103 replies to this topic

[concorde]

It can't be occupied as the City has condemned the building.

The building was recently sold by the bank to a group of Victoria and Vancouver developers.

[gumgum]

Oh thank god something's happening here.

[Rob Randall]

It can't be occupied as the City has condemned the building.

Are you certain about that? I know rumours were flying that it was condemned and uninhabitable. Others said that was a smear to discredit the developer and drop the price.

Anyway, I'm happy about this.

[concorde]

I'm 99% sure, but I haven't spoken to the city to confirm

[ressen]

I saw that the gate was open today and that there were a number of suits wlking around there.

[Holden West]

^I hear they're not just tire-kickers.

[concorde]

As I said earlier, the site was recently sold so those were likely the new owners trying to figure out what to do with a pile of junk

[collywobbles]

From Monday (though I don't understand why they write the last paragraph as if it would possibly be a bad thing if the tax holiday is helping this along):

The Wing may soar again

A Vic West eyesore could be on the verge of a significant makeover if a deal can be finalized between a B.C.-based developer and the property’s current mortgage holder.

The Wing condominium complex on Wilson Street was supposed to become a 99-unit development when construction began in early 2004, but by November of that year, progress had stalled and a half-built, four-storey, 51-unit shell adjacent to the concrete foundation of what was going to be the project’s second phase, has sat vacant and weather-beaten ever since.

But a representative from the Townline Group tells Monday they’ve put a preliminary offer on the table. “We have an agreement with the vendor, which in this case is the lender that’s holding it, to purchase it subject to going through some due diligence and making sure that we can make the contract work,” says Townline’s director of residential development, Bob Pearce. “And we will close the contract in due course.”

Pearce says his company is working in concert with BC Housing to find a mutually beneficial way to revive the project as rental housing.

“Everybody’s interested in having something like that happen, and it just seems that with an existing structure in an area that’s so convenient to everything, that if there’s a way we can make that work in an environment that works, within the context of what BC Housing’s trying to do, that’s our objective.”

Pearce says the deal is contingent on rehabilitating the present structure—which rumours held was structurally unsound.

Curious, wethinks, that this pending rental construction should come at precisely the same time the City of Victoria announced a 10-year tax holiday for developers building rental housing for families with incomes between $30,000 and $60,000 during 2009-10. Coincidence? Doubtful.

[aastra]

It's bad if developers aren't building rental units and it's also bad if developers are building rental units. Developers are bad.

Sort of like it's bad if real estate prices go up and it's also bad if real estate prices go down.

It's bad if a lot of construction is happening in Victoria and it's also bad if a lot of construction isn't happening in Victoria.

Everything is bad.

[Holden West]

It's like they invented a robot to write Monday articles and it's programmed to put a negative spin on every story. Why would anyone put a snarky angle on that story?

"My concern with Monday is that it hasn't grown up," Miller says. "It's a bunch of discontented shitheads, little snot-nosed fourth-year journalism students with bad attitudes tooting the same damn horn that I was 20 years ago."
-Gene Miller, 1994

[gumgum]

So effing true.

[Ms. B. Havin]

^ Totally. I think Monday Magazine kills trees and is a waste of time.

Lately, every time I read Threlfall's editorials, I feel like banging my head against the wall. It's a truly moronic paper.

[VicHockeyFan]

^ Totally. I think Monday Magazine kills trees and is a waste of time.

Lately, every time I read Threlfall's editorials, I feel like banging my head against the wall. It's a truly moronic paper.

It is, and I agree with all the last 6 or so comments, esp. re greedy, rich developers, but God damn it, I gotta read the thing every week, I never miss an issue.

[Holden West]

Archived version of the original Wing site. Check out those vintage prices!

[Phil McAvity]

^ I love how the site shows no pictures of the building because we all know how ****ing ugly it is. Even when you click on "Building-exterior", they seem to show pictures of everything but the building's exterior! Like us, those realtors know a mutt when they see one.

So effing true.

I agree, what he said is so ****ing true. I like Gene Miller because he is one of those all-too-rare real liberals who has changed his views a lot over the years, proving he is open to new ideas. As he said, a lot of Monday writers are just young people filled with the rage of youth and nary a clear thought in their heads.

Now back to the topic, I can't believe the city has condemned the wing. From the street it looks fine and the Ryugyong hotel stayed unfinished a lot longer than the wing yet it is getting finished now.

[gumgum]

^Well the city doesn't agree.
Condo to turn into rentals
Half the suites set aside as lower-cost
By Richard Watts, Times ColonistApril 10, 2009

Government assistance will help turn an empty Vic West condominium development into rental housing, half of it designated affordable.

The building, called the Wing Building at 105 Wilson St., was foreclosed before completion and has sat empty, incomplete and abandoned since 2005. It's now scheduled to be *finished by December, with 51 units available for rent.

*Say what??

[gumgum]

^Well the city doesn't agree.
Condo to turn into rentals
Half the suites set aside as lower-cost
By Richard Watts, Times ColonistApril 10, 2009
*Say what??

Seems I was confused. (Go figure) I forgot about the existing built building. I was thinking only of the building with only its foundations.

[spanky123]

I don't think that Monday Magazine has ever pretended to be anything but left wing. Don't read it if you don't like the opinions.

As far as the Wing is concerned it is a pretty sweet deal for Townline. They get $800K in grants from Government plus a 10 year tax holiday and a mortgage from the Province that you can bet is foreclosure proof and in a couple of years will be discounted or forgiven.

The city doesn't have a shortage of rental accomodation, it has a shortage of "affordable" rental accomodation. I am not sure that $1,200 a month for a 3 bedroom unit is any more affordable than anything else you will find on craiglist in the same price range.

In my opinion the City of Victoria, given that it already is talking about a 5-7% tax increase this year, has better use for $500K and tax holidays.