425 replies to this topic

[amor de cosmos]

inspired by this site & the Kramer-buildings thing, I wonder if there are any Victoria-area buildings that should for whatever reason (in a perfect world or whatever) be designated heritage:
http://www.heritagec...-ten-endangered

[Holden West]

There were some good ones on that modernist architecture heritage list the City put out a few years ago.

[gumgum]

There was this thread a while back: http://www.vibrantvi...eathwatch-1443/ Haven't read it yet (again), but there might info there.

[G-Man]

The Hallmark Society has a list of endangered buildings.

[amor de cosmos]

I forgot about that thread, thx for reminding me

[amor de cosmos]

these two seem to be infamously run down

cook

yates

I wonder what they're like inside, whether they're sort of ok like the janion or if they're about to burn down, fall apart, etc.

SIMON NATRASS: Derelict buildings a sad sign
By Simon Natrass - Victoria News
Published: June 27, 2013 12:00 PM

A decade ago, I stood on the curb outside 2321 Cook St. and dreamt about some of the things a creative owner could do with the abandoned two-storey apartment block.

Standing in that spot 10 years later with Russ Godfrey of the Tenant Resource Advisory Centre (TRAC), we revived those same fantasies about affordable housing units for artists, young workers, students and seniors.

Today, a heron nests in the building’s inaccessible second floor, at least one resident of a dozen or so units which sit waiting to be torn down.

We continued on to another derelict property – 1176 Yates St. – owned by the same landlord.



According to Godfrey, the demolition-by-neglect of buildings like those on Cook and Yates is, in part, responsible for the scarcity and rising cost of rental units.

“At a time when we need affordable housing,” he asks, “why are these buildings being allowed to rot and why do officials seem so reluctant to even talk about it?”

Several municipalities in the Capital Region have created bylaws to address the problem of derelict buildings, but experience has shown these to be largely unenforceable.

http://www.vicnews.c.../213233501.html

di castri house that needs a ton of work
royal oak ave

[Baro]

It boggles my mind in our housing climate any properties go vacant or abandoned. Fix them up or sell them to someone who will, either way there's huge financial incentives. I always wonder what the story is behind every abandoned building, imagining what sort of drama or insanity could result in such situations.

[Holden West]

Fix them up

That can be expensive. In some cases, the cost of renovations would be more than what you could get back after putting it on the market.

or sell them to someone who will,

That's also very expensive, thanks to the capital gains tax.

either way there's huge financial incentives

Sometimes, but rarely. Even if you're lucky to get the heritage renovation grant, it only covers a tiny part of your expenses.

[Baro]

That's a good point, if they have a heritage designation. But I don't see plaques on most of them. The land its self must be worth a couple hundred grand no?

[gumgum]

What kind of fine are we looking at if someone razes a heritage building?

[Mike K.]

All I know is I would never get myself involved in a heritage restoration. My next door neighbours made the (now they say foolish) decision to register their home. As soon as that money appeared to help with renovations (which covered only a small portion of the total cost) they were bound by very strict restrictions, had to opt for costlier renovation options and have foregone a lot of freedom to alter their home in the future.

I can only imagine the difficulty and the costs of a full-out commercial heritage renovation project that LeFevre is known for. Of course I'm sure it helped to get an insurance kickback after a couple of those projects went up in flames, but still, to make something work on that scale takes tremendous skill, serious elbow grease and a lot of luck.

As for officialdom, what can they really do? There are plenty of buildings that require renovations like our Johnson Street Bridge, the #1 fire hall and Crystal Pool! Luckily for a municipality money is no obstacle.

What kind of fine are we looking at if someone razes a heritage building?

I would contest such a fine on the grounds that the City of Victoria had no problem deciding to raze a heritage bridge.

[HB]

Sometimes a Heritage designation on a building is not justified.

Here is an example of a building that should not be desiganted a heritage building because it is not.

This building was razed and all of the bricks and facia saved then stuck to the the mall when it was built.

This is not a building at all and it is definitely a heritagfe structure.

In my opinion they should never have been allowed to demolish the Driard Hotel and many of the other buidlings in this block.




This is what the Building looked like in about 1988 Oh hold on its not there it was demolished.

[aastra]

Re: that article by Simon Natrass:

A decade ago, I stood on the curb outside 2321 Cook St. and dreamt about some of the things a creative owner could do with the abandoned two-storey apartment block.

Was it already abandoned a decade ago? I don't think so. Also, isn't that building 4 stories?

Jason Youmans says 2006:

The plywood-covered windows of the once-stately Caldwell Apartments at 2321 Cook Street are a graffiti magnet. They’ve been that way since City of Victoria bylaw enforcers ordered the eviction of residents... in 2006, citing owner Robin Kimpton’s failure to comply with city ordinances...

From http://homelessnation.org/node/14809

As the older buildings that form the bulk of the region’s rental stock slowly fall into disrepair or are replaced by glittering condos and sprawling subdivisions...

We've talked about this one before. How many examples are there really of rental buildings being replaced by condominiums? Or subdivisions?

[Mike K.]

Two such replacements are taking place now, but they are the exception and not the rule.

Currently 200 Douglas and 1969 Oak Bay are replacing rental stock with condos.

[Rob Randall]

Also, isn't that building 4 stories?
We've talked about this one before. How many examples are there really of rental buildings being replaced by condominiums? Or subdivisions?

Two main storeys plus and inhabitable basement and attic. Not positive if the basement is all suites or just storage.

I can only think of one recent apartment torn down, the one on lower Douglas by the park. Oh, and that apartment building and the old music conservatory torn down for the expansion of the park behind St. Ann's.

[Mike K.]

Like I said above there are two displacement projects going on as we speak and there have been many over the years including straight up conversations of apartments into condos (most recent being Sutton Place East & West, Esquimalt at Admirals, Quadra at Falmouth and Dowler at Bay). But even so this displacement is perhaps 1:10 (if that) displacements to developments without displacement.

But unlike decades back we're actually building new rental housing now including heritage renovations-turned-rentals.

[amor de cosmos]

another one. I don't know the history of this place but judging by the look of it & how it hasn't been torn down & subdivided it seems to have been there for a while:

gosworth

[tedward]

^ Significance? Looks like dozens of homes I have seen in other parts of the city. What makes this one so special that we should concern ourselves with saving it?

[amor de cosmos]

it's an old boarded-up house. I'm not necessarily thinking of buildings that would actually qualify for official heritage status (I don't even know the criteria), but you can't make things that are old.

[aastra]

You could move that house to one corner of that lot and still have plenty of room for two new houses.