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CANCELLED
926-932 Pandora Avenue
Uses: condo, commercial
Address: 926-932 Pandora Avenue
Municipality: Victoria
Region: Downtown Victoria
Storeys: 10
Condo units: (studio/bachelor, 1BR, 2BR, 3BR, townhome, 1BR + den, 2BR + den)
Sales status: in planning
926-932 Pandora Avenue is a proposal for a 10-storey condominium and townhome development with ground floor re... (view full profile)
Learn more about 926-932 Pandora Avenue on Citified.ca
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[North Park] 926-932 Pandora Avenue | Affordable rentals, community space


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196 replies to this topic

#161 IPH

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Posted 12 May 2020 - 07:26 AM

Yes, and the tenant is responsible for those repairs but you probably would not see those holes on a video inspection.



#162 IPH

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Posted 12 May 2020 - 07:28 AM

Who wants to bet the city spends $5 to $15 million more on the build out than an experienced developer would?

I'm sure they have learned a tonne from the Blue Bridge and will never have another cost over run on any project!


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#163 Kapten Kapsell

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Posted 12 May 2020 - 07:35 AM

The T-C is now reporting on the land acquisition:  https://www.timescol...plan-1.24133479



#164 Nparker

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Posted 12 May 2020 - 07:57 AM

The NPNA is clueless

...Harold Stanley, co-chair of the North Park Neighbourhood Association’s land-use committee...is keen to retain the distinctive character of the neighbourhood.

 

https://www.timescol...plan-1.24133479

Does that mean the NPNA will insist the proposal resembles a giant tent, complete with stolen shopping carts and a bike chop shop?



#165 spanky123

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Posted 12 May 2020 - 08:26 AM

The NPNA is clueless

Does that mean the NPNA will insist the proposal resembles a giant tent, complete with stolen shopping carts and a bike chop shop?

 

If the plan is to create more zero barrier housing then I think that residents should have a say. There is obviously a reason why the City is not disclosing plans for the site.


Edited by spanky123, 12 May 2020 - 08:26 AM.


#166 Mike K.

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Posted 12 May 2020 - 08:26 AM

I think they will be soon. I also don’t think it’ll be a low barrier housing facility.

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#167 spanky123

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Posted 12 May 2020 - 08:29 AM

I think they will be soon. I also don’t think it’ll be a low barrier housing facility.

 

I am sure you probably know more than I do but one would think if this was just a run of the mill mixed housing development then they would have had a developer build it out, partner with BC Housing and take the risk. 


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#168 max.bravo

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Posted 12 May 2020 - 08:43 AM

I am sure you probably know more than I do but one would think if this was just a run of the mill mixed housing development then they would have had a developer build it out, partner with BC Housing and take the risk. 

But that's not how Vienna does it. Will Ben Isitt and his team use this site as their first foray into 100% city-built/managed housing?



#169 Nparker

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Posted 12 May 2020 - 08:46 AM

...Will Ben Isitt and his team use this site as their first foray into 100% city-built/managed housing?

Given the opportunity, I am sure they will try.



#170 spanky123

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Posted 12 May 2020 - 09:10 AM

But that's not how Vienna does it. Will Ben Isitt and his team use this site as their first foray into 100% city-built/managed housing?

 

No question, many European cities have large amounts of publicly owned housing. You can also wait years or decades to get one of those apartments if you don't have the right political or social connections. 


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#171 Mike K.

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Posted 12 May 2020 - 10:09 AM

My sense is there will be professional assistance here, so the City won’t be going it alone but we’ll need to wait for the details to come out.

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#172 Victoria Watcher

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Posted 12 May 2020 - 10:14 AM

deal closed in early april.  details were only released yesterday because citified leaked details.

 

being as this is the largest land purchase the city has made (in decades?) and we are in a situation of financial crisis right now it would be nice if the powers that be would let us in on the details.  since it was our $10m they spent.


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#173 spanky123

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Posted 12 May 2020 - 10:27 AM

deal closed in early april.  details were only released yesterday because citified leaked details.

 

Were they "leaked" or was this planned by the City? 



#174 Victoria Watcher

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Posted 12 May 2020 - 10:29 AM

i have no idea where the information came from.  but i read it on citified a day or two before anyone else had it.  there is no city press release.   and the deal closed april 2nd.  that's the date normally secrecy can end.

 

presumably there was a vote on it or at the very least there was a vote on policy that would make it happen but not a single politician involved in that vote is quoted in the tc article today.


Edited by Victoria Watcher, 12 May 2020 - 10:33 AM.

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#175 spanky123

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Posted 12 May 2020 - 10:33 AM

I realize that it was published here first, I am just wondering if the source was acting on City instructions.



#176 Victoria Watcher

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Posted 12 May 2020 - 10:39 AM

are you suggesting there is a deep throat in city hall feeding intel to our own bob woodward here?

 

i find it a bit suspicious that the city bought it with no fanfare.  that's atypical.



#177 Victoria Watcher

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Posted 12 May 2020 - 04:20 PM

The total cost of both properties — 28,880 square feet — was $9.595 million, which Eisenhauer said closely aligns with the BC Assessment value of the combined parcels and is also supported by independent appraisals.


https://www.vicnews....ost-10-million/

#178 IPH

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Posted 12 May 2020 - 04:47 PM

The total cost of both properties — 28,880 square feet — was $9.595 million, which Eisenhauer said closely aligns with the BC Assessment value of the combined parcels and is also supported by independent appraisals.


https://www.vicnews....ost-10-million/

BC Assessment for 2020 was $9.504 m.  But it was only $7.594 M the year before.  The big jump is likely because the site was in the rezoning process. 

 

BC Assessment has been know to triple the assessed value of property when someone applies to rezone it and only backs down if challenged.  I suspect they did the same thing here and the developer didn't challenge the assessment because they used it to argue for a higher price from Victoria and the City negotiator was too dumb to realize he was being manipulated.  


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#179 spanky123

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Posted 13 May 2020 - 06:39 AM

BC Assessment for 2020 was $9.504 m.  But it was only $7.594 M the year before.  The big jump is likely because the site was in the rezoning process. 

 

BC Assessment has been know to triple the assessed value of property when someone applies to rezone it and only backs down if challenged.  I suspect they did the same thing here and the developer didn't challenge the assessment because they used it to argue for a higher price from Victoria and the City negotiator was too dumb to realize he was being manipulated.  

 

Most commercial properties in the core saw big jumps last year. The issue with these lots are the proximity to Our Place and potential environmental issues which one could argue reduce its value. 

 

Lets face it, the developer has sat on their proposal for 2 years. Clearly they felt that developing the site economically would be problematic. This is a big win for them.



#180 Mike K.

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Posted 13 May 2020 - 06:42 AM

Just to be fair, the land was acquired in 2016, as tiger pointed out, and the first incarnation of the proposal emerged in 2017. The last update to the proposal was in April of 2019, so I suspect the City would have engaged this developer in a conversation to buy the property by late 2019 or early 2020.

 

And as I said earlier, there is more information coming soon, including the workings of the finances at play.


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