255 replies to this topic

[Victoria Watcher]

Distinctive Turner building on Richmond Road back on market

Landmark building near Jubilee Hospital has been vacant for about two decades

https://www.timescol...-market-5129290

 

It's only been two decades.  So hopefully by the third or fourth decade some plans are ready, and they might be approved in the fifth or sixth decade.

 

As long as there are no hiccups and this speeds through we could see a new building or buildings complete here by 2095.  

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 05 March 2022 - 04:52 AM.

[JohnsonStBridge]

The assessed value for the land is $787,000.  Deducting the demolition costs, a realistic price might be half the asking price.

 

This post aged like milk.

 

 

 

Victoria’s landmark 1940s-era Turner building with its ­distinctive rounded frontage is on the market for $4.375 million after sitting vacant for more than two decades.

[phx]

This post aged like milk.

Damn, if I only I’d bought it back then!

 

Current assessed value is $1,633,00 for the land and $31,000 for the building.

They seem to be reaching with the asking price.

Edited by phx, 05 March 2022 - 09:32 PM.

[Mixed365]

Is it just me or is this the 3rd or 4th time this property has been for sale?

Multiple development proposals on the site over the last 10 years, no?

I wonder what the issue with the site is... 

[Nparker]

...I wonder what the issue with the site is... 

The cost of having to retain/restore the existing building.

[corvus]

The cost of having to retain/restore the existing building.

 

Do they need to? Is that thing heritage?

[Nparker]

Do they need to? Is that thing heritage?

I am not sure, but the CoV might make it a condition of approving a new development.

[baconnbits]

If you knock down the building you have to build new building with large set backs. If you retain the old building, you don’t need setbacks and therefore can build more density. Retaining the building is obviously expensive.

[Sparky]

I was just at a meeting with one of the current owners, and he informed me that they have received a lot of interest from developers especially from the mainland.

[punk cannonballer]

If you knock down the building you have to build new building with large set backs. If you retain the old building, you don’t need setbacks and therefore can build more density. Retaining the building is obviously expensive.

This is not the case unfortunately. As per the LGA you can't further the non-conformance. Any new portion of the building must not project into the required setback, including higher storeys.

[corvus]

I guess you could keep it as a podium, though, if you were inclined to that design. Or would that be enough modification for it to trip over into not being the same building enough to stay grandfathered?

[Nparker]

I guess you could keep it as a podium...

Isn't that more-or-less what earlier designs proposed?

[punk cannonballer]

With project this scale variances are frequent. Avoiding one in the context of a Form and Character DP is not really a big win; if your project is to Council's liking it won't be a big deal, especially as there's not a lot of residential neighbour in that spot. You're much more likely to get a building that works in on a site like this by asking for what you want and working with Council to come to an agreement. What is more likely to happen in this case is, if Council wants to see the existing building retained, they will say no to anything that results in demolition. Given that it's an awkward site, I would imagine that typical setbacks would cut into your buildable area pretty significantly. With a rezoning it also looks like some road dedication would be desired given the jog in the sidewalk to get around the building. 



 

[baconnbits]

This is not the case unfortunately. As per the LGA you can't further the non-conformance. Any new portion of the building must not project into the required setback, including higher storeys.

i was referring to the ground floor. if you retain the building you obviously maintain the ground floor setback. wouldn't have thought the newer above portion would overhang that. probably requires a setback itself form the old building which i think is what you are saying.

be interested to see what happens here. the site is horrifically inefficient from a parkade perspective and frankly a built design perspective. 

it will be expensive to build and you'll have low efficiencties in terms of gross building area to net rentable/saleable.

 

a lot more interesting if you can buy the medical building adjacent, but doctors already lost one building. not sure where they'd all go if they lost two.

[Sparky]

The building next door (2020 Richmond) is a strata with multiple owners. That wouldn’t make for an easy acquisition.

[Mister E.]

The building next door (2020 Richmond) is a strata with multiple owners. That wouldn’t make for an easy acquisition.

 

Bingo. But the real issue here is not the City. Its the owners and the adjacent properties (Not the medical building). 

[Citified.ca]

This listing has been taken off the market for the time being.

[Redd42]

Somebody is going to torch that soon.

[Nparker]

Somebody is going to torch that soon.

Or it will collapse from years of neglect. Either way, it would be the best thing that could happen here. Having to develop this site around the existing structure will always be problematic and costly.

[corvus]

Somebody is going to torch that soon.

That would be a shame, we'd lose one of the City's best rotating outdoor art galleries.