181 replies to this topic

[Victoria Watcher]

It’s really not much more than a bog. That we used to fill in. Sometimes with garbage.

[AllseeingEye]

Actually it really was a full blown 'proper' lake up until the mid-70's when massive algae blooms resulted from decades of pesticide and especially fertilizer runoff going directly into it from local farms as far away as the Blenkinsop Valley, as well as runoff from at least two wineries which discharged thousands of kilograms of sludge from the wine fermentation process directly into the lake; in addition to periodic sewer discharges from a Saanich treatment plant at McKenzie and Quadra. All those nutrients being introduced into the ecosystem resulted in the wetland-overgrowth we see today.

 

Yet even today in its significantly reduced state its winter flood plain almost quadruples the water surface area to close to 80 acres according to the Swan Lake Nature sanctuary. Fifty years ago (yes I'm old) I remember as a very young yard ape the lake being closer to that latter size virtually all year round.

[amor de cosmos]

new renderings at the bottom of this page: https://www.saanich....anich-core.html

[Nparker]

Here are a couple of the the elevations: 

 

https://www.saanich....aanich-elev.pdf

 

[Victoria Watcher]

Not too colourful.

[Nparker]

Indeed. It's not very architecturally interesting either, but then again, what is nowadays (at least locally)?

[Mike K.]

Aren’t these the renderings from the previous page?

[Nparker]

I posted a couple of the renderings for anyone who didn't to wade through the pdf document from Saanich's web page.

[downtownlurker]

Got excited that the tower looked svelte... then scrolled further down...

[Nparker]

A new rendering of this project has been spotted by thegreatscaper..

Almost a year later. Any news?

[Mike K.]

Nope.

[Nparker]

So the regional housing crisis really is over. Cool. 

[aastra]

Methinks the Uptown corner would be a legitimately decent spot for testing the viability of a large residential building with no parking.

[Mike K.]

A report that just went to council identifies the residential project as 318 units, but also 329 units.

It looks like this is finally making some headway.

[spanky123]

Methinks the Uptown corner would be a legitimately decent spot for testing the viability of a large residential building with no parking.

 

Yeah, the tenants can park in the retail lots!

[Nparker]

8 years to get from this 

to this

and still nothing has been built.

[Victoria Watcher]

Somebody should do the same to Gateway Village.

[Nparker]

Somebody should do the same to Gateway Village.

You mean propose something now and maybe start construction sometime around 2035?

[Victoria Watcher]

A popular recreational hub in Greater Victoria is set to close its doors this spring, marking the end of a short but impactful chapter for the local pickleball community.

The Courts at Uptown, located at the Uptown Shopping Centre, will officially close on May 22 to make way for a new residential rental tower expected to begin construction this summer.

In a message to members, Kristy Lowes, general manager of Uptown, described the facility as more than just a place to play, highlighting its role as a gathering space for community events, tournaments, and celebrations.

https://cheknews.ca/...opment-1314481/

[Mike K.]

This could be the longest wait time from an approved project to construction. Or would that title belong to Hudson District?

Mrs. Mike K’s cousin works for the developer of this tower, and I had heard recently that she had mentioned things were moving along. But I didn’t think construction would be happening this year.

Saanich is going to have a landmark tower in arguably the most visible location for the majority of people arriving into the CRD. It’s going to stick out without any neighbours, and the closest project of similar height is at Mayfair Lanes, 1km away exactly.