241 replies to this topic

[Mike K.]

Considering the timing, could this have anything to do with the results of the election in Sidney?

 

I suspect they didn't want to interfere with the election, but the decision to pull the plug would have likely been made some time back. It's always a bit tricky announcing major news ahead of election so they opted to wait.

[nagel]

Very good news. POS strip mall that would suck energy from Sidney’s strip.

[RFS]

Very good news. POS strip mall that would suck energy from Sidney’s strip.

Oh yeah wouldn’t want anything to happen to all that energy

[AllseeingEye]

Oh yeah wouldn’t want anything to happen to all that energy

Yup I must've missed the memo last time I was out there, I mean all that street energy...was....indescribably.....overwhelming.......................and........................uh.....................zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

[Kapten Kapsell]

Perhaps the pains affecting brick and mortar retail in general also have come into play in the decision to cancel this development. Some retail centres are thriving but others definitely are plagued with higher-than-desirable vacancy rates...

[Victoria Watcher]

it likely has everything to do with the election.  if price was still there it might have been time for them to go back and say the $3m pedestrian crossing needs to be dropped.

[spanky123]

it likely has everything to do with the election.  if price was still there it might have been time for them to go back and say the $3m pedestrian crossing needs to be dropped.

 

The issue was that they had no tenants. Brick and mortar is not a growth industry. The markets are in decline, capital is drying up and this was an easy out for Omnicron. Blame the politics and move on.

[Bingo]

Perhaps the pains affecting brick and mortar retail in general also have come into play in the decision to cancel this development. Some retail centres are thriving but others definitely are plagued with higher-than-desirable vacancy rates...

 

The newest wing at Hillside Mall still has empty spaces. That end is dead with Sears gone.

[spanky123]

The newest wing at Hillside Mall still has empty spaces. That end is dead with Sears gone.

 

Every mall has lots of vacancy.

[tjv]

As I have said before the retail market is very slow and this is no surprise.  I talk to a lot of nervous developers who see out of control construction costs and flat prices now and are starting to pull back.

 

I was at a tender meeting and a lot of construction companies were speaking up wanting to know the owners budget and many were fed up pricing jobs that went over budget and ended up cancelled

 

I was talking to a temp labour agency manager recently and even they are expecting a slow down early next year just like everyone else in construction

[rjag]

As I have said before the retail market is very slow and this is no surprise.  I talk to a lot of nervous developers who see out of control construction costs and flat prices now and are starting to pull back.

 

I was at a tender meeting and a lot of construction companies were speaking up wanting to know the owners budget and many were fed up pricing jobs that went over budget and ended up cancelled

 

I was talking to a temp labour agency manager recently and even they are expecting a slow down early next year just like everyone else in construction

 

And the Left will have achieved their desired outcome, less employment means less demand for housing and less F150's on the roads. Nirvana

[spanky123]

And the Left will have achieved their desired outcome, less employment means less demand for housing and less F150's on the roads. Nirvana

 

And they will take credit for it!

[Mike K.]

What it means is government projects can soon begin to squeeze contractors. 

[Jackerbie]

I seem to remember discussion in this forum a couple years back when both Sidney Crossing and Sandowne were in the approvals process, and someone posited that they wouldn't be surprised if the approvals race between the two (Sidney and North Saanich) was due to an unspoken truth that the commercial market would only be able to support one of the two projects, so whoever got shovels in the ground first would survive. Looks like those musing were true!

[Mike K.]

Yes, the race was on! It was clear based on analysis of the retail/commercial market of the area that only one shopping centre could realistically proceed and hence why Omicron said it needed to move hard and fast. But that being said, the proposal came forward publicly in mid-2015. By September of 2016 it had secured approvals from the municipality. That's actually quite a fast approvals process, no?

 

Sandown is now likely to secure a grocery tenant, should one actually be viable out there in addition to what's already available.

[RFS]

I think it is too bad, this would have been visual interest from the highway

[SimonH]

Yes, the race was on! It was clear based on analysis of the retail/commercial market of the area that only one shopping centre could realistically proceed and hence why Omicron said it needed to move hard and fast. But that being said, the proposal came forward publicly in mid-2015. By September of 2016 it had secured approvals from the municipality. That's actually quite a fast approvals process, no?

 

Sandown is now likely to secure a grocery tenant, should one actually be viable out there in addition to what's already available.

I heard Thrifty were moving.

[Kapten Kapsell]

I do think the pedestrian overpass would have been necessary: the “status quo” could have led to severe traffic congestion at the Beacon Ave / Pat Bay intersection as turning vehicles waited for pedestrians to cross that wide intersection...

As Mike said, Omicron secured their approvals two years ago, so surely difficulties attracting tenants played a part. Originally Omicron had pitched an electronics/appliance retailer for the centre, so maybe Best Buy pulled out?

[Danma]

Maybe Costco can come in and get some land for a bargain? One can dream...

[sdwright.vic]

Hardly big enough for Costco!