife at him, Aitken later testified, and Aitken shot him in the chest with a .32-calibre handgun.

Poole was charged but not convicted of being an accessory to murder. The Crown said he helped Aitken escape in a stolen van.

[Barra]

I have friends ( a couple) who lived there happily for several years. Their previous home was a boat,so they were used to small quarters. I went to visit them one day and on the elevator with me were a parent and a small child and a transvestite wearing a black cocktail dress. Quite an immaculate outfit, in the middle of the day. The child looked quite puzzled. Granted, it was sort of early in the day for a cocktail dress....

[ViewTowersGuy]

Hello everyone. My name is Cody. I have lived in View Towers for over 3 years. Ask me anything you would like to know haha.

[Mike K.]

Welcome to VV, Cody!

You wouldn't happen to have any photos looking out from the tower that you could share with us, would you?

[ViewTowersGuy]

Yes I have quite a lot of photos.

Just for reference sake. And because the media often gets things wrong about the building. It is in fact 19 stories. There are 3 underground parking lots. Level A B & C. And one ground level lot D. The parking on the View street side is guest parking. And if you drive in thru the gate on quadra/fort, it's more tenant parking like ABC. Then above D there is L. This is the lobby. Where the office is, mail boxes, and a secure laundry room(and a Pepsi machine lol). Then there are levels 2-19 with no 13th floor. Some think this building is 18 stories because there is no 13th floor. This is incorrect because the L lobby level is technically the 2nd floor as it is above the D level parking/ground entrance. There are 21 apartments on each floor. The building sits almost exactly square with North/South/East/West orientations. So that being said. Out of the 21 apts, all 4 corners are 1 bedrooms, and 2 more 1 bedrooms on the northwest corner. So the northwest corner and the next two are 1 bedrooms. For a total of 6 one bedrooms out of 21. They are around 525-600 square feet. The rest of the 15 apts are all bachelors. So in total there are 356 apts. The math says 357 but one apt spot is the hot tub/sauna. The one bedroom apts (corners only) have a kitchen window, and the bachelors do not. The one bedrooms (corners only) also have larger balconies. Most of the apts are a waxed shiny tile. Some apts have a grey/blue carpet. But it's slowly being removed as its aging and tile is more durable and easier to maintain.

Getting a one bedroom on the higher floors south facing (Olympic mountains) are extremely hard to get. Because as stated above, there are only 2 facing. One on each corner. I lived on the 18th northwest corner for 2 years before going against my love of heights and moving down to 16 for a south facing apt. It was worth it! The waiting list for 1 bedroom south's is pretty long. As for the 19th floor. Your going to have to wait until they die to get those apts. My 18th apt was bigger (northeast corner are the biggest). And the view was nice. Balcony and bedroom window on the north part of the building. And kitchen window looking west. I had a view of all the sooke hills. And of all of downtown/inner harbor. But could not see the Olympic mountains. I then had a choice of either the southeast or southwest corner one bedrooms on the 16th floor. And you might have noticed. There are a row of apts on the west edge of the building. With no apts beside them. These are bedrooms. This is the side I chose. The southeast was nice because the balcony faced directly at the mountains. And the kitchen window (east) towards the mainland. On a very clear day you can see mountains on the mainland. But not often. But on the southwest corner, the balcony faces dead west. But it is also RIGHT on the corner. So you and see the entire south view as well, along with the west view. You get a 260 degree balcony view. Instead of all the other corners being 4-6 feet from the corners edge and only
Getting a 180 degree view. So the southwest are definitely the best. You get all of downtown. The inner harbor. The sooke hills. The ocean. The ENTIRE Olympic mountain range. And the sunset. And it's a private balcony in the sense that neighbors are only above and
Below you. Not beside. Yes there are other buildings around. But it's still nice not seeing your neighbor like 10-15 feet from you. The view is one of the main reasons I live there. If I was on a lower floor without a view I wouldn't be there. I moved here for the beauty. And I wake up to it every day.

Another reason is the building is concrete. You barely hear your neighbors. I almost never did in my old 18th apt. And the same goes for my current 16th apt.

And reason number 3. My rent is $730/month. For a million dollar 16th floor view I think that's awesome.

As for security. It is a keyless entry system. The fort and view doors both have to be opened with an electronics key fob. Waved in front of a sensor. This is nice because you can copy regular keys. These you can't. They can be deactivated should the tenant take it. Once in the doors, you also need to wave the key fob to get an elevator. So if someone gets in they still can't get up the elevator. The stairwells are exit only and are only accessible from the apt floors. And the underground parking lot. So View (D) and Lobby (L) have no stairs access. There is also a key fob pad to get into the laundry room. There is man door beside both the exit and entrance to the parkade with fobs as well. And fobs to get into the elevator areas on ABCD, from parking, then fobs to call the elevators to those levels. Also. Cameras. Record 24/7 with 6 months of footage. Cameras are: on D looking at the front door and elevators. On L looking at the front door and elevators and laundry room door and office door. In the office, Looking at both the entrance and exit to the parkade. In all 3 elevators, on the stairwell exits, and in the laundry room.



The laundry room is card wash/dry. 12 washers, 15, 1 hour dryer and 3, 20 min dryers. $1.65/wash/1hr dry. $.25 more for super load. And the 20 mins dryers are $.55. And very clean.

View Towers has just been taken over by new management a month or two ago. This time a woman. She seems to be quite the hard ass. Notices have been posted on our doors about strict rules and immediate eviction should they be broken. She has already evicted 10-30 apts. And is putting money into sprucing the place up. The balconies are undergoing structural safety testing right now. And will be re sealed and the balcony bars painted. This will take all winter. And the sealing will be in the spring. Rumors of the entrance doors being replaced are going around. And also gates to get into the D level View st guest parking. To keep loiterers out. Since moved in they have completely re done the underground parkade floors and sealed them. Re don't the big sun deck area on the lobby side and revealed it. Replaced the long railing/white bars all along the lobby side. Put new cameras on the stairwells. Put a key fob on the laundry room door. This was all under the old manager. Now with the new manager, she has beefed up the staff dramatically. The biggest reason the stairwells are so unpleasant is because before we only had maybe 1-2 cleaners. So we'll see how things go with all the new staff. There is also more then one (contracted) security guard on duty. And there is still the live in security/caretaker. The apts are clean and well maintained. A little dated in terms of the cupboards or bathro vanity. But no worse then any dated apt on the gorge.

Anyway. Enough rambling. Lol.

[Baro]

I"m not seeing any pictures

[ViewTowersGuy]

Soon

[sebberry]

Thanks, ViewTowersGuy! Sounds like things are getting better there.

[G-Man]

I think VT is great. The only thing I would like to see is a reno to the View Street ground level parkade. If that was store fronts like they did to the Chelsea a block over no one would even notice the building above it.

[VicHockeyFan]

I think VT is great. The only thing I would like to see is a reno to the View Street ground level parkade. If that was store fronts like they did to the Chelsea a block over no one would even notice the building above it.

I think you've got something here, G-man. And the city would never turn down the plan, or would they?

[Redd42]

There must be a lot of vacancies at VT as I received a post card in my condo mail box promoting the place.

[gumgum]

Yes I got one too.