67 replies to this topic

[G-Man]

Is it? It has that Island hearing centre in it but I am not sure if it is a heritage building.

[Galvanized]

It used to be an old hotel before they wrecked the front of it.

[Nparker]

Despite its blank East wall, I really liked this proposal. I wonder if a new developer might revive it?

[Ms. B. Havin]

Upon seeing the good rendering, I'm more than a bit flummoxed by the enormous setback on the left side of the facade. What the heck was that all about? Vehicle entrance?

There would have been a 7-story blank wall on the east side. Just in case the Royal Theatre and St. Vincent de Paul weren't blank walls enough for you.

Good question re. the East elevation... The proposal suggests a building that goes back a long way (deeper than wide), so it's almost as if the Island Hearing/ Old English Sweet Shop building meets the Mozart part way, and the back portion is blank wall further up because ...?the site behind the Sweet Shop might get developed?? I don't know, it's pretty weird.

As for the big setback on the left (West) side of the facade: that's where there used to be a passageway, no? I seem to recall that shops went back along there...? So maybe the idea is to recreate another mid-block passage?

It's incredible that nothing is happening on this site...

Oh, PS: I thought this came up in another thread, but I can't find it, so I'll mention it here: the alley further East will officially be known as Millie's Lane in honour of the store owner who died not too long ago: [url=http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/capital_van_isl/story.html?id=d8a35b61-785f-42f4-b808-9ffee49b3b63:c3fce]Alley off Yates Street is now Millie's Lane[/url:c3fce].

[Caramia]

That's better than the name it was known as while I was growing up - Piss Alley.

I love stuff like this - when people get together to name their streets, alleys, intersections. Christopher Alexander has a blurb on the psychological importance of community naming, and how it adds to that sense of home and encourages people to feel they have a stake in their enviroment. Good for City Council for going along with it.

[VicHockeyFan]

That's better than the name it was known as while I was growing up - Piss Alley.

I love stuff like this - when people get together to name their streets, alleys, intersections. Christopher Alexander has a blurb on the psychological importance of community naming, and how it adds to that sense of home and encourages people to feel they have a stake in their enviroment. Good for City Council for going along with it.

The Odeon opposed the name change, I presume because it was often referred to as "Odeon Alley"

[Mike K.]

A crew was testing soil today.

Something's up...

[zoomer]

:? ......... ..........

[Holden West]

Must be someone interested in buying it. Good, because the site could use tidying up.

[aastra]

You almost fooled me with that pic. Then I took a closer look and realized the water was much too shallow to be the Mozart site.

[D.L.]

if that's what the site looks like now it should be preserved as an ecological reserve

[aastra]

As long as they put up some warning signs about the caimans. Reptiles get bigger as they get older so they must be plenty big by now.

[Holden West]

I think I saw something on the Discovery Channel that said diet plays a major role in the size of caimans. The Mozart ecosystem probably doesn't have the big prey that a larger preserve has, so I doubt the caimans are much larger than a couple of feet. However, I'm sure they're hungry, so if I were homeless I wouldn't be camping there.

[G-Man]

I am too lazy to get the photo right now but on a trip to Mexico in 2005 my wife and I walked by an abandoned hotel and the empty pool in the rear of the place had a crocodile living in it.

[Mike K.]

There was a fellow in a hard hat walking around the site yesterday.

Has the property recently switched hands or something?

[Holden West]

The current issue of Focus Magazine has Charman saying remediation will be complete June 1 "and progress should follow soon after".

Here's a shot taken Friday:

[gumgum]

"Don't you even think about taking that cart!"

[Holden West]

^F***ing awesome!

[Nparker]

So, bottom line - is this project being revived? The current real estate market suggests to me that the timing is not right - even though I would love to see this one go ahead.

[Mike K.]

Haha, gum. Good work.

Well, considering a good portion of the project is office, that might make the project worthwhile given the recent escalation of class A lease rates ($30+ per foot). When the project fumbled in 2006 the rates were either in the high teens or the low twenties.