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PROPOSED
The Ventana
Uses: condo, commercial
Address: 1003 View Street
Municipality: Victoria
Region: Downtown Victoria
Storeys: 14
Condo units: (2BR)
Sales status: in planning
The Ventana is a proposal for a 14-storey luxury condominium tower along the 1000-block of View Street at Vanc... (view full profile)
Learn more about the Ventana on Citified.ca
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[Downtown Victoria] The Ventana | Condos, retail | 14-storeys | Proposed


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92 replies to this topic

#21 Rob Randall

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Posted 27 June 2018 - 11:03 AM

^Spanish for "window".


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#22 zoomer

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Posted 27 June 2018 - 11:25 AM

No one wants to see a slab here, it’ll likely turn out ok - but it’s no looker which is disappointing for a so called luxury building. The proportions just aren’t right, no one will say ‘WOW, look at the cool oval/cylinder building!’. Maybe they’ll say ‘that’s nice’, or ‘that’s a bit different’, but is that all architects/developers/builders/city dwellers should aspire to, especially with a higher end building?

A funky, bold boutique building is needed here. I’ll post a few examples tonight.
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#23 Casual Kev

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Posted 27 June 2018 - 12:02 PM

I agree with observations that the design could use some work but I wouldn't nix the project over it. It'll be good use of a small lot.



#24 FirstTimeHomeCrier

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Posted 27 June 2018 - 12:07 PM

Can't wait to see a few more million dollar condos sit on the market for months!



#25 Baro

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Posted 27 June 2018 - 12:08 PM

I don't thing it does enough to show its a corner building and find the general design ugly and uninspired.  I wouldn't vote against it or try to stop it on those grounds, but I think they can do a lot better.


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#26 aastra

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Posted 27 June 2018 - 12:12 PM

We're talking about the corner of View and Vancouver in Harris Green, right? If this place is deemed to be ugly and uninspired then which Harris Green buildings would beat it?


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#27 aastra

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Posted 27 June 2018 - 12:18 PM

 

A funky, bold boutique building is needed here.

 

I'd say you've got it. Seriously, it seems like we're pulling an incredibly high standard out of thin air for this site. Where is this coming from?


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#28 Mike K.

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Posted 27 June 2018 - 12:19 PM

This is still an early design. We’ll see refinements in the months to come.

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#29 Hotel Mike

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Posted 27 June 2018 - 03:19 PM

I like this a lot, for a corner that has been vacant and without interest for a long time. As for the parking, when I think of the high end condos in Vancouver, parking is essential. Where will you leave your Range Rover, S63, or McLaren while you're away? I can't see these buyers going next door to a different development to park.


Don't be so sure.:cool:

#30 Mike K.

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Posted 27 June 2018 - 03:26 PM

It is essential, 100%.

And even the CRD confirms the number of households with AT LEAST one vehicle per resident are on the rise, while the number of vehicles per 100 residents has risen from 68.x to 70.3. Meanwhile we’re on track to lose 2,000 public parking spaces in downtown Victoria before the decade’s out.

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#31 G-Man

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Posted 27 June 2018 - 06:36 PM

Not sure how anyone can complain about this design. It is a tiny tiny lot. I am surprised that they can pull this off here. Walk down and look. I think when you see how thin it will have to be you will realise it will look quite cool.
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Visit my blog at: https://www.sidewalkingvictoria.com 

 

It has a whole new look!

 


#32 AllseeingEye

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Posted 27 June 2018 - 07:37 PM

^ I am pretty sure that is not true, at least not in Victoria. Still this building looks amazing.

Concur 100% - and since "Victoria" and "amazing architecture" rarely if ever go together in the same sentence, my prediction is that this will get the heave-ho-"NO!" by this council as surely as the Canuck's are out of the annual playoff picture each January.... 

 

Victoria had an opportunity to be "amazing" in the 80's with the original Songhees; we all know what a complete cluster-**** the city made of that. As a friend from the UK said some years ago, who worked for a notable London architect, *that* Songhees was "......utterly Barf-tastic. My God what a hash they made of that!". No kidding. Ditto with the Northern Junk site: the location is literally a gateway to and from the city core with an opportunity for a truly signature building to emerge. Yet just look at the agony that that relatively small building/design is going through.

 

Other cities will discuss, review, design, plan, approve and ultimately build 100-story edifices while we have a collective s*** fit over a 5-6 floor structure that wouldn't even be considered newsworthy anywhere else. Similarly just look at how the city utterly neutered the original Iron Works design, dumbing it down to something that you can find anywhere from Saanich to the Fraser Valley - in Old Town of all places!

