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1008 Pandora
Uses: rental, commercial
Address: 1008 Pandora Avenue
Municipality: Victoria
Region: Downtown Victoria
Storeys: 6
1008 Pandora is a six-storey, mixed-use purpose-built rental and ground floor commercial building on Pandora A... (view full profile)
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[North Park] 1008 Pandora | Rentals; commercial | 6-storeys | Built - completed in 2019

Rental Commercial

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1984 replies to this topic

#121 ZGsta

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Posted 01 August 2013 - 02:48 PM

But you don't know if it was the NIMBYs or if the developer bailed on the whole project for financial reasons. Sure a lot of the anti-development forces in this city are annoying, but you can't blame them every time a development may get cancelled, there's so many other factors.

#122 amor de cosmos

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Posted 01 August 2013 - 02:54 PM

yes, because people on mason st should have a 6-storey building 30ft from their front doorstep.

#123 Nparker

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Posted 01 August 2013 - 02:58 PM

I have a 6-storey building across the street from my home. What's your point?

#124 Baro

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Posted 01 August 2013 - 02:58 PM

Why not? Downtown is on their doorstep.
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#125 VicHockeyFan

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Posted 01 August 2013 - 03:00 PM

4, maybe 6 homeowners would have been effected. I already suggested that the developer should have offered to buy those homes, two are falling down, and then perhaps he later could have made a smart row housing project there.
<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

#126 Mike K.

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Posted 01 August 2013 - 03:14 PM

I'm sure the biggest concern (albeit a silent concern) from at least one of those houses was residents of the new building would look down onto their yard and see their ...pot plants ;)

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#127 amor de cosmos

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Posted 01 August 2013 - 04:04 PM

I have a 6-storey building across the street from my home. What's your point?


I thought this poster's idea earlier in the thread was a much better, and actually similar to what the neighbours said, about concentrating the density on the pandora side, and the massing stepped down to mason st, which is only one lane:

Of course I'd rather see a couple of taller towers with more open green space between them (an extension of Franklin Green perhaps?) but why aim for the stars when you know you won't even make it to the top of the hill?


oh wait YOU said that!?!? what happened? it would also work within the current bylaw concerning the traffic, which came up at the top of page 5. & while you're there might as well see post #115

more posts from earlier in the thread:

I'm not thrilled about it. I don't find the massing to be very attractive and I question whether such a large footprint is appropriate for that area. I'd prefer to break it up.


It is a very urban building in an area that is transitional, meaning an area between downtown and North Park's SFDs.


This area acts as a good buffer between Downtown and the smaller residences of North Park and Hillside/Quadra.

However, Pandora Avenue is targeted for high-density mixed-use in the new Official Community Plan's Strategic Directions for North Park.

Strategic directions include:

21.20.3
Establish a high density mixed use area along Pandora avenue that responds to the surrounding skyline of visually prominent heritage landmarks.


I suspect "visually prominent heritage landmarks" is a politically correct way of saying "church steeples". Incorporating the St. Andrews tower would be the best way of obeying this suggestion.

(emphasis added)

That's funny, I'd say the ideal configuration would be something like the 834 on Pandora and 4-5 stories on the rest of the site.


I can understand why they wouldn't want part of Mason turned into a loading area. But I hope they see the benefits of density. Smart density though? Torn.


^ Agree Aastra. Also by the site plan I can see that there is only the one cut out. I could even see the density just transferred. Go for 6-7 on the Pandora side and 4-5 on the Mason side. Still even as is I am likely to speak in favour at a public hearing.


some of you guys are hilarious. sometimes I think the people on this forum are just as mindlessly for something as people against. strongarming the neighbours by buying all the houses across the street, or dead-ending mason st? perfect examples of trying to make the circumstances & context fit the project, when it should always be the other way around. meathead solutions, & nobody wins in that case.

edit: edited to not look like I'm throwing gumgum under the bus. people were making sense right at the beginning, but then seemingly got behind the first thing that came up, just to get it done.

#128 gumgum

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Posted 01 August 2013 - 04:12 PM

Hey man why are you throwing me under the bus? I wasn't sure and I'm still not sure about this project.

#129 VicHockeyFan

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Posted 01 August 2013 - 04:16 PM

Buying 6 house when you are making a $25m project should always enter into the thought process since they are pretty much the only local neighbours in opposition.
<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

#130 Baro

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Posted 01 August 2013 - 04:51 PM

Sometimes neighbourhoods change for the good of the city, we can't let a few residents hold back the revitalization of an entire district. It's good to avoid a tragedy of the commons situation, but we've become so averse to that we often set up "tragedy of the anti-commons". 6 stories is nothing and the traffic will barely have an impact. As time goes on those houses will re-develop into more apartments or town-houses and things won't seem out of place. The question is, what is the long term plan for the area? Single family houses seems like a gross waste for residential land downtown. If the eventual target is town-houses and mid-rise buildings then there's nothing wrong with creating the very temporary situation of a 6 story building next to a house until they are re-developed or fall down.

