726 replies to this topic

[Victoria Watcher]

Double-size McClung library with 18-storey residential tower wins backing from Saanich council

 

The plan is to double the size of the library branch at the southwest corner of McKenzie Avenue and Cedar Hill Road, and include 210 lower-cost rental housing units.

 

https://www.timescol...council-9070891

[aastra]

 

"...it’s the first time the district has used property it owns to create affordable housing. “I think it really is the way forward to create true ­affordability in our community..."

 

Highrise towers and high density are now very good things, as long as the governments and their partners are the ones building them.

 

But wait a second... couldn't the district have used property it owns to create high-density affordable housing ten years ago, or twenty years ago, or sixty years ago? You know. back when the district was staunchly opposed to highrises and high density? (unlike today)

 

 

Concerns were raised about the height of the building and size of the project, but Plant said an 18-storey tower in that area may not be out of place in a few years, as Saanich has identified the area as suitable for increased density.

 

Another critical thinking test for the reader. Highrises have been opposed for decades because they would be "out of place". But we're now considering the premise that highrises wouldn't be so out of place after all... if you were to build several of them.

Thought criminals and terrorists will probably remember how anti-development politicos in Victoria used to claim new highrise buildings would always be out of place even if they were built in close company with existing older highrise buildings. Heck, don't Victorians still resist new highrise buildings in (for example) James Bay or on Fort Street near Cook by playing the "out of place" card?

This about-face re: highrise buildings is like the pure distillation of the hypocrisies and inconsistencies inherent in all politics.

[Victoria Watcher]

Try any other developer trying for 18 storeys in Gordon Head or Cedar Hill. Those are going to be some luxury low rent suites near the top. Views out to Cabboro and Oak Bay?

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 12 June 2024 - 10:47 AM.

[aastra]

 

Try any other developer trying for 18 storeys in Gordon Head or Cedar Hill.

 

Are you nuts? A tower like that would be insanely out of place.

[aastra]

^And it would probably also cast some shadow across the government towers, which wouldn't be acceptable.

[Mike K.]

Nearly a decade for 1008 Pandora to be approved at six-storeys. Then along comes a proposal for newly bought City land, for a 20-storey BC Housing tower, approved quickly and efficiently.

[Nparker]

...along comes a proposal for newly bought City land, for a 20-storey BC Housing tower, approved quickly and efficiently.

Why would a publicly financed development need to go through an onerous review and approval process? It's not as though any taxpayer funded project has ever gone off-track or over budget before - right? And even if it did, taxpayers have an unlimited supply of money to contribute to any budget shortfalls.

[Ismo07]

Nearly a decade for 1008 Pandora to be approved at six-storeys. Then along comes a proposal for newly bought City land, for a 20-storey BC Housing tower, approved quickly and efficiently.

 

Wasn't it still a school a decade ago?  Were they already getting approvals for 10 years before that?  Confusing...

[Mike K.]

I should have said it was proposed, built and occupied over the span of nearly a decade.

 

School closed in 2013? The building completed in 2019. Bosa became involved in late 2011, I think. So eight-ish years.

[Ismo07]

I should have said it was proposed, built and occupied over the span of nearly a decade.

 

School closed in 2013? The building completed in 2019. Bosa became involved in late 2011, I think. So eight-ish years.

 

Ah yeah I guess the school did sit for a while...

[AllseeingEye]

The old neighborhood - never in my wildest dreams to 1972 did I think to see the day of anything resembling a high-rise on that lot. The new building will directly stand proudly on what was once the old neighborhood hockey pond from about 1966....

[Victoria Watcher]

No computers. Keep books. Seattle library network outage nears a month

The Seattle Public Library and its 27 branches continue to struggle through a ransomware attack that has disabled its networks, rendered its hundreds of public computers useless and turned its normal operations upside down.

[mbjj]

I was looking for some children's books at our downtown library and noted that they have hardly any non-fiction books left, only one shelving unit. When my daughter was in school 25 years ago there were five or six aisles full. Lots that I used to enjoy as well, especially the Eyewitness series, and books about ancient Egypt. I don't know why they think they need a new building as the current one is half empty.

[Victoria Watcher]

Families do not belong in high-rise buildings

 

 

The proposed development for the Nellie McClung library site is an unbelievably bad design, running counter to all the published authoritative studies of how to build affordable family housing.

 

Studies clearly state that the principal reason for the social disintegration which happens in low-income high rises is the presence of families with the inevitable disruption of younger children.

 

The primary recommendation is that families should be accommodated in smaller, low-rise buildings with adequate surrounding recreational space; high-rise accommodation should be smaller single or double apartments with no family presence.

 

Saanich council is clearly unable to imagine the environment in an 18-floor building full of young children with no recreational space inside or outside the building and a local infrastructure incapable of supporting that number of low-income families.

 

Many cities have made this mistake in the past and have demolished those buildings to make space for the construction of a more rational design of affordable family accommodation.

 

The publicly-owned McClung site is a golden opportunity to create the right kind of affordable family accommodation.

 

The entire site should be low-rise affordable family accommodation, moving the library to within the Lambrick Park re-development.

 

It should not become an ill-conceived example of replacing reason by the political advantage of building a large number of “housing units.”

 

Saanich council must re-consider this plan before we rush into building an irreversible problem for the future.

 

 

Alec Mitchell

Victoria

 

 

https://www.timescol...-police-9125635

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 24 June 2024 - 09:39 PM.

[lanforod]

He just comes across as anti-height, trying to to use families as a reason for that.
Low rise 3bd if concrete seems like a good fit for families, but that’s not what would be built anywhere. It’d be 1-2bd wood frame which is noisy for neighbours.

[Mike K.]

Yeah, it’s not so much the housing type but the housing mix.

This project will have a wide(er) spectrum of incomes represented.

[todd]

“Oak Bay library branch closes temporarily after maggots found in book-return area”: https://www.timescol...rn-area-9168656


That’s embarrassing, checked out books in the past that smelled like pesticide.

[Victoria Watcher]

Seems odd a few maggots would close the thing entirely down. Soft.

It’s a teaching moment.


Black Press:

Daily Dish: Mysterious maggots close book return at Greater Victoria library

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 03 July 2024 - 12:09 PM.

[todd]

I moseyed down there after they forgave overdue penalties to see if there was anything to borrow, looked at the books/DVDs/video games couldn’t find anything. lots of the older books I had checked out in the past are now gone it appears


Mostly use the library for the newspaper archives and one of the streaming services to watch 3rd Rock from the Sun

Edited by todd, 03 July 2024 - 12:54 PM.

[Victoria Watcher]

I bet if you worked on it, you could train those maggots to check out books.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 03 July 2024 - 01:06 PM.