2343 replies to this topic

[Hotel Mike]

Also, the marina owns a whole bunch of the underground spots in the Royal Quays parking lot. Maybe they'll have valet parking available.

[Cassidy]

Spinnakers parking lot is full when the restaurant itself is only half full.

The "other half" usually find easy parking nearby on the street - at least I always have, and presume it's the same for others.

 

The marina is effectively (at least from a parking perspective) right next door to Spins.

I'm guessing it's not going to be a huge restaurant in the marina, in as much as I would posit that you'll not even be aware of the extra cars parked up on the street - especially if they have additional underground parking nearby as noted by Hotel Mike above.

[UDeMan]

the two streets near by are Paul Kane and Cooperage.  I estimate, you could have about 100 parking spots on these two roads alone.  Then there is the main road, which again has lots of parking.  There should be no issues with parking at all.

[JanionGuy]

Here's where they're at so far, as of an evening walk last week.

 

 

 

[Bingo]

Here's where they're at so far, as of an evening walk last week.

Yes,  similar photos were posted here 10 days ago. 

[VicHockeyFan]

The outlines of $24-million Victoria International Marina at Songhees are becoming apparent after years of planning and an impassioned debate in the community.

 

Construction is attracting attention from walkers along the Songhees waterfront as the first section of the dock is installed and as building construction gets underway.

 

A 300-foot-long chunk of floating dock — the “cornerstone” of the 28-slip marina — arrived this month to the waters in front of Songhees, Craig Norris, chief executive for developer Community Marine Concepts, said Wednesday.

 

It was pieced together and fixed into place with steel piles.

 

Workers are putting up two commercial buildings, also supported by piles. One is at the foot of Paul Kane Place, the other at Cooperage Place.

 

Bookings are coming in for short-term (transient) moorage at the marina, scheduled to open at the end of July.

 

Daily rates will range from $2.90 to $6 per foot, depending on the size of the vessel, Norris said.

 

- See more at: http://www.timescolo...h.XvawW2RR.dpuf

[Cassidy]

I was down taking some pictures of the marina the other day, and it's telling to stand down in this area and play fly-on-the-wall to overhear pretty much everybody who passes by slamming the marina project. You don't even have to listen in ... you can pretty much pick these folks out as the ones standing there shaking their heads back and forth for a couple of minutes.

 

It's a pretty good bet that many of those folks live in the vicinity, which makes their displeasure somewhat understandable.

Change is painful, especially if the change directly affects your chosen retirement home, and/or sight-lines out into the outer harbour and beyond.

 

In the end though, with the coffee shop bustling, marina office activity, boat cleaning and maintenance services, and boats themselves going in and out of the harbour and back and forth to the fuel dock, the marina will further animate our harbour such that when these folks prone to head-shaking and naysaying today sit on their decks and look out into the harbour, they see exciting activity rather than hours of silence broken up by the occasional piece of debris floating by!

 

As to how successful this marina will be, it's going to depend heavily on their fees. For a multi million dollar cruising yacht, the somewhat ugly truth is that Victoria's weather really isn't that spectacular for most of the year.

It's beautiful for a few months every year, but boats this size are all about the sunshine ... so the fees will have to be LOW, and the owners elsewhere but on their boats in order for this marina to get anything close to capacity with year around berthage.

[lanforod]

Invader is still sitting in the inner Harbour is it not? The folks who own these large yachts have money to burn.

[Cassidy]

 The folks who own these large yachts have money to burn.

 

Exactly, and therein lies a bit of a double edged sword.

 

These owners can afford berthage pretty much anywhere in the world, so why would they choose Victoria, with our somewhat chilly and wet weather for 7 or 8 months each year?

For these folks, it would have to make sense on lots of fronts for them to pick Victoria, low wharfage fees (relative to other superyacht marinas), insurance, access to appropriate maintenance expertise and materials, proximity to planned future cruising grounds, etc.

 

We do have much to offer the wealthy mariner in Victoria, but our rates will be on the low end of the scale. I would posit that the CDN/USA $$ exchange rate will be a huge selling point on all counts.

Even rich guys like to save a few bucks here and there ... especially if they're not actually on the boat when its docked here in Winter, with them sitting in the sun somewhere now, while planning to be on their boat in Desolation Sound this coming summer!

Edited by Cassidy, 19 March 2017 - 01:48 PM.

[VicHockeyFan]

I think we are just trying to be more attractive than Vancouver or Seattle.  For those that wants their yachts in this part of the world.   It might make sense.  Americans do love cruising the Gulf Islands.

 

Shilshole Bay in Seattle can only take 14 or so, Coal Harbour in Vancouver a dozen.

 

[UDeMan]

I read that there will be some berths that are 40 year lease.

 

would these be houseboats?

[VicHockeyFan]

I read that there will be some berths that are 40 year lease.

 

would these be houseboats?

 

No.  They have to be 65' long or more.  Here is a 65-footer:

 

 

This is the current plan:

 

7 – exclusive 40-year slip leases
7 – one-year (year-to-year) slip leases
7 – multi-month leases (3-month minimum)
7 – slips held for daily moorage (3-day minimum)

 

[Cassidy]

I don't believe you'd ever see houseboats in this marina.

 

They are targeting the superyacht crowd, and their 80' to 100' (and up) boats. The cost of moorage here will likely only be affordable for those folks with extremely deep pockets.

 

The 40 year lease would presumably be focused on wealthy folks relatively local to Victoria - or wealthy folks local elsewhere, but who love cruising the Gulf Islands, Desolation Sound, and beyond - and who don't want to spend a chunk of their vacation time transiting their vessel up the Pacific Coast, a trip which isn't really very much fun any time of year.

Edited by Cassidy, 19 March 2017 - 02:10 PM.

[VicHockeyFan]

65 to 150 feet.

[Bingo]

For a multi million dollar cruising yacht, the somewhat ugly truth is that Victoria's weather really isn't that spectacular for most of the year.

It's beautiful for a few months every year, but boats this size are all about the sunshine ... so the fees will have to be LOW, and the owners elsewhere but on their boats in order for this marina to get anything close to capacity with year around berthage.

 

 I think the noise from float planes taking off might be a bit of a surprise for boaters who dont check that factor out before signing a lease.

The westerly wind can be cool in that part of the harbour even in the summer

[VicHockeyFan]

Count-down on their website says 102 days.

 

 

Six blue, a grey and a silver or two.  Hmmmm, I bet they end up 95% white.

[Nparker]

...Six blue, a grey and a silver or two...

Are you sure some of those blue ones aren't just the Victoria Clipper fleet using the superior facilities that will be available on this side of the harbour? 

[Mike K.]

Further to Cassidy's point, not a single owner in the condominiums adjacent to the marina will complain that their real-estate values went up.

Mark my words, looking out over the harbour and having those boats as part of your view will be pretty hot stuff on the re-sale market.

[Nparker]

Frankly, I couldn't care less how the nearby residents feel about this project. The waterfront is not their private property and their opinion shouldn't matter any more than mine. The Songhees is such a dismal failure when it comes to vibrancy that an organ grinder with a monkey would add value to this area.

[Hotel Mike]

^ +1

I've been saying this for a long time...they don't know it but their real estate values will increase.