3804 replies to this topic

[GaryOak]

https://www.vrba.ca/...eater-victoria/

"CMHC reports housing starts in Greater Victoria are up 32.6% year-to-date Jan to March 2023 at 1,088 units vs 2022 at 820 units.

March 2023 starts were 325 while only 121 last year. It is still too early to determine a trend, except that housing starts are still higher year-to-date over last year.

Year-to-date, large multi-family condos/apts are up 77% this year at 950 units, however, single detached homes are down 41% (82 units) and missing middle (townhomes, duplexes) are down 55% (56 units). Much of this would be the result of higher interest rates undermining affordability in housing that is more costly to build, and must command a higher price.

Langford leads in the CRD with 537 new homes, followed by Victoria at 240 and Esquimalt at 157. Sidney has zero new homes built so far this year, Saanich has declined 81%, and there is zero new missing middle housing in Central Saanich, Metchosin, North Saanich, Oak Bay, Saanich Victoria, and View Royal.

Many would be prime candidates for the new legislation planned by the province requiring missing middle housing."

[Mike K.]

CMHC reports...

 

 

Oh dear...

[Mike K.]

I guess we're not going to hear from PPP on how Aryze calculated the parking data, which I suspect is the same data that council would have used to form their parking ratio for Harris Green.

[Nparker]

Aryze and the CoV council in lockstep? How shocking! 

[Mike K.]

Not in lock step, that’s not what I’m saying. But they appear to be referring to the same bad/questionable data, supplied by ICBC. I don’t think the data is ‘wrong,’ but it’s not being presented for what it actually is.

[G-Man]

If we simply went with the Japanese model for parking most of our issues would be solved. You can only register a car once you have shown you have a private parking spot for it. Would negate the silliness around whether people are moving into car free or car limited parking buildings and just parking on the street. Plus would get lots of cars off the roads

[Kapten Kapsell]

Mike Geric Construction has modified its proposal for 131-139 Menzies. There are now 43 purpose-built rental units and the massing has changed to townhouses and a 6-storey building

Pictures:

[Nparker]

Mike Geric Construction has modified its proposal for 131-139 Menzies. There are now 43 purpose-built rental units and the massing has changed to townhouses and a 6-storey building...

What was the previous proposal?

[Victoria Watcher]

Boooooooring.

[aastra]

Are we talking about these properties? If so, I'd say it's yet another installment of Victorians misunderstanding and/or not properly appreciating their neighbourhood villages. Why not do something that looks and feels more like a continuation of what's already there?

Edited by aastra, 30 May 2023 - 04:05 PM.

[aastra]

Does anyone know what they're planning to do with these properties behind the Dairy Queen across from Hillside Mall?

[Kapten Kapsell]

Are we talking about these properties? If so, I'd say it's yet another installment of Victorians misunderstanding and/or not properly appreciating their neighbourhood villages. Why not do something that looks and feels more like a continuation of what's already there?

Yes, those are the properties in question.

There will be ground-level retail included too…

[aastra]

Methinks the James Bay equivalent of the Redfern on Oak Bay Avenue or 200 Cook Street would work like a charm here.

[Victoria Watcher]

The smaller project at 1326 Pandora spurred debate, as city staff recommended declining the project on design grounds and the potential for a better project if a developer could assemble land around the site.

The proposed project, a four-unit townhouse development, would not be oriented toward the street and would instead be oriented toward neighbouring properties.

“The site design and layout do not meet goals of building orientation and street presence, open space, privacy and sensitive transition to adjacent properties,” a staff report noted.

Coun. Jeremy Caradonna said it does make sense to have buildings oriented toward the street when possible. “But it’s simply not always possible,” he said, noting the lot is narrow and long.

Coun. Matt Dell said no one has been able to make use of the empty lot for years, and this application’s different design might finally make something happen.“Maybe it doesn’t fit in with what we traditionally see in Victoria, but it’s kind of a modernist design I think is quite interesting,” he said.


https://www.timescol...akeover-7226230

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 02 July 2023 - 04:44 AM.

[aastra]

Maybe this pleasant weather has taken some of the edge off my normally surly disposition, but to my eye the project on Meares Street is turning out to be one of the better buildings of this type. I'm not saying it's a beauty, but it's rounding out to be better than I was expecting. They went the extra inch with the siding, the tall windows on the ground floor, and those coloured shingles. Everything just seems to come together not quite so clumsily and/or inelegantly and/or blandly as we've seen with some of the other buildings.

 

 

--

 

Edited by aastra, 04 July 2023 - 10:10 PM.

[Nparker]

I guess it could have been worse. Let's see what it looks like in 10 years.

[aastra]

If diminishing stigma is truly an objective then the overall look-and-feel of these projects shouldn't be of the "stick out like a sore thumb" variety. I guess I'm saying this one is doing a half-decent impression of an actual neighbourhood residential building, unlike -- for example -- that much more conspicuous one over on Yates just down from the old fire station.

[Nparker]

If this building is designed to diminish stigma, does that mean each unit comes with a lifetime* supply of "safe" opioids?




*admittedly a lifetime isn't likely more than about 2 years

[Kapten Kapsell]

1276 Gladstone is a proposal for 18 residential units above a ground-level bakery; three of the units would have three bedrooms. The proposal would extend the Fernwood Village retail area slightly to the west.

[Nparker]

Nice attempt at blending in with the neighbourhood.

It might work if the adjacent property were part of the proposal.