272 replies to this topic

[Kapten Kapsell]

Is this project still 'active'? I walk by the site on a daily basis, and it seems that the application for the necessary rezoning hasn't yet been filed with the city. Can someone provide an update?

[G-Man]

I am sure with the current slack in the market they will hold off on this project for awhile.

[Rob Randall]

We will see some action on this shortly.

[Rob Randall]

I'm reposting Ms B's link here to remind me that this would be good for this project.

http://spacing.ca/wi...ge-pocket-park/

[G-Man]

Are you messing with me Randall?

I had assumed that all these projects were long dead but now you say that perhaps the most exciting design has life left in it?

Alright I am crossing my fingers. Has it been to council yet?

[Rob Randall]

The site owner is committed and wants to set up an open house shortly so the community can have a look.

The proposed height will scare some members of Council, especially the new ones. But there are many reasons why a building of this height and massing would fit well here and not necessarily anywhere else. For example, Yule Heibel, in the April 2008 issue of Focus says,

"I'd encourage increasing the density around View Towers with equally imposing (if differently styled) multi-use buildings to balance its sometimes oppressive and lonely formal energy".

View Towers is a perennial vote-topper whenever a "Victoria eyesores" list is compiled by the media. Yet VT is irreplaceable. Densifying this block in accordance with the City's new cross-town plan will diminish the oppressive nature of VT's impact on Harris Green.

[jklymak]

View Towers is a perennial vote-topper whenever a "Victoria eyesores" list is compiled by the media. Yet VT is irreplaceable. Densifying this block in accordance with the City's new cross-town plan will diminish the oppressive nature of VT's impact on Harris Green.

Yeah, this would be a great place for a big building so long as its not cheek and jowl with VT.

[Rob Randall]

A community meeting hosted by the DRA will be help Friday, February 20 and Saturday, February 21, 2009, from 11 am till 6 pm. It is a two-day, drop-in open house for residents who wish to view the plans and talk with the proponent and architect.

The address of the meetings is 926 View St., a storefront in the London Drugs complex in Harris Green.

Close-up of the revised Fort St. facade:

[Kapten Kapsell]

Thanks for the info & posting, Rob. This would make a great addition to the Harris Green area.

Who is the developer of this project?

[Phil McAvity]

Yeah, it's a really interesting looking building, something it's towering neighbour sure isn't.

Talk with the "proponent"? You mean the developer?

[concorde]

I would like to find out how they plan to sell and finance the project given these economic times

[G-Man]

^ Perhaps they plan to take the average 3 - 5 years to move through the approval process and then build at which time it will no longer be Feb 2009. In fact given that they are really just getting started with approvals they don't even need financing for at least 12 to 16 months.

With projected growth next year the banks will be loosening their purse strings by then.

[aastra]

That's the thing we have to keep in mind. The proposals of today are the buildings of five years from now.

[Rob Randall]

Talk with the "proponent"? You mean the developer?

The preferred term is "proponent" because it's more accurate and "developer" has such evil connotations. In some cases the proponent (the entity proposing the project and representing it at City Hall is different from the developer (the entity in charge of actually supervising the construction and organizing the financing). Sometimes the developer is the proponent and sometimes the architect is the proponent but not the actual developer. I think, anyway.

I am told there will be new 3-D renderings at the open house so I hope that will be an incentive for turnout.

[gumgum]

I can't see how anyone could be opposed to this project. Anything's better than what's there now!

[D.L.]

does create a super-wall with View towers along Fort and View streets, but hey it's got a circular cut-out!!

[aastra]

Will the concrete faces on the lowrise be painted?

[Rob Randall]

Will the concrete faces on the lowrise be painted?

I'm not sure, I think so. Some of the exterior finishes are still being worked on.

This building is 5 or 6 storeys above the Harris Green height guidelines so the Planning Department will likely reject it. Yesterday at the UDI luncheon Mayor Fortin said there will no longer be any two-year long struggles as projects go through the system several times only to be rejected. He said Council will take the advice of Planning swiftly with a quick yes or no--either it fits or it doesn't.

[Linear Thinker]

I'm probably wrong, but I thought the CoV was looking at using the ELEVATION of a building, rather than it's HEIGHT as one of the criteria.

As this building is almost at the bottom of an already low area, then a building of this height would have less impact than if situated on higher ground.
??

[Rob Randall]

Planning might take that into account but the only figure that really counts for them is the distance in metres from the street to the top of the building which is equal to 10-12 storeys or so. There is no density limit so this building could be very squat and bulky.

You may recall the 1048 Johnson/Cook condo project in Harris Green that fell through. The Advisory Design Panel didn't like it because it was too squat and bulky. They wanted a more slender tower.