383 replies to this topic

[Nparker]

I got a postcard style advertisement for View Towers in my mailbox yesterday...

Ditto. Never thought this place would need to advertise for tenants. I am taking this as a positive sign?

[Mike K.]

Two blocks from downtown, hey?

[Holden West]

I'll take their word on "well maintained" but I've heard from tenants that the place could use more consistent cleaning.

I don't know why buildings advertise "free heat and hot water" when of course we know nothing's free in life. It would be more accurate and less wasteful to say heat and hot water included in rent. I've known tenants to crank up the heat with all the windows open and take showers as long as the Paleozoic Era.

[Nparker]

I don't know why buildings advertise "free heat and hot water"...It would be more accurate and less wasteful to say heat and hot water included in rent...

Thank you! Finally someone who sees this nonsensical phrase "free heat & hot water" the way I do. You would be just as accurate to say "Heat & hot water starting at $580/month with free rent". Not unlike the name of a certain Westshore development, I find this practice to be borderline deceitful and is an obvious attempt to lure people with the idea of getting something for nothing. Then again people dumb enough to fall for this probably deserve to be taken advatage of. PT Barnum was right.

[VicHockeyFan]

Two blocks from downtown, hey?

Ya, that's awesome. Downtown must be Douglas/Pandora/water/Humboldt.

Bah, I understand free heat and hot water, it's a good marketing message.

[sdwright.vic]

Every time I see the phrase "free heat and hot water" my mind automatically translates to "heat and hot water included". I think most everyone is aware that their is no such thing as a FREE lunch.

[VicHockeyFan]

Every time I see the phrase "free heat and hot water" my mind automatically translates to "heat and hot water included".

Well, yes, maybe the auto-translator takes over mind mind too.

I think most everyone is aware that their is no such thing as a FREE lunch.

Yes, but I think that as a renter, as opposed to an owner paying strata fees, that might not click as well. A renter thinks his rent is more or less set, and it sort of is, barring allowed increases.

As an owner with common water and/or hot water, you know in the back of your mind your strata fee is going to reflect exactly what you collectively pay to heat the water for the building, divided by your unit entitlement.

[Nparker]

Every time I see the phrase "free heat and hot water" my mind automatically translates to "heat and hot water included".

So why is it not advertised that way?

[Water Wizard]

In response to the earlier comments above about this building needing some maintenance work. A full balcony repair (concrete repairs and application of a polyurethane deck coating) will be starting within the next month. There will be some fresh paint applied to the building as well, though I'm not sure to what extent. Hopefully this will help to make it less of an eyesore, though I would hate to be the company that has to get access to all of those balconies.

[Sparky]

Welcome to vibrantvictoria Water Wizard.

[Mike K.]

Welcome to VV, Water Wizard, and thank you for the update!

[Holden West]

As an owner with common water and/or hot water, you know in the back of your mind your strata fee is going to reflect exactly what you collectively pay to heat the water for the building, divided by your unit entitlement.

That's what I was getting at. An owner thinks 'If I waste energy my strata fees will go up' but a tenant thinks 'If I waste energy I'm sticking it to my landlord'.

Glad to hear VT is getting some maintenance.

[GeoffGimble]

Hello, I'm new to the site. I have a question regarding View Towers. I am moving in on November 1st, and I was wondering if anyone on here has lived there before, and if so, do you have any thoughts, criticisms, suggestions? Thanks!

[inhalien]

Me too.

Take the very top floor. Make the suites awesome. Give them a dedicated laundry room.

Make the lobby and at least one elevator nice (the one that mainly only goes to top floors, if you can rig it that way).

The suites are not a bad size, but they lack dishwashers and laundry, I presume. Is there a work-around for dishwashers, so they can be installed? Laundry might be tougher.

But the top floors have killer views, surely they can be converted into suites that'll bring a good buck.

The only odd thing is that the 19th floor is not a full-height floor, like the other floors. It's a good 4 to 6 inches shorter and I always wondered if it was due to a max height requirement for the building. The view was great though, I used to live on the 17th. When I lived there laundry was on every second floor and I can imagine it would be a bit of work to install dishwashers as the kitchens are quite tiny.

[sebberry]

The only odd thing is that the 19th floor is not a full-height floor, like the other floors. It's a good 4 to 6 inches shorter and I always wondered if it was due to a max height requirement for the building.

Would a 6 inch taller View Towers really have been that bad?

[inhalien]

Would a 6 inch taller View Towers really have been that bad?

The heck with the building, I want to be 6 inches taller!

[Sparky]

Welcome to vibrantvictoria GeoffGimble.

[Mike K.]

Geoff, if you do end up living in View Towers we'd love to see some photos from your unit

[sebberry]

That might be our first inside look.

[GeoffGimble]

The suites look fine... I'm moving into a bachelor on the 5th floor. I'm just a young feller looking for a cheap place to live alone after drifting through too many houses crammed with friends looking for the cheapest rent possible. I'm studying for my class 1 driver's license and need a reasonable level of peace and solitude.

From the short walk-through I did a couple of weeks ago, the suite looks really well maintained, albeit a little too sterile. It has the look of a whitewashed 1970's hospital room but I care little for aesthetics so long as the place is clean, in this subject my room gets a passing grade (fresh paint, waxed floors, white countertops, baseboards not chewed to bits, shower not outfitted with horrible cracked tiles). Every room has a balcony, fairly spacious closet, large main room and rather roomy full kitchen and bathroom.

I don't know what to expect from my neighbors except that I've been told to keep to myself as much as possible, particularly in the elevators. These sorts of warnings always seem like paranoia; call me ignorant but Victoria's "seedy underbelly" has always seemed like a total joke to me. Maybe the big meanies just aren't interested in me. As far as I can tell, View Towers must be invaluable to some people who would otherwise be wearing very cold wet socks on a day like today.

As far as the outer appearance of the building goes, any complaints in that department should be reserved for business discussions alone. If View Towers keeps people off the streets, it's worth it's weight in gold (or heroin... kidding). People's lives are at stake at this time of year: Monday Magazine - Homeless death rate spike.

When I went to pay my deposit, I saw mainly clean-cut young student archetypes hopping off the elevator. Go figure. The outer appearance of a building should say nothing of the tenants contained within. Those who can afford to live in professional-oriented, pristine, stainless-steel sky kingdoms should restrain their snobbery and enjoy their own personal homes nestled in arguably the most beautiful city in Canada, while the rest of us do just the same without the glamorous facade.

If anyone has a personal anecdote to share, even rumors or horror stories about life in VT I would love to hear about it.
Also, I'd be happy to snap some photos when I move in.