1571 replies to this topic

[Nparker]

...Why would the city cap one at 17 and allow 32 across the street?...

Why not? Don't punish the new developer for the cowardice of the previous developer.

[baconnbits]

Why does it need to be 32 storeys? What is wrong with 20-25? Unit count? Allow them To build a 20 story building with an 8,500 SF floor plate. That makes a more cost effective building which can charge lower rents.
I think height should be gradual step up/down.
I’d completely support 20-25 stories. I think 32 is too high. We will have a cheap looking 32 story rental tower dominating the skyline for years.

[baconnbits]

Why not? Don't punish the new developer for the cowardice of the previous developer.

I don’t think the Firehall rezone and density transfer would be called cowardice. Lol. Ask your mates at the DRA if they felt those guys asked for too little.
I recall that being a bit of a slog.
But again. That’s not 17-25. Doubling the height almost.
I don’t think it will look good plain and simple.

[Nparker]

...I think 32 is too high. We will have a cheap looking 32 story rental tower dominating the skyline for years.

And I don't. Why will it be cheap looking?

[baconnbits]

Economics

[DavidSchell]

I’d completely support 20-25 stories. I think 32 is too high. We will have a cheap looking 32 story rental tower dominating the skyline for years.

 

30 to 32 is fine with me, we already have a few in the 20 to 25 range and their will be many more in the coming years, so a couple in the 32 range will help offset going back to the flat top look we were famous for. 

[n_eclipse]

My one issue for the building being so high is where does it stop? People will always want to build "the highest building in Victoria." Huge advertisement for HP1 when it was being built. There will always be competition for that if they keep accepting taller buildings, and I think would ruin the non sky scraper vibe Victoria is known for.

[Mike K.]

Vic West is already targeted to get taller buildings than what’s in downtown Victoria. I suspect 30-40 floors in the 2020s is going to be the social and political impact of 15-20 of the 90s.

[Rob Randall]

So why not have every plot of land pre-zoned for 32 storeys? Heck, let's go 40, 50! Do we really want that?

 

But I realize there's a contingent here that thinks you should be able to build absolutely anything anywhere.

[zoomer]

I say we test out the 30 to low 40s along Douglas Street from Bay to Uptown. It’s a bit of a lost cause currently; let’s see if they can build a desirable urban experience there and not another Metrotown high rise clumping. As for Harris Green, I don’t mind some 25s sprinkled in, and instead of twin 17’s, a 21 and 13. Jumble it up, avoid similar height buildings next to one another as much as possible, throw in the odd 6 or 9 storey.

Edited by zoomer, 06 June 2021 - 08:08 PM.

[Mike K.]

So why not have every plot of land pre-zoned for 32 storeys? Heck, let's go 40, 50! Do we really want that?

But I realize there's a contingent here that thinks you should be able to build absolutely anything anywhere.

I think the contingent just views the plans and zoning restrictions as 10 years out of date when they’re adopted, and ten years on they’re out of sync with reality.

[ventilatte]

So why not have every plot of land pre-zoned for 32 storeys? Heck, let's go 40, 50! Do we really want that?

 

 

 

Yes, I do at least. It's the downtown core of the city, what's wrong with tall buildings downtown (as long as they are decent quality)? 

 

 

I would much prefer if everything was zoned to 40 stories rather than the 10-15 or whatever it currently is. 

[Casual Kev]

I'd prefer if most of the city was zoned for 4-6 stories than have to lean on skyscrapers for housing supply. Alas, that is not happening so might as well build up density in the, well, dense areas. 

[punk cannonballer]

European cities like Paris and Barcelona have very large swaths of very dense 10-12 storey buildings. They did largely raze those parts of the cities to build but quite significant density can be achieved with lower buildings. A lot of that impetus in those places was to maintain the dominance of cathedrals and other significant buildings in those cities. Here we don't have that; views of distant mountains are a different design problem.

[Victoria Watcher]

The proposal for the development at Harris Green Village includes 100,000-square-feet of commercial space and 1,500 rental apartments across its block-and-a-half site surrounding 1010 and 1020 View Street.

 

Apartments will be split across five towers ranging from 21 to 32 storeys – which could be Victoria’s new tallest building, dethroning the 25-storey Hudson Place One on Herald Street.

 

If accepted, the development site will convert from core residential to a mixed-use land designation, said Sheldon Johnson, Victoria’s manager of engagement. The amendment would permit buildings taller than the current cap of 20 storeys, and density up to the development’s proposed floor space ratio of 6.2:1.

 

The developers are contemplating but have yet to confirm the inclusion of office space in the village, said Starlight Investments senior development manager Andrew Browne.

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.vicnews....ghest-building/

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 07 June 2021 - 08:26 AM.

[Mike K.]

European cities like Paris and Barcelona have very large swaths of very dense 10-12 storey buildings. They did largely raze those parts of the cities to build but quite significant density can be achieved with lower buildings. A lot of that impetus in those places was to maintain the dominance of cathedrals and other significant buildings in those cities. Here we don't have that; views of distant mountains are a different design problem.

 

When we try to take that approach, the response is that the buildings are too close to one another and completely block views of everything for everyone (except each other).

[punk cannonballer]

When we try to take that approach, the response is that the buildings are too close to one another and completely block views of everything for everyone (except each other).

 

Of course. We're talking about the Hausmann/Cerda approach after all. It's...interesting that some of the places which are now held up as a model of urban design started as autocratic humanitarian disasters with zero public input. 
 

[Rob Randall]

The initial spark, the very foundation of Vibrant Victoria when it was created in the mid 2000s centred around the Hausman/Cerda (Horizontal highrise) model vs. the emerging podium tower trend.

[zoomer]

I remember that debate.. it spilled out into the streets at times. I still have the 'Team Podium' t-shirt which due to poor graphic design and Council misinterpretation got me kicked out of a public hearing for wearing 'suggestive or **rnographic imagery'.

That being said I believe we need more modest Iranian architecture to inspire our development trajectory. I'll just leave that here for now and elaborate in another relevant thread soon enough.

[spanky123]

I would much prefer if everything was zoned to 40 stories rather than the 10-15 or whatever it currently is. 

 

Then you would have the problem Ian Sutherland mentioned, every piece of land in the City would appreciate in price to match the incremental density.

 

We have had more apartments come available in the past two years then in the past twenty. Vacancy rates have increased top nearly 3% yet rental prices have shot up more than any time in recent history as well. 

 

Clearly more density is only making affordability worse.