I'm actually shocked the developed never tried to buy all or most of the houses on mason. It's a great potential for some town-houses or 3-4 story apartments. Build them with similar set-backs as the funky furniture store and coffee place and include some ground floor retail near vancouver. Heck, turn the whole street into a shared-use plaza along with a shared driveway for the building.
"beats greezy have baked donut-dough"

#131 concorde

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Posted 01 August 2013 - 05:08 PM

I haven't posted on here in ages, but since this is MY neighbourhood I had to speak up. If the NIMBYs kill this project I serioulsy hope the developer holds onto the land and lets it fall into total ruin. Then when the derelict shell of the school, by then a needle-filled flop house, burns to the ground some night the NIMBYs will get exactly what they deserve. :mad:


As I understand the developer did not purchase the property in the end and its still owned by the Catholic School Society

#132 VicHockeyFan

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Posted 01 August 2013 - 05:22 PM

As I understand the developer did not purchase the property in the end and its still owned by the Catholic School Society


The sale was always subject to rezoning, it was not likely to ever change hands until rezoning. It's zoned institutional.
<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

#133 amor de cosmos

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Posted 04 August 2013 - 03:07 PM

this actually doesn't seem so bad now that I think about it. I've been reading over the staff report from april again & here's some stuff I found

The North Park Local Plan identifies the subject lands as, as well as the lands on the north side of Mason Street, as an area of "major change predicted".


Staff note that the retention of the school's tower meets some of the city's urban design objectives for this site. For instance, the NPLP identifies the street corner of Vancouver Street and Pandora Avenue as a street-head site and further identifies the school as a landmark within the neighbourhood. There is also an inflection in the street grid at this corner which provides the opportunity for a terminated vista looking north up Vancouver Street.


This [Pandora] frontage is unique in that the applicant proposes the retention of the school tower. In the opinion of staff, the surrounding street wall height should, in some way, respect and acknowledge the height and visual prominence of the school tower so the proposal for a lower street wall than that which is anticipated by the DCAP is acceptable.


there still seem to be the issues of the mid-block shortcut, traffic on mason, and the private courtyard though. I don't remmeber if they got sorted out yet or not. Something else I noticed that wasn't in the report or mentioned elsewhere was how this might look from mason st, behind the mcdonald's. if you look to the west there's that big old church building on quadra, but we don't know what we would see looking the other direction, towards the school building. wouldn't want it to be a loading dock or something.

as for the block to the north between mason & balmoral, how about something like this to enclose the park on the north side


http://www.flickr.co...N02/4635001972/

or maybe this




http://www.architect...ect-images/8188

PS- sorry everybody. try not to rub it in too much :whyme:

#134 amor de cosmos

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Posted 04 August 2013 - 05:49 PM

presentation about the 2nd one, detailing the construction & how they were able to build it relatively cheaply & quickly (~42:30-53:20):

imaOFmkAYrQ&t=42m30s

#135 Jacques Cadé

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Posted 07 September 2013 - 01:59 PM

Just got a call from Centus Research, doing a survey for Thrifty Foods, asking if I would shop at a new downtown Thrifty at Pandora and Vancouver, and whether it made any difference to me if it had underground parking. Will we hear soon that the St. Andrews project is being revived?

#136 VicHockeyFan

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Posted 07 September 2013 - 02:03 PM

Just got a call from Centus Research, doing a survey for Thrifty Foods, asking if I would shop at a new downtown Thrifty at Pandora and Vancouver, and whether it made any difference to me if it had underground parking. Will we hear soon that the St. Andrews project is being revived?


Didn't Skinner and Campbell have a bit of a gentlemen's agreement not to compete downtown? I guess that deal died.
<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

#137 D.L.

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Posted 07 September 2013 - 02:46 PM

We've also heard about a phone survey asking about a potential Thrifty's location at Douglas and Pandora

#138 VicHockeyFan

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Posted 07 September 2013 - 02:52 PM

We've also heard about a phone survey asking about a potential Thrifty's location at Douglas and Pandora


That would be funny, eh? Hudson says they tried for years but never attracted a grocery tenant, then Thrifty's moves in next door.
<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

#139 tedward

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Posted 11 September 2013 - 08:01 AM

Didn't Skinner and Campbell have a bit of a gentlemen's agreement not to compete downtown? I guess that deal died.

A "gentleman's agreement" would be between gentlemen. Since the Campbells are long gone from the operation of Thrifty's why would it still be in place?

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#140 D.L.

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Posted 24 February 2014 - 09:11 PM

Could this be a revised design for the project? The Mason St. massing is lower, something which may appease the approval masters

Chris Dikeakos Architects - http://www.dikeakos..../pandora-street

victoria-pandoraandvancouver-04.jpg

victoria-pandoraandvancouver-05.jpg


Compare to the renderings we've seen earlier
 

victoria-pamdoraandvancouver-02.jpg

victoria-pamdoraandvancouver-01.jpg



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