147 replies to this topic

[aastra]

I take it back, the highest thing west of Douglas is that old TD Bank mini-tower at Fort and Douglas. The Driard facade would seem to be the next highest, with the church tower and the Central Building being all but tied for third. And I can't forget the points on top of the Bay Centre.

Anyway, the difference between all of them (and the Belmont Building, too, which is down the hill a bit) is very slight. Trivial, really. The Belmont is probably actually the tallest one of the bunch but it doesn't seem like it (to me) because it's down the hill and you also can't really see the highest point on its roof from the ground. (I'm leaving the Empress out of the west-of-Douglas equation because it's definitely the tallest/highest thing.)


Picture by thegreatscaper at Flickr.com
http://www.flickr.co...57604360700250/

[Koru]

Awesome Rob Thanks

...those west views just like all the other views we've see are great, that building design and positioning is going to be nothing but a positive improvement to that block

[aastra]

I combined one of their renderings with a picture from Flickr.com. The scale should be almost exactly right because the original rendering also contained the church tower (but I removed it from this final picture). The placement might be a wee bit off. Anyway, I think this proposal needs more glass on the side facing the harbour:


Original picture by ericncindy24 at Flickr.com
http://www.flickr.co...N06/2669680871/

[Rob Randall]

^Thanks, aastra.

I understand that because the building is close to the lot line that is the maximum amount of glass they can use; in fact, they used some clever architecture to get more light in.

[Baro]

There's nothing special about this project, but for some reason I really like it. It fits the neighbourhood and uses the site well. Getting that much building on that little land and making it look nice can be a challenge. This is practically a really tall rowhouse yet they managed to get windows on all sides via clever angles

[amor de cosmos]

There's nothing special about this project, but for some reason I really like it. It fits the neighbourhood and uses the site well. Getting that much building on that little land and making it look nice can be a challenge. This is practically a really tall rowhouse yet they managed to get windows on all sides via clever angles

... & the rest of the people here didn't think a church could make it in the property development biz!

[Baro]

Well they haven't yet, and is the church directly developing it or hiring some outside help?

[Mike K.]

The east and west face of this project is very similar to the east face of St. Andrews Square's shorter tower.

[Caramia]

Churches built the very first skyscrapers

[gumgum]

Church forges ahead with plan for Old Town office tower
By Keith Vass - Victoria News

[amor de cosmos]

If it were condos replacing Kirk Hall, where people buy units then I get how another developer (Westbank, etc) would make money from leasing the land from the church. In an office building where the tenants pay rent though, how would another developer make any money? Does "jointly-develop" mean the other developer mean they buy part of the land then?

[Nparker]

Kempling argues the tower wouldn't set any precedents, it's already surrounded by two taller office buildings on Douglas and a taller condo project starting construction on Broughton Street next year.

Does Mr. Kempling have information that has not been made public? Has the Broughton Street project been both approved and moved to the construction phase? I was under the impression the rezoning had not yet even taken place.

[Mike K.]

608 Broughton was rezoned years ago and the project is now approved.

[Nparker]

Thanks Mike. Clearly I was under the impression this one had more hurdles to overcome yet. The only one that remains now of course is the faltering condo & real estate market.

[Rob Randall]

The Downtown Residents' Association land-use committee had a look at the project and was generally in favour, said chair Robert Randall.

"It is higher than the Old Town standards, but the location seemed to be not incompatible with other things happening on Douglas," he said.

If this were deeper in Old Town, or if it wasn't tied to the church we'd probably be unenthusiastic about a building this tall. But we see it as an overall benefit for the community, both for the new quality office space and the potential for it to support the long term viability of the church building. I hate to see white elephant buildings like the Victoria Conservatory of Music struggle to stay afloat because the cost of building maintenance threatens its very survival. What's the point of preserving views of a building if the end result is no one can afford to inhabit it?

[Ms. B. Havin]

Thanks Mike. Clearly I was under the impression this one had more hurdles to overcome yet. The only one that remains now of course is the faltering condo & real estate market.

No, I think that's not right. It does still have rezoning & all that to overcome. 608 Broughton is something totally different than Kirk Hall.

Well said, Rob.

[Ms. B. Havin]

If it were condos replacing Kirk Hall, where people buy units then I get how another developer (Westbank, etc) would make money from leasing the land from the church. In an office building where the tenants pay rent though, how would another developer make any money? Does "jointly-develop" mean the other developer mean they buy part of the land then?

Not sure, but it could have been a case of pooling resources (combining the two parcels) to arrive at a superior design -- which may or may not have included condos, ...or could have been all office.

At any rate, with the city putting the di Castri building on the registry (never mind that it's a complete under-utilization of the land) and with Westbank being the favored whipping boy of the anti-development crowd (all those water features have really lit a fire...), that corner is now the proverbial nose being cut off to spite the face.

It's too bad, really. IMO preserving the di Castri at the expense of a decent re-development of that corner (i.e., including considering combining the two parcels, Westbank's and the church's) is a mistake for the city in every way.

[Mike K.]

No, I think that's not right. It does still have rezoning & all that to overcome. 608 Broughton is something totally different than Kirk Hall.

608 Broughton was rezoned back when it was proposed as the "Mozart" by Eric Charman. The current incarnation headed by Chard fits in with the existing zoning.

"No public hearing is required for the project, which meets the zoning requirements, and the developer is not requesting any variances. Councillors gave the project preliminary approval, but asked the developer to consider making changes to a cantilevered canopy on the top of the building."

Source.

[Ms. B. Havin]

608 Broughton was rezoned back when it was proposed as the "Mozart" by Eric Charman. The current incarnation headed by Chard fits in with the existing zoning.

"No public hearing is required for the project, which meets the zoning requirements, and the developer is not requesting any variances. Councillors gave the project preliminary approval, but asked the developer to consider making changes to a cantilevered canopy on the top of the building."

Source.

Yes, that's right (re. 608 Broughton), but Kirk Hall is not 608 Broughton. It's a completely different project, and it still has to pass all the hurdles at City.

PS/Edit: Kirk Hall is on Courtney Street, not Broughton.

[Mike K.]

Yes, I know, but I believe you may have missed Nparker's original question.

Kempling argues the tower wouldn't set any precedents, it's already surrounded by two taller office buildings on Douglas and a taller condo project starting construction on Broughton Street next year.

Does Mr. Kempling have information that has not been made public? Has the Broughton Street project been both approved and moved to the construction phase? I was under the impression the rezoning had not yet even taken place.

The Broughton St. condo project referred to by Mr. Kempling is 608 Broughton, and I was explaining to Nparker that it had already received approval.