1107 replies to this topic

[Mixed365]

Right now we're looking at a pretty big influx of rental units -- so much so that I wouldn't be surprised if condo sales take a hiatus due to the lessening demand for condo rentals and cold feet from investor buyers.

 

Pretty big is an understatement - we must be at 700+ rental units currently under/about to start construction/hoping to start construction

[MarkoJ]

Do we have an asking price on lot 5? I think Bosa purchased the Promontory lot for $6,000,000.

[MarkoJ]

Pretty big is an understatement - we must be at 700+ rental units currently under/about to start construction/hoping to start construction

 

Investor buyers do not make up a large percentage of pre-sale/new construction purchases in Victoria and those that do usually buy on the cheap.  My unit at the Promontory was sub $200,000 and before that my unit at the 834 was sub $200,000 and at the Era I splurged at a bit at 215k....the volume dollars found on the more expensive units (300k-1000k) for the vast majority is owner occupiers or owners intending to occupy within 5 years.

[Mike K.]

We can expect movement here in the near term. Focus Equities/Bayview are close to striking a development partnership as per the Bosa partnership that saw Promontory get built.

[G-Man]

Please oh please make it have a different design aesthetic from the last two. Too much of the same will cheapen the look of the whole project.

[aastra]

That's a spiffy tower so I wouldn't be too upset with a clone that's shorter. What if they make it exactly the same but use yellow brick instead of red brick? Would that be enough variation to make you happy?

[Nparker]

What if they make it exactly the same but use yellow brick instead of red brick? Would that be enough variation to make you happy?

NO! The only thing worse than another red brick tower would be yellow or some other earth-tone brick. I bet it wouldn't take a lot of research to discover a different finishing material altogether.

[aastra]

I would happily accept some fancy marble or other natural stone but it ain't happening.

 

 

The only thing worse than another red brick tower...

 

How many do we have now? Three or four in the entire city? It's not as if they're brick bunkers. They're all high-end buildings with lots of glass coverage.

 

Seriously, do we really think this is an excessive amount of red brick? It's a glassy tower with some brick trim.

 

Edited by aastra, 19 February 2015 - 05:02 PM.

[Mike K.]

I would be very, very surprised if an interested party were to redesign the exterior of the building. The whole point behind these development-ready sales is to allow a partner to come in and start marketing immediately.

[MarkoJ]

We can expect movement here in the near term. Focus Equities/Bayview are close to striking a development partnership as per the Bosa partnership that saw Promontory get built.

 

With Bosa or another developer?

[Mike K.]

That I don't know, unfortunately.

[aastra]

 

How many do we have now? Three or four in the entire city? It's not as if they're brick bunkers. They're all high-end buildings with lots of glass coverage.

 

I seem to have had temporary amnesia re: some of the older brick bunkers, such as the Chelsea apartments on the 800-block of View Street. But anyway, the newer condo towers aren't anything like that so I stand by my point.

[G-Man]

It is not the total amount of brick buildings, it is how similar the two bayview buildings already right next to each other. Adding a third one next door and will begin to look like a project. A high end one but a project nonetheless.

[G-Man]

I just think it is tacky and lazy.

[jonny]

Promontory Jr is already designed, is it not? I don't think they'll be going back to the design board.

 

IMO, Promontory and Bayview look different enough that I can tolerate the similarities. A mini version of Promontory would be a good add.

[Gary H]

Word on the Street (Fest) is...

 

We'll be seeing an announcement this summer of the the Lot 5 project.  The printout on the table in front of the gentleman with the shorts are the plans for Lot 5.  It's generally the same as the older renderings we've already seen - a 5 story building to the south joined to a 17 story tower via a series of townhomes like we see at Promontory.  Behind the townhomes is a pool and hot tub.  The cover rendering of the new tower has it looking just like Promontory with the exact same brick patterns.  Apparently the City is obsessed with red brick and the architect had limited design options.  A quick flip through the plans gave me the impression that the tower, in addition to having less floors, has smaller floors.  At Promontory the ocean facing western floor plans 'A' and 'B' are fairly large at 1160 and 938 square feet.  The same ocean facing units I saw on the plans were in the 600 square foot range which surprised me, but I didn't notice if those were just the lower floors.  The plans were quite reduced in size, and I didn't have my glasses, so it was hard to read some of the numbers but the 600 something number was confirmed by another onlooker.  At Promontory some of the smaller floor plans were the first to sell out and the four units that are remaining I believe are all two bedroom 'C' plans with 1038 sq. feet.  So for Bosa, smaller might be better.  In Metro Vancouver some of their newer projects tout their Bosa Space feature so maybe we'll see some units with that here.  Oops, did I say Bosa. 

 

 

 

[MarkoJ]

Are the drawings recently done?

[Mike K.]

Yup, this is good news for residents at Promontory. You'll get more amenities!

OK, so Bosa is confirmed?

[D.L.]

From Gary's pic

 

 

 

[Gary H]

Are the drawings recently done?

 
I suspect the drawings were the same as those submitted for the approved development permit.  Someone mentioned that development permits are only good for two years.
 
Mike was also right about Lot 5 being for sale.  A little Googling turned up this sales brochure:  http://focusequities..._Booklet_V5.pdf. The development permit was probably a BIG plus for the sales package - assuming of course that you wanted to build that exact set of buildings.

Edited by Gary H, 09 June 2015 - 09:08 AM.