156 replies to this topic

[Citified.ca]

 

Citified profile: https://victoria.cit...ergarden-hotel/

 

Proposed height: 65.5 meters

 

Highrise hotel tower catering to millennials proposed for Monk Office property at Fort and Blanshard streets

https://victoria.cit...nshard-streets/

[Nparker]

Perhaps the relevant posts from the Construction Rumours thread could be moved here?

[Citified.ca]

Kapten, thank you for the heads-up!

[Victoria Watcher]

montrose wintergarden is actually a very nice name.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 20 January 2020 - 08:20 AM.

[Nparker]

The Montrose part of the name I understand, but how exactly does "Wintergarden" fit?

[Mike K.]

A reference to Manhattan's Wintergarden, maybe?

[Jackerbie]

is this the same company that did rocket (dominion hotel) on yates?

 

what's a "low-staff" hotel?  sounds a bit zany.  i suppose hotels can try to operate without front desk staff nowadays but in reality it does not work so well when people check out late etc. and the next set is arriving.  the front desk kind of works air traffic control with guests and cleaners.  and traffic cop too.  i'm afraid millenials have to be told to check out/vacate or they'll linger.

 

  

 

65.5m height eh?

 

ONNI wanted to build one in Richmond. Basically it's one big AirBNB, with no front desk, reception, etc. Everything would be done through a key app or with lock boxes. They're attractive for a variety of reasons for both the operator and the guests. The operator may have lower staff costs, and may not be affected by the shortage of hospitality workers. Guests may like the ease of self check-in, and may not desire the services of reception staff.

 

What does the OCP say for this parcel of land - anyone know?

 

The base density is 4.0 FSR, with bonus density up to a total of 6.0 FSR possible under the current Downtown Core Area Plan. Land use designation is mixed use, with no more than 3.0 FSR for the residential component. It's part of the "Central Business District" with an allowable height of 60 m.  

Edited by Jackerbie, 20 January 2020 - 08:41 AM.

[Kapten Kapsell]

Interestingly enough, the big hotel chains are also offering more self-check features, I stayed at the Hampton Inn in Richmond and I checked in and got my 'smart phone room key' to open my room and unlock the elevator via the Hilton HHonors app...

[Victoria Watcher]

Interestingly enough, the big hotel chains are also offering more self-check features, I stayed at the Hampton Inn in Richmond and I checked in and got my 'smart phone room key' to open my room and unlock the elevator via the Hilton HHonors app...

 

there is a move to that for sure.

 

but as anyone that has ever managed even a single air bnb unit knows there is a whole LOT of mucking about with people on check-in and out as they change plans and dates and times.  it's a lot to manage.     

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 20 January 2020 - 09:16 AM.

[aastra]

Really not crazy about it in this location.

[Nparker]

Really not crazy about it in this location.

Why? It's close to restaurants, shopping, Victoria's version of nightlife and a major roadway. It seems like a great location for a hotel to me. 

[Kapten Kapsell]

Really not crazy about it in this location.

Well, if nothing else, it's certainly close to a lot of office space, so it will definitely be convenient for business travelers.  Personally, if I didn't live in Victoria, I'd prefer staying downtown but away from the tourist zone around government street, and there just aren't that many options along the Blanshard corridor...

[aastra]

I guess I'm saying I like the Blanshard/Fort downtown neighbourhood feel.

[Jackerbie]

I guess I'm saying I like the Blanshard/Fort downtown neighbourhood feel.

 

Hopefully this project will do a better job at retaining the fine grain of the streetscape than other projects on Fort Street

[Rob Randall]

Hopefully this project will do a better job at retaining the fine grain of the streetscape than other projects on Fort Street

 

Terms like "fine grain" aren't really heard at the council table anymore. After "affordable units" everything else is just blahblahblah to them.

[Rob Randall]

Really not crazy about it in this location.

 

Eight storeys seems right for this corner. No more. 15-20 seems arbitrary. Like, why not 80?

[Mike K.]

You’ve got to start somewhere, I guess. Better to be known down to eight from 20 than to five from eight.

[Nparker]

Eight storeys seems right for this corner. No more. 15-20 seems arbitrary. Like, why not 80?

Eight seems arbitrary to me. Buildings taller than eight storeys are within a two-block radius now. Why do we think downtown Victoria should have such short buildings?

[Jackerbie]

Eight storeys seems right for this corner. No more. 15-20 seems arbitrary. Like, why not 80?

 

For that you have to ask why 72 m (19-24 storeys) was determined to be the absolute maximum. All of the other maximum building height designations stem from that determination. This block has a 60 m designation because the block to the north has a 72 m designation, and View Street was chosen as the arbitrary boundary when the skyline begins to step down.

 

[Mike K.]

I'd wager the 72 came from Townline's mid-00s vision for the tallest tower at the Hudson, which was to stand 72 meters tall. It was an arbitrary height then, or at least it made sense for what they envisioned. So I suspect the City just said 'ok, we're capping this thing at 72!'

 

Meanwhile HP1 will stand 85 meters tall with its crown.