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UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Belmont Market Shopping Centre
Uses: commercial, office
Address: Jacklin Road at Jenkins Road
Municipality: Langford
Region: West Shore
Storeys: 1
Belmont Market Shopping Centre is comprised of 160,000 square feet of commercial space with a Thrifty Foods gr... (view full profile)
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[Langford] Belmont Market | Commercial; rentals, condos | Under construction

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#81 jklymak

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Posted 27 May 2016 - 10:50 PM

I love how urban planning is not about giving people what they want which is strip malls with good access and parking but is instead about dictating what people should want. Thank few places listen to this madness.


No that is what you want, and there is lots of that in western North America for you and those who value what you do. Other folks want walkable shopping experience with lots of people, coffee shops, restaurants, bars. If I'm sitting at the coffee shop there is little as depressing as looking out at a big parking lot.
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#82 Mike K.

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Posted 27 May 2016 - 11:00 PM

People love Langford and the Westshore. They love the big box stores, they love the free parking. If someone doesn't, that's fine, he or she can choose to live elsewhere and go to a coffee shop that's not adjacent to a parking lot.

I'm a downtown guy myself, but I can sympathize with the suburban lifestyle. It's great if that's your thing, and who are we to tell people otherwise?
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#83 Mike K.

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Posted 27 May 2016 - 11:04 PM

Some Langford residents may feel there is nothing more depressing than seeing panhandlers and drug addicts while having a coffee away from a large parking lot. Others might not care, but I think we can all agree the "better" way of doing things has so far been pretty disastrous for the City of Victoria.

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#84 jklymak

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Posted 27 May 2016 - 11:56 PM

Yeah ok fair enough. I don't care what Langford does and if people love it out there more power to them. However I do think it is shortsighted to build in the Calgary style in a region destined to become much denser in the coming decades.

#85 dasmo

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Posted 28 May 2016 - 06:48 AM

I don't think making people places comes hand in hand with pan handlers? If people want strip malls why has Langford worked so hard to dress theirs up along goldstream? It's like a carnival ride! I reference the suburban mall design of South Africa again. (The mass exodus from downtowns after apartheid ended created a mall boom) Anyway, was at a few where they actually did the park underground and made the upstairs people only. Very busy, very popular. One mixed use place in particular was genius. Underground parking, ground level was bars and restaurants, upper six or so stories were businesses.... We have not managed to go there yet in any of our strip malls. Look at Tuscany Village. So close and would have been great for the residence if they made that a pedestrian square. As it stands, no one parks underground and even I drove across the parking lot to go to the other sore. Walking through busy parking lots sucks just too much.... Even Eagle Creek could have put a little square in front of the condo portion where people could chill on a patio.... Nope. Parking to the door... Uptown just couldn't follow through and the busiest spot is the pedestrian square... We just need a developer with passion, vision and a willingness to be innovative.

Edited by dasmo, 28 May 2016 - 06:51 AM.


#86 Mike K.

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Posted 28 May 2016 - 07:11 AM

I've seen those shopping centres in SA. Pretty snazzy, but then they do cater to much larger population nodes than we do so they can afford to spend far more money on their suburban shopping centres and the like.

Victoria is still a small city and will not even reach half the population of Calgary in this half of the decade, so I don't think we have too much to worry about. And for what it's worth, we've already got the smallest footprint per-capita, so we're doing ok.

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#87 dasmo

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Posted 28 May 2016 - 08:12 AM

Not sure what population has to do with it exactly.

#88 insanelydeadlydisease

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Posted 28 May 2016 - 08:23 AM

I sure hope the region doesn't become "much denser" in the coming decades because we'll become a traffic snarled nightmare like Vancouver and the urban planners responsible will say the solution is to double down on it like they are now.



#89 jonny

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Posted 28 May 2016 - 08:46 AM

Let's not forget that the anchor tenant at Belmont is a grocery store. Even the downtown grocery store (Market on Yates) has quite a bit of free parking. It has oodles more free parking than pretty much any other downtown retailer. 



#90 dasmo

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Posted 28 May 2016 - 09:03 AM

It has nothing to do with parking and everything to do with design. Of course you need parking! When was the last time you didn't need to walk forever shopping at Costco? You need to walk a mile through the lot alone.... Parking right in front doesn't happen much anyway....

#91 insanelydeadlydisease

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Posted 28 May 2016 - 10:34 AM

You only have to walk far if you shop there on the weekend like all the people who live in the core and supposedly hate big box stores do.


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#92 dasmo

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Posted 28 May 2016 - 04:25 PM

You have to walk half a mile just to get a jug of milk!

#93 LJ

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Posted 29 May 2016 - 07:51 PM

^But you have the option of not shopping there if you don't like the experience.


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#94 dasmo

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Posted 29 May 2016 - 10:44 PM

^But you have the option of not shopping there if you don't like the experience.

Yes, but you miss my point... You are walking anyway. So if the shopping centre is designed so you park underground and emerge into a wonderful pedestrian paradise your walking is simply more pleasant. Who wants to walk between idling, jolting, jostling cars? No one. That's why there are no pedestrians in the parking zones of Uptown. They are all jammed in the one nice spot in front of Mallwart. Good thing though...otherwise it could have really hurt downtown. As it stands it's still just another strip mall, just much better looking.
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#95 sdwright.vic

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Posted 30 May 2016 - 05:07 AM

Who wants to walk between idling, jolting, jostling cars? No one.


To be honest, I don't think much about it when I walk to the entrance of the store I am going.
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#96 VicHockeyFan

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Posted 30 May 2016 - 05:39 AM

Yes, but you miss my point... You are walking anyway. So if the shopping centre is designed so you park underground and emerge into a wonderful pedestrian paradise your walking is simply more pleasant. Who wants to walk between idling, jolting, jostling cars? No one. That's why there are no pedestrians in the parking zones of Uptown. They are all jammed in the one nice spot in front of Mallwart. Good thing though...otherwise it could have really hurt downtown. As it stands it's still just another strip mall, just much better looking.


There is a psychological barrier against parking underground.
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#97 dasmo

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Posted 30 May 2016 - 06:03 AM

There is a psychological barrier against parking underground.

Yes, when there is a lot of above ground parking in the way. It's how it's designed....

#98 nagel

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Posted 30 May 2016 - 06:51 AM

Uptown should close off Uptown Boulevard to cars and expand their "pedestrian mall" for a huge win.  That fountain is a major attraction and some more elements like that would be killer.  There's ample parking from the lot.

 

I actually don't hear many people saying how they love going to Langford.  They obviously love the cheap stuff at Costco, but the travel to it and parkingpalooza are just what you have to put up with to get those deals that are totally worth it.

 

Nobody will be travelling from the core to this ghetto already-dated soul-crushing strip mall.


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#99 lanforod

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Posted 30 May 2016 - 07:12 AM

Uptown should close off Uptown Boulevard to cars and expand their "pedestrian mall" for a huge win.  That fountain is a major attraction and some more elements like that would be killer.  There's ample parking from the lot.

 

 

Totally agree. Allow Browns to put a large outdoor patio out there, etc.


Edited by lanforod, 30 May 2016 - 07:12 AM.


#100 sebberry

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Posted 30 May 2016 - 07:13 AM

Nobody will be travelling from the core to this ghetto already-dated soul-crushing strip mall.


But there will be many people from Langford shopping at it.

There's plenty of shops I drive to Langford to shop at.

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