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UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Hyatt Centric Victoria Hotel
Uses: hotel, commercial
Address: 1314-1324 Broad Street
Municipality: Victoria
Region: Downtown Victoria
Storeys: 6
The Hyatt Centric Victoria Hotel development is a six-storey, 135-room hotel with ground floor retail space. T... (view full profile)
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[Downtown Victoria] Hyatt Centric Victoria Hotel | Hotel; retail | 6-storeys


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#41 Rob Randall

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Posted 26 September 2019 - 08:23 PM

The sometimes-confused Victoria News posted a story that made it seem like this is a done deal:

 

A Vancouver-based developer is bringing some modern updates to a heritage-facade building in downtown Victoria.

The collected properties in the 1300-block of Broad Street, including the heritage Ducks Building, will soon be transformed into a 137-room, six-storey hotel with retail space underneath.

 

 

But of course the project is early in the approval stages. It hasn't even come before committee of the whole. 


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#42 Mike K.

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Posted 26 September 2019 - 09:35 PM

It’s Nicole Crescenzi, BP’s resident Citified article re-writer.

Note her title: New downtown Victoria hotel to offer car elevator, bee sanctuary

And the Citified article: Proposal for 137-room Broad Street hotel to include bee habitat, car elevator

There will be two car elevators, actually. I specified an elevator (singular) to see if anyone would bite, and Crescenzi did. Sloppy sleuthing for a reported not to catch it.

Anyways...

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#43 aastra

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Posted 27 September 2019 - 11:59 AM

Methinks too many of these supposedly sensitive modern designs have brick cladding right down to the sidewalk. I don't have a problem with some of them doing it, but almost all of them do it. On the corner of Broad and Johnson there's an old cast-iron commercial frontage. I'm wondering if the left section below wouldn't have a fair bit more personality if those brick-covered pillars on the ground floor were cast iron instead (or if they were anything other than the same brick as on the upper levels).

 

The old ground floors weren't blah. More often than not they showed off a ton of distinction and personality.

 

post-3717-0-37077300-1568678521.png


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#44 G-Man

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Posted 27 September 2019 - 02:00 PM

This observation is so bang on. I had not really internalised my concern with many these newer buildings but is exactly it. Brick to the ground.

Visit my blog at: https://www.sidewalkingvictoria.com 

 

It has a whole new look!

 


#45 Jackerbie

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Posted 30 September 2019 - 08:45 AM

Methinks too many of these supposedly sensitive modern designs have brick cladding right down to the sidewalk. I don't have a problem with some of them doing it, but almost all of them do it. On the corner of Broad and Johnson there's an old cast-iron commercial frontage. I'm wondering if the left section below wouldn't have a fair bit more personality if those brick-covered pillars on the ground floor were cast iron instead (or if they were anything other than the same brick as on the upper levels).

 

The old ground floors weren't blah. More often than not they showed off a ton of distinction and personality.

 

Additions with personality would be against the heritage design guidelines, they're supposed to fade into the (brick) background



#46 Rob Randall

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Posted 30 September 2019 - 08:53 AM

But there has to be something big and solid-looking on the ground for the brick to sit atop. Otherwise it doesn't make visual sense. The brick ends up looking like a cheap cladding. 


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#47 aastra

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Posted 30 September 2019 - 10:18 AM

Those old ground floors with tall windows and fine dividers amidst extensive glass coverage often gave the impression that they were lighter than the levels above.

 

Cast iron storefront at Johnson and Broad...

 

Or this one below:

 

post-13-0-32390400-1550521787.jpg

pic from https://archives.vic...rnment-street-2


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#48 aastra

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Posted 30 September 2019 - 10:21 AM

I feel like the modern wing of the hotel at Johnson and Broad is a serious offender re: thick brick pillars down to the ground that detract from the overall effect.


Edited by aastra, 30 September 2019 - 10:22 AM.

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#49 Rob Randall

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Posted 30 September 2019 - 10:31 AM

As it is in so many respects, the Magnolia Hotel is a good example of what to do right. It doesn't have to be sold blocks of marble. 

 

Capture.JPG

 

 

 



#50 m3m

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Posted 30 September 2019 - 10:51 AM

I've always liked the look of the Hotel Rialto:  https://www.google.c...!7i13312!8i6656o



#51 Jackerbie

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Posted 01 November 2019 - 03:45 PM

Revised again, though only a small change to the exterior. Proposal now includes 139 hotel rooms instead of 137.

 

Bubbled revisions here: https://tender.victo...611095134710809

 

Dev Tracker here: https://tender.victo...Number=REZ00699


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#52 Kapten Kapsell

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Posted 15 November 2019 - 05:03 PM

This is going to CotW on Thursday Nov 21...

