253 replies to this topic

[Mike K.]

That's the sound of progress

J/k.

[rchauhan]

Looks like this one is well on its way. This is an exciting project!

[Pippy]

That's the sound of progress

J/k.

Explain that to the deer, racoons, owls etc. They're all running and flapping about b/c their homes are being destroyed.

Yes, I'm very sad today to see the devastation taking place in my neighbourhood; it looks so very different now. At least they seem to be keeping some sort of buffer zone around the neighbouring property and there is some more wooded area further back towards the Goose trail where the animals will eventually build new homes.

I'm going off to cry some more now.

[Mike K.]

I snapped this photo this afternoon:

[Pippy]

Nice pic. I wonder if you took it when I was standing watching b/c I was there for quite a while.

Well, it's the next morning and the devastation, err, I mean excavation is almost complete; the land looks barren and the silence is eerie.

The lot definitely looks like a perfect triangle. I stood on Wale Rd. and watched the guy operate the Cat and I must say he was so good with that thing that I'm sure he could have picked his teeth with the scoop, or whatever you call it. One huge bin of debris was loaded off the site and there's a couple of other piles that are ready to go.

I like the way they left a nice natural buffer zone on the Goose side of the property; I doubt they had any choice in that matter but I was hoping they'd do the same with the neighbouring townhouse complex but that was not to be. They scraped off everything that was next to the fence and left only a couple of the bigger trees. Was that really necessary?

Anyhoo, since I live so close by I'm planning on keeping a close watch on this project.

What's next: scraping off the topsoil to store it for future use, then dig a big hole to China? I've never actually watched a building of this magnitude emerge from scratch. It's somewhat exciting I guess.

[Mike K.]

Thanks for the update, Pippy.

Indeed, the next step is digging a hole for the deep foundation necessary to support a tower. From the moment the digging starts to the moment the tower rises above street-level it could take a better part of a year due to the complexities involved in this early stage. I look forward to your updates!

And this will become Vancouver Island's tallest building so it's a fairly important project for us to keep good tabs on.

[Holden West]

We are about to witness dramatic change comparable to that of the [url=http://www.vibrantvictoria.ca/forum/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=457:eefae]Humboldt Valley evolution[/url:eefae].

[aastra]

It's amazing what can happen in just...109 years!

[Pippy]

The project is well on its way. A fence has been put up around the perimeter, two office trailers have been placed on the property and two Cats are working steady. One seems to be loading up two truck & pups with soil and hauling it away and the other one is being used to construct a ramp/roadway from Wale Rd. onto the site.

I'll try to keep VV updated as much as I can but you'll have to excuse my lingo when it comes to construction b/c I'm very new to this whole building business.

Oh, and just when I thought they were done ripping up the greenery, they came back last Friday and knocked down two Garry Oaks at the far corner (you can see them in the above pic) of the property next to the Goose Trail. :-x

What's the deal with Garry Oaks, I thought they were a protected species?

[aastra]

Who wants to bet a donut they'll be planting evergreens in their place?

[Pippy]

Who wants to bet a donut they'll be planting evergreens in their place?

I'm willing to bet a Timbit but that's it.

[Mike K.]

[Caramia]

Bleh Pippy, I feel bad for you. Regardless of whether you support the project or not, you are probably really connected to that little bit of wilderness so close to your home. Watching a chunk of your mental map being torn away must be hard. Thanks for keeping us updated, and my condolences.

[Mike K.]

Excavation is about 5 meters below ground across much of the site.

[Pippy]

Bleh Pippy, I feel bad for you. Regardless of whether you support the project or not, you are probably really connected to that little bit of wilderness so close to your home. Watching a chunk of your mental map being torn away must be hard. Thanks for keeping us updated, and my condolences.

Thanks for the kind words. Yes it's difficult when you get really attached to a piece of wilderness so close to home. You're used to looking at it every day, watching all the wildlife go about their daily business, listening to the wide variety of bird songs and enjoying the ever changing colours of leaves on the trees. These things I never took for granted and thoroughly enjoyed b/c some day I knew it would not be there b/c it's not a park or protected area.

I'm not against development and I'm glad they're making good use of the land. My worst fear was that they'd throw up some tacky building or worse yet make it into a parking lot or something. Still, I just can't help feeling that this building might be too big for the footprint of this land b/c they've gone and destroyed pretty much every living thing on this site. I think putting a smaller building up and leaving behind some of the natural wilderness, especially along their neighbour's fence would have made more sense and future residents of the area could still enjoy a little bit of nature. Not the best planning imo.

Anyway, as it stands, the site is a huge ugly hole and the days are spent mostly of loading up three truck and pups full of earth and removing it. They look like they're about half way done digging but I talked to one of the supervisors a while ago and he said they were still going down another ten feet from what we see right now and the deepest part will be towards Wale Rd. It will be 30ft.

[Mike K.]

Thanks for the update, Pippy. Always appreciated.

[Pippy]

The hole is absolutely massive!

Drilling and blasting started on Monday and will continue through to this Thursday, Nov. 22/07.

[aastra]

Sounds like this project is for real.

[Pippy]

Sounds like this project is for real.

It is for real... REAL HUGE!

The excavating crew seems extremely organized; practically an orchestra out there. Curious to see what the next step is as no one worked on the project yesterday at all. It's like they gave everyone the day off until Monday when they start the next step which is? I have no idea.

[Mike K.]

The next step will be construction of the primary foundation forms. You'll see boxes a few meters wide to be used as forms for the first concrete pours. From then on they will begin building forms for the perimeter of the foundation and soon afterwards or simultaneously the foundation for the construction crane will be poured.