63 replies to this topic

[G-Man]

^ You know that is a good point. If they are trying to attract office clients they should change the sign.

[Holden West]

As noted elsewhere, huge supports for a new sign have been constructed on site. Are the owners trying to restart interest in this site?

[Mike K.]

Maybe it's for a giant for lease sign?

It's a pretty shabby office building, all things considered.

[Holden West]

The sign supports are at Cook and Johnson. I think it will be a two-storey version of the sign pictured above as any realistic development would require rezoning so we won't see a development announcement any time soon.

[Sparky]

^^ Mike's new Avatar, wow. It looks like it's ready to launch.

[Mike K.]

Darn rights. SkyscraperPage's forum is going mobile in the near future and that's the new icon.

[bicycles]

so, there's now a rendering on that sign for a one or two storey retail/office complex with sapces between 1000 and 2000 sq ft available for lease... it was hard to tell how many floors it was, as the render (and building) looks like a jumbled mess. I couldn't even spot any discernible entrances... really hoping it's just a placeholder.

[bicycles]

[D.L.]

Hmm that's not working for some reason.

I passed by the site on my way home from work today to have a look at the sign and snap a photo, but the batter was dead in my camera!

The building does look odd, it doesn't appear to have storefronts. In fact it looks like it's 1.5 storeys, with the basement windows along the sidewalk.

[Rob Randall]

I know you should not judge a building by one rendering but I do not like this one bit. It looks like a warehouse in Saanich. Entirely inappropriate response to the site IMO. No transition of height between blocks, non-urban cladding, poor streetfront interaction.

[aastra]

Can't imagine what they're thinking with this one. It couldn't be more wrong for the site. It reminds me of those crappy old office blocks at Fort and Vancouver, only much worse.

[Bob Fugger]

I know you should not judge a building by one rendering but I do not like this one bit. It looks like a warehouse in Saanich.

BAHAHAHA, THIS!!! What the **** were they thinking?! Likely, they don't want to build too high so as not to block the views of the heritage car lots.

My God, why do we get it so wrong in this City so often!?

[D.L.]

Got photos now

This view is of the north-east corner of Cook and Johnson St. where there is currently a parking lot. The proposed building has several storefronts along the Johnson St. side and what appears to be two on the Cook St. side. I imagine the difficulty of having more of the storefronts on Cook St. (which would be preferable in my opinion) is the sloped grade of that side.

Many of us would probably like to see a few floors of apartments above retail space here, like the building proposed a few blocks south at Fort St., but given the added complexities of building residential I feel that one floor of retail here is acceptable.



^ View a larger version - http://gingert.net/i...nson-01_lrg.jpg



The other side of the sign with a night rendering. The Johnson St. storefronts can be seen here.

[gumgum]

What a travesty.

[manuel]

Looks like a good place to deal drugs at night...

horrible density - this one needs a rethink

[Holden West]

It would be funny if it was the same architect as the one doing the Monty's renovation. I would like the irony of them pulling the unsightly, dated slats off the facade of one building and attaching them to a new one.

[jklymak]

I don't get this. We are told residential has to be multi storied to break even, but commercial can be economical with just one story?

[D.L.]

Yes, no excavation needed for underground parking, no elevators, and no heavy structural system needed when building just one floor.

[AllseeingEye]

Zzzzzzzzzzzz......

[gumgum]

This is the maddest proposal I think I've seen in a long time.