#53 Mike K.

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Posted 21 November 2019 - 05:47 PM

This was at CoTW this morning but in the absence of two councillors the vote was postponed until next Thursday.

 

I suspect there were some concerns raised by council, and now would be as good a time as any to submit a letter to elected officials describing how you feel about this project.

 

One thing is for sure, that we could use a new hotel in downtown Victoria. The last one is pushing 15-years-old, no?


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#54 Mike K.

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Posted 21 November 2019 - 06:54 PM

Reading through some documents today and in conversation with those who are familiar with the proposal, it sounds like the contentious issue is the replacement of the Canada Hotel portion of this project.

 

This would be the wing that fronts onto Johnson Street north of the Duck's Building. The hotel, according to assessments, is beyond a financially viable restoration effort and will need to come down. It has suffered from significant, unsympathetic renovations over the decades. The brick has been stuccoed, the storefronts significantly altered, the cornices and the two-storey front bay windows removed and the internal second floor split into two floors. What is salvageable is the rubble stone wall that runs along the west side of this building. Rehabilitation of this surviving element – and of the Duck’s Building’s east and west walls – has been a priority for Chard.

 

By the sound of it if the City digs in its heels and requires the Canada Hotel to be retained the project will not proceed.


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#55 Nparker

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Posted 21 November 2019 - 09:23 PM

...if the City digs in its heels and requires the Canada Hotel to be retained the project will not proceed.

Northern Junk redux.



#56 Victoria Watcher

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Posted 22 November 2019 - 05:46 AM

Reading through some documents today and in conversation with those who are familiar with the proposal, it sounds like the contentious issue is the replacement of the Canada Hotel portion of this project.

 

This would be the wing that fronts onto Johnson Street north of the Duck's Building. The hotel, according to assessments, is beyond a financially viable restoration effort and will need to come down. It has suffered from significant, unsympathetic renovations over the decades. The brick has been stuccoed, the storefronts significantly altered, the cornices and the two-storey front bay windows removed and the internal second floor split into two floors. What is salvageable is the rubble stone wall that runs along the west side of this building. Rehabilitation of this surviving element – and of the Duck’s Building’s east and west walls – has been a priority for Chard.

 

By the sound of it if the City digs in its heels and requires the Canada Hotel to be retained the project will not proceed.

 



#57 Mike K.

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Posted 23 November 2019 - 09:41 AM

A TC headline from yesterday has unnecessarily gotten people worked up. The headline states two buildings will be replaced for this project. That's wrong, only the Canada Hotel will need to go due to its condition. The Duck's Building is the crowning jewel of this project, its facade will be refurbished.


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#58 Nparker

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Posted 23 November 2019 - 10:39 AM

A TC headline from yesterday has unnecessarily gotten people worked up...

Standard, TC alarmist, click-bait. They really are a second-rate publication. I often feel their demise can't come soon enough.


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#59 Mike K.

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Posted 25 November 2019 - 04:12 PM

I have submitted the following letter to the Times Colonist. I urge anyone who wishes to see this proposal materialize to consider writing council. Even a short email can make a significant impact on council's decision.

 

The crowning jewel of a 139-room Broad Street hotel proposal is a heritage asset that unless restored and repurposed as part of the redevelopment effort, could face years of continued degradation and remain at-risk of collapse in the event of a moderate earthquake.

 

As the defining architectural statement of its block, the nearly 130-year-old Duck’s Building is at the centre of a six-storey vision to bring a flagship hotel to Victoria’s downtown core. Great effort will be taken to preserve its front and rear façades and reclaim its status as a landmark destination.

 

With unanimous support for the project from the Heritage Advisory Panel, the concept is within the parameters of Victoria’s Official Community Plan and the newly-minted Old Town Heritage Guidelines. It is, literally, a reflection of the City of Victoria’s heritage preservation goals, and the city centre will benefit should it come to fruition.

 

With regard to the adjacent Canada Hotel, this property suffered significantly from a continent-wide post-modern push for whitewashing history in our cities that yielded the masking of historic façades and an indifference towards the degradation of heritage elements. Many of Victoria’s heritage buildings, in fact, were caught up in this mid-century assault on the built form. Contrary to this approach, the proposed development will see the remaining historically significant feature of this building – a rubble stone wall constructed in the late 1800s – rehabilitated and celebrated.

 

It would be a shame for council to forgo the many benefits this development will bring to Old Town – including the celebration of those heritage elements that remain – in favour of adherence to the preservation of long-lost heritage.


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#60 Mike K.

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Posted 25 November 2019 - 05:38 PM

Things are really heating up on this Facebook page. People have been lead to believe the Duck’s will be destroyed.

https://www.facebook...bL3iQ&__tn__=-R

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