1036 replies to this topic

[Caramia]

That is good news. I was really worried about the Roundhouse. During the process of the rezoning I learned a lot about how alarming the condition of the building really was. I was worried that if they put off repairs over the next few years there would be nothing but facade left to preserve. Good on Ken Mariash for doing this first. If the rest of the project tanks he'll be left holding the bag on the expensive restoration. It is a gamble for him to take in this economic reality. But if he plays it safe we could lose the building.

[Kapten Kapsell]

Per a recent T-C article, this project should now be considered 'under construction'. I think the initial work involves stabilization to the historic structures.

[Mike K.]

Once the new construction begins we'll update the status to U/C

[Kapten Kapsell]

This site has been in the news lately as a worker stumbled upon the skeletal remains of a homeless man living in an abandoned/vacant truck that has been slated for removal...

[ZGsta]

A new article about future work at Bayview mentions some stuff about the Roundhouse project.
http://www.timescolo...4524/story.html

This year, the remediation is expected to start on the Roundhouse project, where Mariash has paid to clean up and repair the 4.25-hectare former Canadian Pacific Railway site.

There are tentative plans to transform the neglected brick buildings, which have heritage designation from the city, into shops, pubs, restaurants, offices, community space and a rail-line maintenance facility. Also part of the $250 million Roundhouse project are a hotel and more than 400 condominiums.

[Mike K.]

Here's an exclusive rendering showing the latest designs for the entire Bayview and Roundhouse projects by Bayview Properties.

[concorde]

That will look nice when its all built....in about 30+ years

[G-Man]

There is way too much open space.

[rchauhan]

There is way too much open space.

I agree. Notice how the buildings in both projects seem to be in almost a straight line?

[Mike K.]

You need open space as part of the Roundhouse project in order for trains to access railroad facilities. There's not much that can be done about that.

Some of the green spaces you see on the Bayview portion will be redeveloped into low-rise housing, particularly along the hillsides. I don't know why those buildings are not reflected in the above rendering.

[VicHockeyFan]

ROUNDHOUSE REDEVLOPMENT GETS PROVINCIAL TAXPAYER ASSISTANCE

http://www.cfax1070....hp?newsId=10986

Oct 19, 2009

THE PROVINCE IS CONTRIBUTING 125 THOUSAND DOLLARS TO ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIATION OF THE HISTORIC RAILWAY ROUND HOUSE PROPERTY IN VIC WEST.

[...]

[Bob Fugger]

^^ *sniff sniff* Something stinks, and it's not the brownfield.

[Caramia]

I did quite a bit of work during my MA on Brownfield redevelopment. I remember vividly when that fund was first announced. I was on the cusp - one of those situations where you start your research at the cutting edge and by the time you was finished everyone is doing it. Here is a link to the Canadian Brownfields Network - fascinating reading if you are interested in that kind of thing. Lots of GREAT material about the environmental reasons for Brownfield remediation (beyond detoxifying soil and densifying cities) and the case for government funding. Here is the American example. Enjoy!

[Ms. B. Havin]

^^ *sniff sniff* Something stinks, and it's not the brownfield.

Doesn't strike me as suspicious if the Province is putting in some money toward cleaning up the existing mess. Dockside Green got significant financial breaks for remediating its lands, didn't it?

Government let the pollution happen in the first place (ok, "back then" we refused to know any better ...sure, we knew, but we refused to know), so it seems reasonable to not let the new (private) owner take the full brunt of clean up. In the US, the Feds have Superfund to help with clean up. States help, too. (Canada doesn't even have an EPA, does it?)

[amor de cosmos]

storry in today's tc:
http://www.timescolo...2916/story.html

[Bingo]

As the Roundhouse property is a National Historic site as described in the Kalman Report to the city, it would have originally made some sense to preserve the property for use future use as a light rail and bus interchange. The municipality/city could have done a land swap with the developer exchanging the rail right of way from the roundhouse to the Johnson Street Bridge, for land for transit needs at the Roundhouse.

A future light rail line could then head east from the Roundhouse site along Esquimalt Road to either Bay Street or Johnson Street Bridges.

[Holden West]

^Well, it is kinda a surprise since the last we heard from them, in late October, their brownfield grant was approved and it was full steam ahead. I wonder when the J of C info was made public and how long it was going to be before the mainstream media discovered it.

[Mike K.]

The Roundhouse development had never even taken off the ground so it's impossible for it to be stalled. Until marketing of units begins and shovels hit the ground, this project will remain proposed/approved, unless it is outright canceled.

As for the remediation of the roundhouse building, that's merely a preliminary step and doesn't necessarily count as part of the actual redevelopment of the property.