1676 replies to this topic

[aastra]

 

 ...once again we get the inferior version of a proposal.

 

I hope that better images soon appear to convince me otherwise, but right now I'm seeing a tall slab wearing a prominent crest on an otherwise flat top. A decently sleek and distinctive design has reverted into something much more bulky and inelegant. The tapering of the highest levels is no longer evident.

 

Check images #2 and #3 above and tell me you don't see the family resemblance to the rental building at the left. The taller tower has the same basic & blocky form. But with a crest on top.

I'm really disappointed. That evening image from the west doesn't even look all that good, in all honesty. I'm supposed to be eager to see that building added to the skyline? Why? Because I have a fetish for more of the same but just a few stories taller? It really does look a lot like a taller version of the bland-but-acceptable rental tower but with a Mohawk hairdo. (Lest we forget, a Mohawk hairdo has never made something bland seem less bland.)

 

The middle image with it standing behind the Regent Hotel I don't mind so much. It looks fine (depending on the nature of that crest/shroud and the colour/materials), but it just doesn't look like anything particularly special. We've been waiting 12+ years for a rather ordinary condo building?

 

Folks, this thing should be one of the sharpest residential buildings in town. If it ends up being just more of the same then what relevance do height exemptions even have? Give me another Promontory if that's going to be the case. Or, give them the frickin' 29 stories if that's what it takes to roll back to the previous version.

 

Edit: see my revised impressions further down.

Edited by aastra, 12 October 2017 - 07:36 PM.

[aastra]

 

...a Mohawk hairdo has never made something bland seem less bland.

 

I admit, former forumer Oxford Sutherland did seem a bit more interesting that time he was showing off his new do at VV's annual barbecue.

[Nparker]

...this thing should be one of the sharpest residential buildings in town. If it ends up being just more of the same then what relevance do height exemptions even have? Give me another Promontory if that's going to be the case. Or, give them the frickin' 29 stories if that's what it takes to roll back to the previous version.

The fact that Townline has decided to throw in the towel and not challenge the city's inane height restrictions is perhaps the saddest part of all.

[Mike K.]

From Townline's release:

 

When asked about the height variance and City approval process, Filuk commented that “there was as much excitement about the building as there was concern about the implications as far as the OCP and DCAP go. Pursuing the height variance meant the possibility of a long and ambiguous approval process which we wanted to avoid. Given the strength of the market, the huge demand we are seeing for the Hudson District and the immediate need for market condominiums in Victoria, a decision was made to move forward as quickly as possible.”

 

Makes a lot of sense, if you ask me. They tried to put their best foot forward and were met with a process that could have easily spiralled into many months of negotiations, humming and hawing and eventually culminating in a decision against the added height.

[aastra]

Okay, I get it. But why alter the appearance of the upper floors so much? Why not keep the same design as before but make it four stories shorter somewhere in the middle? It still looks pretty sharp even after you do that:

 

 

 

[Nparker]

...Why not keep the same design as before but make it four stories shorter somewhere in the middle?

Presumably, that would have resulted in too much of a density loss, but I agree that would have been a better way to go.

[Mike K.]

Yeah, that's likely what it would have required. They dropped two units between the two designs.

[Kapten Kapsell]

Yeah, that's likely what it would have required. They dropped two units between the two designs.

Mike, assuming the dev permit is issued early next year, do you know why they would wait until fall to begin construction?

[Mike K.]

I think they're going to start construction as soon as the excavation is completed (early winter), but they won't start selling until the summer or fall of 2018.

[jonny]

Let’s get this out of the way first – the previous 29 floor version was much better. The City of Victoria strikes again. *sigh*

 

I'm as disappointed as the next person that the height has been cut, but I suspected it would. Upzoning this property would have been a nightmare. This city is hell to work with, especially if there is even an inkling of controversy around your proposal. We have known for months that this thing was likely to get chunkier. Townline was clear that they were never going to sacrifice density.

 

So, yes, I would have preferred 29 or 30 or 35 or 40 floors to 25 on purely the basis of height (I would like to see bona fide high rises downtown). I also would have preferred a slimmer building. This is yet another example of a downtown Victoria tower that is 10-15% too chunky. Join the club, Hudson Place.

 

BUT, I’m going to take the glass half full approach on this one. We are getting a 25 storey building downtown! We are getting a 72m building! All of our Blanshard Street pits are going to be filled! We will soon have a new tallest building! This is exciting stuff, folks.

 

I think the most recent renderings look as good if not better than Promontory, especially from the Blanshard Street side. The design is very different for Victoria. Aastra, I believe this will be one of the sharpest residential buildings downtown!

 

I do not see any brick. I see lots of glass. I do not see stucco. I see design elements that emphasize vertical rather than the horizontal we are so obsessed with. I see a roof that is more interesting than a cube that obviously is only there to house the elevator machinery. I see something that is tall enough to stand out, rather than blend in. I see significant height variation between the Hudson Walk buildings, Hudson Mews, First Island Financial and Hudson Place. I see a building that very much looks like it belongs in a downtown. I see something that will crown the budding jewel that is the ‘Hudson District’. 

[aastra]

It's basically a less elegant version of Pomaria by the same architects, but with an odd crest on the top. That's a decent (2007) condo tower, don't get me wrong. But the addition of the crest actually mucks it up, don't you think?

 

Edit: Or maybe not. See my revised impressions further down.

 

 

Edited by aastra, 12 October 2017 - 07:37 PM.

[aastra]

Need I mention that the 29-story version did not have a flat top like Pomaria? It tapered and stepped back on the highest levels and thus was not only unique but actually better looking?

 

 

We've got countless examples that demonstrate how broken Victoria's processes are, but this may be the most absurd moment of all. Instead of getting a unique and superior "Victoria" building, Victoria will be getting an inferior clone of a "Vancouver" building. And we're supposed to believe that it happened because Victorians are oh so concerned and sensitive about the city's uniqueness, about not being the same as Vancouver.

 

Folks, THE PROCESS PRODUCED THE EXACT OUTCOME THAT IT WAS SUPPOSED TO PREVENT. It's insane and stupid that this sort of thing should happen.

 

Edit: see my revised impressions further down.

Edited by aastra, 12 October 2017 - 07:26 PM.

[aastra]

Anyway, I'm done venting about it. Point made. I now adopt jonny's insufferable optimism. A decent condo tower will finally be happening behind the Hudson, which is a good thing. Godspeed, Townline.

 

But crikey it's frustrating to watch Victoria kick itself in the nards.

[Nparker]

...But crikey it's frustrating to watch Victoria kick itself in the nards.

This.

[Mike K.]

Townline still has to jump through several hoops and I'm sure public support for this version would go a long way, despite not being the 29-storey design. The design Townline is going with is outside the design guidelines as they relate to the street wall setbacks, and the crown element will also require approval.

 

I think we can all agree that despite not being the best example of what can happen at this site, it's still a pretty darned good building. And we're almost there municipal wrangling wise.

 

Here are some visuals to ponder over. We're going to see more refined artistic renderings in the near future.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jonny]

How is this "less elegant" than Pomoria?

[Mike K.]

I quite like the crest. It's something different, and it'll look great on a skyline that is lacking in the ornamental roof department.

[RFS]

In the north and south renderings what is that building that is almost as tall on blanshard?

[Mike K.]

That would be Hudson Place, phase 2.

[RFS]

Ah of course.