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727 Johnson Street
Uses: rental, commercial
Address: 727 Johnson Street
Municipality: Victoria
Region: Downtown Victoria
Storeys: 5
727 Johnson Street is a five-storey rental complex with ground floor retail space along the 700-block of Johns... (view full profile)
Learn more about 727 Johnson Street on Citified.ca
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[Downtown Victoria] 727 Johnson Street | 5-storeys | Rentals; commercial | Built | Completed in 2020


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#1 Mike K.

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Posted 28 August 2015 - 12:19 PM

Thanks to VHF for the scoop on this one!

 

727-Johnson-Street-August-28.jpg

 

Plans afoot to convert vacant office building into rental apartments

http://victoria.citi...tal-apartments/

 

Alston Properties has applied to the City of Victoria with plans to transform a vacant office and commercial building at 727 Johnson Street into rental apartments with ground floor commercial space.

 

The proposal calls for an addition of two floors of residential units atop the three storey building together with a full restoration of the heritage facade.

 

Approximately 30 rental homes are envisioned above ground floor commercial spaces.

A community meeting presenting details of the development has been scheduled for September 8th at 5:30PM in the Victoria Executive Centre at 915 Fort Street, third floor.

 

Alston Properties is the owner of the former Steamers Pub building in the 500-block of Yates Street. The company restored the pub into commercial space fronting Yates Street and rehabilitated a former hotel above into the Renaissance Lofts rental apartments. C [Article on Citified]


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#2 Mr Cook Street

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Posted 28 August 2015 - 12:22 PM

Looks like a perfect fit for the location. Won't end up being a similar height tower as Era and revitalizes more of that tired block of Johnson.



#3 aastra

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Posted 28 August 2015 - 12:36 PM

 

The proposal calls for an addition of two floors of residential units atop the three storey building together with a full restoration of the heritage façade.

 

Hot damn! This is the sort of thing that should be happening in spades. That block is a diamond in the rough.



#4 VicHockeyFan

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Posted 28 August 2015 - 12:46 PM

8 units per floor eh...  Ya, I can see how that would work very nicely.  Glad that someone had a vision for that thing.


<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

#5 Mike K.

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Posted 28 August 2015 - 02:23 PM

It's going to be great. But buyer beware for the units at the Era that were "clear" of neighbouring roofs. Oops.


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#6 aastra

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Posted 28 August 2015 - 02:33 PM

Come on. If anything they should be pleased. I would have bet donuts on both of those buildings (in the pic above) getting wiped out for a junior highrise eventually.



#7 jonny

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Posted 28 August 2015 - 04:48 PM

Hey now, I scooped this on VV months ago....



#8 Mike K.

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Posted 28 August 2015 - 06:14 PM

Did you? You know I had thought something had been mentioned in that regard but I wasn't sure.

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#9 amor de cosmos

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Posted 28 August 2015 - 07:28 PM

sounds great :banana:



#10 Fernwoodian

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Posted 29 August 2015 - 01:35 PM

It will be interesting to see how they deal with the front facade. I presume that the original facade was removed in the 60's or 70's. Might be cool to reinstate the original and go contemporary on the upper storeys or alternatively a brand new facade to provide some contrast to other historic buildings on the block.

#11 aastra

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Posted 30 August 2015 - 05:44 PM

Upon further review it seems as if it was actually a rather bland building in its original form. We'll see what they have in mind.



#12 jonny

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Posted 31 August 2015 - 08:23 AM

Did you? You know I had thought something had been mentioned in that regard but I wasn't sure.

 

Sort of...sounds like VHF has a lot more detail.

 

Anyway, this is great news for Johnson. I still have no idea how to fix that block of Johnson though other than blow most of it up and start over.



#13 VicHockeyFan

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Posted 31 August 2015 - 08:49 AM

One positive step for this street would be to either install bus shelters here (I think you'll need to widen the sidewalk), or work with one of the buildings to install a canopy.  It's a very busy bus stop and it seems odd to me how people have to stand in the rain.

 

 

outdoor_metal_bus_stop_shelter_with_ligh


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<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

#14 jonny

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Posted 31 August 2015 - 08:53 AM

722 Johnson and the building Tomley's Market is in need to be fixed up as well. At least Tomley's is a storefront. 722 Johnson has one of the worst ground floors in town.



#15 aastra

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Posted 31 August 2015 - 09:25 AM

 

722 Johnson and the building Tomley's Market is in need to be fixed up...

 

Replace those two little buildings with a Chard-style condo building and dress up the parkade while you're at it and the block would be night and day different.


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#16 Mr Cook Street

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Posted 31 August 2015 - 09:49 AM

Eliminating the ground floor retail setback under the parkade might help too. Those are some unappealing store fronts.



#17 amor de cosmos

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Posted 31 August 2015 - 10:52 AM

One positive step for this street would be to either install bus shelters here (I think you'll need to widen the sidewalk), or work with one of the buildings to install a canopy.  It's a very busy bus stop and it seems odd to me how people have to stand in the rain.


i don't know if something like this would work there. it's at a busy bus stop across from churchill square
link

it looks like the space might have to come from that gym or clinic though. & i don't know what they do at that bus stop in edmonton after hours. there must be sliding doors that can close.

Edited by amor de cosmos, 31 August 2015 - 10:55 AM.


#18 VicHockeyFan

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Posted 31 August 2015 - 11:34 AM

I'd just like a cover, that's all.  We don't have Edmonton weather.  I think we'd just need the sidewalk widened 3 feet.


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<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

#19 Baro

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Posted 31 August 2015 - 01:00 PM

Isn't the bus stop closer to the corner?  Nothing a shelter in front of this project would help.


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#20 Linear Thinker

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Posted 05 September 2015 - 08:34 AM

A snip from a planning and land use report for Thursday Sep 10.

Short version;The owner has applied to obtain a heritage designation for the front facade, but staff recommend to decline because previous alterations in the late 60s may mean the original facade may not be able to be restored.

"Assessing a property's eligibility for heritage designation is based on existing conditions of heritage value at the time of application for designation rather than on the basis of a future desired state."

 

 

CONCLUSIONS

 

This application for the designation of the property at 727-729 Johnson Street as a Municipal Heritage Site involves a building that has heritage value because it reflects the surge of development that characterized Victoria's expanding gateway economy and for its continued commercial use over time; is one of the earliest local examples of the use of reinforced concrete structure with brick infill as a fagade material; and is associated with persons important in the history of Victoria.

However, it is also necessary to consider whether the extent of alterations to the building make it difficult to tell what it looked like during the period of its significance.

 

The heritage values of the place have been considerably impacted by the extent and nature of previous alterations.

Staff have previously advised the applicant that if the building were restored to its pre 1910 appearance in accordance with the Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada, that an application for heritage designation could be considered after the rehabilitation work is completed.

Assessing a property's eligibility for heritage designation is based on existing conditions of heritage value at the time of application for designation rather than on the basis of a future desired state.

A portion of the exterior wall that was apparently opened up to examine how the previous alterations were carried out, will be relevant to any restoration objectives.

It is acknowledged that there may be practical difficulties in removing the previous alterations without damaging the historic fabric.

Staff are available to work with the applicant to determine the scope and nature of interventions that would be required to achieve a restoration that meets the Standards and Guidelines (information that could be part of a future Heritage Alteration Permit Application) and review the execution of a detailed restoration plan that might lead to a future application for designation.

 

Staff therefore recommend that Council decline Heritage Designation Application No. 000153 due to the impact that previous alterations have had on the building.



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