87 replies to this topic

[Urbalist]

Southern Vancouver Island is not Mediterranean. Anyone who has spent time in Valencia, Barcelona, Nice, Pisa, Rome, Sorrento or Capri, especially from April to Ocober, would in no way be able to live and even dress in the same way in Victoria during those months.

The average temp of the ocean that surrounds us is 8 degrees or so, and cooler with a wind-chill; that's why we can get killer cold winds in August. In Aug 1994, during the Commonwealth Games, they almost cancelled some of the evening cycling velodrome (track) races because teams were shocked at the bitter cold temps.

June evenings in Victoria are bone-chilling, while in the Mediterranean, they are balmy relief from the scorching days.

Temperate, yes. Medit, no way.

[Urbalist]

Ridleys got the zoning - which the west comm Councils will give to anyone who has enough literacy to fill out a rz application form - and in cheerful reciprocity, they immediately launched their lawyers on Colwood over sewer charges, etc. Then the assessors came in and put it at $34-m and Ridley's tried to fight that - lost - they paid $12k taxes last year and post-rz they're up to $95k. So the Rids sold it for 10% assess - $37-million.

[Mike K.]

They Ridley's were involved with Lagoon Estates?

[aastra]

Maybe they added the prefix "sub" because people weren't buying it.

[Mike K.]

The website for this project is http://www.aquattroliving.com

[Mike K.]

This is an example of the lowrise architecture of the first phase





More info at http://www.numberten...xed_use/05123/#

[G-Man]

This is everything I hate about suburban condos. Why are they advertising the worst parts? I mean they asked someone to draw surface parking with useless lawn in front of the building?

[Baro]

Surface parking and useless lawns you arn't allowed to use are "open space". Who wants to live all boxed in and trapped in the city with OTHER buildings and OTHER people??

This pic tells me two things that are both important things for suburban buyers.

No other buildings in sight (at least at this angle)
Ample parking (and notice there's only two cars here, once again it's giving a message of solitude, no one else)

Thats all they want.

[Icebergalley]

IHave you compared the content of their local full page ad. with the one that they put in the Globe?

Targeted marketing I do say... But, don't tourists visiting Victoria read the local papers?

[Holden West]

This was posted over on Skyscraper Page:

http://video.google.... ... 1&hl=en-CA

(video may not be appropriate for younger viewers, work, or most James Bay residents)

[Holden West]

AQUATTRO SALES STRONG

Jun 23, 2007

EARLY SALES FOR A HIGH RISE CONDOMINIUM DEVELOPMENT IN COLWOOD ARE STRONG.

TODAY WAS THE FIRST DAY OF SALES FOR THE AQUATTRO DEVELOPMENT THAT WILL OVER LOOK THE ESQUIMALT LAGOON. 50 OF THE 88 UNITS AVAILABLE IN THE FIRST PHASE WERE SOLD.

DEVELOPERS SAY BUYERS WERE NOT ONLY FROM B-C AND ALBERTA, BUT FROM THE U-S AND EUROPE AS WELL.

THE 50 UNITS WERE SOLD MAINLY THROUGH A RELATIONSHIP BASED ADVANCE REGISTRATION PROGRAM THAT BROUGHT PEOPLE TO THE SITE, EVEN WITHOUT A SALES CENTRE AND DISPLAY SUITE.

THE AQUATTRO DEVELOPMENT WILL INCLUDE A TOTAL OF 563 UNITS.

- NIKKI EWANYSHYN
C-FAX News

[Mike K.]

There goes the theory that non-Victorian buyers aren't interested in Victoria property.

The doom sayers have tried to convince us that non-locals have long since disappeared from the local market, claiming sales were merely a fad.

[ressen]

hopefully Aquattro will measure up to Quintro Manor

[G-Man]

Come on lets be realistic! :smt028

[Mike K.]

Trueviking over at SSP posted the following link to a video showing off this development: http://www.aquattroliving.com/video/

[G-Man]

Ick, god I mean the architecture is nice but I would rather die than live in that Tampa Beach Community in the middle of Colwood. It is so suburban and has zero connection with the surrounding neighbourhood. I can't imagine anyone living there that wasn't retired. The talk of the clubhouse makes me think the Condo places that Morty and Helen Seinfeld live in. La Boca Vista et al.

[aastra]

How'd they get some of those nifty low altitude aerial shots? Was the camera mounted on a remote-controlled plane?

[Ms. B. Havin]

Hmm, I'll probably get hazed for saying this, but that Aquattro video has to be one of the most unbalanced promotionals I've ever seen...

Imagine a video for a development like this that showed you nothing but personal grooming salons, shops that sell accessories (belts, hats, purses), and that advertise activities like "Martha Stewart's Domestic Bliss" classes.

That would be unbalanced, right? Marketing only to the stereotypical (retired?) woman.

But this is just as bad, only in reverse. On the golf range(s), not a single woman, even though they do play golf -- and the emphases on fishing and golfing were all very clearly aimed at men. The computer simulations of the interiors were, despite the light colours, decidedly manly: clean, antiseptic, with a "let's go!" kind of look.

This is aimed at men -- but that's not what intrigues me (I just notice it, that's all). What intrigues me is the economic assumption behind it, namely that men are the ones who will make the decision to buy a property like this.

I thought that in reality (not in promotional videos), women drive economic buying decisions, especially in terms of house buying. So what kind of community are the marketers envisioning out there? Just a question.

Compare this to Dockside Green, which has a couple of times been singled out in various reports for how it attracts female buyers.

Just an interesting video/promo commentary, IMO, on the social dynamics of developments, what they represent, how they market themselves...
PS: The "Live like you mean it" motto also appeals to a "masculine" p.o.v. ("let's go out and get 'em, eh!", "show you're a man!"). I'm not suggesting that women don't "live like they mean it," or that they wouldn't find the motto appealing, but it's one that stresses the active, go-out-and-get-it life, which stereotypically we associate with males, not females. Coupled with the promo video's emphasis on men fishin' and golfin', the whole thing starts to get a bit caricaturesque... (if that's even a word!).

[G-Man]

Good point though as a man the ad completely failed on me

[Holden West]

Sure they're marketing to women...

They're saying, "Look at all the men here!"

Then again, maybe they're targeting gay men...