 

I would love to see this one get built but I certainly won't hold my breath. Hope I'm dead wrong of course but the track record in Ye Olde Faux Pas Englande (Which Never Was) doesn't exactly inspire confidence. And as others have alluded to the resident socialist brigade on council will utterly hate the fact these units are 1500 s/f or more....


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#33 zoomer

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Posted 27 June 2018 - 07:39 PM

We're talking about the corner of View and Vancouver in Harris Green, right? If this place is deemed to be ugly and uninspired then which Harris Green buildings would beat it?

 

We're talking about a location that is within anywhere from 0 to 10 minutes (depending on your point of view) away from the some of best/ideal/valuable urban locations in Canada.  Just because it's Harris Green doesn't mean the bar should remain low.  I'd say that both of Chard's buildings on Yates and Johnson will be better.  Only Vancouver and Toronto (and that may have changed) have higher condo prices - so why are we getting small city quality and urban design?

 

It is a narrow lot, which is why I think a narrow rectangular building would suit this better than a stubby oval. 

 

Can't quite find a great example, but how about this?  Even shorter at 12 stories.  Would it be possible to have the downtown Y occupy three floors with glass walls - great location, but perhaps the floor plate here would be too small.  Not ideal, but you get the idea.. this would be facing Vancouver.  

 

K, seems the forum doesn't like my image links, so check it out here.

 

 

or a 14 story building with an impressive entrance on Vancouver, with lots of smokey and relatively reflective glass it would be beautiful opposite the massive trees on this site.  Source

 

%E7%B2%BE%E9%8A%B3%E9%9F%B3%E6%82%85%E5%

 

Another idea - again check it here as the forum won't let me post the image.


Edited by zoomer, 27 June 2018 - 07:42 PM.


#34 Rob Randall

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Posted 27 June 2018 - 07:49 PM

We're talking about a location that is within anywhere from 0 to 10 minutes (depending on your point of view) away from the some of best/ideal/valuable urban locations in Canada.  Just because it's Harris Green doesn't mean the bar should remain low.  I'd say that both of Chard's buildings on Yates and Johnson will be better.

 

 

I love what Dave has done for Victoria but these designs frankly don't get my blood rushing. They're good, they get the job done. Ventana has the potential to be a masterpiece.

 

Capture.JPG


Edited by Rob Randall, 27 June 2018 - 07:53 PM.

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#35 Casual Kev

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Posted 27 June 2018 - 08:05 PM

It is essential, 100%.

And even the CRD confirms the number of households with AT LEAST one vehicle per resident are on the rise, while the number of vehicles per 100 residents has risen from 68.x to 70.3. Meanwhile we’re on track to lose 2,000 public parking spaces in downtown Victoria before the decade’s out.

 

I'd imagine that has more to do with the West Shore growing much faster than the rest of the CRD, rather than Victorians becoming bigger car lovers all else equal. 

 

I get that the target demographic will likely own multiple cars, but the building is also extremely well located for a car-free lifestyle. I do wonder to what extent the plenitude of parking (or not) would affect the pricing...



#36 zoomer

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Posted 27 June 2018 - 08:24 PM

I love what Dave has done for Victoria but these designs frankly don't get my blood rushing. They're good, they get the job done. Ventana has the potential to be a masterpiece.
 


I agree Rob, it has the potential to be better than those two Chards, but not based on the current rendering. Masterpiece?! If someone told me there was already a dozen of these in Yaletown and no one notices them - I’d believe it. Even though there aren’t a dozen... lol.

Can anyone post a 14 storey ovalish building that is a masterpiece? I don’t think it exists but so willing to be proven wrong.

#37 G-Man

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Posted 27 June 2018 - 09:37 PM

I do think think there are a lot of oval buildings and that is why this is so cool!

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

 

It has a whole new look!

 


#38 Mike K.

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Posted 28 June 2018 - 07:25 AM

I'd imagine that has more to do with the West Shore growing much faster than the rest of the CRD, rather than Victorians becoming bigger car lovers all else equal.

I get that the target demographic will likely own multiple cars, but the building is also extremely well located for a car-free lifestyle. I do wonder to what extent the plenitude of parking (or not) would affect the pricing...


The biggest parking issue in Victoria is not on the West Shore but among downtown residences. Virtually every building has occupants waiting on parking, and in some cases quite a few of them with very long waits. Couple that with a massive decrease in reservable public parking and you’ve got a market that will pay a premium for two+ secured spots in their own building.

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#39 Jackerbie

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Posted 28 June 2018 - 07:51 AM

I do think think there are a lot of oval buildings and that is why this is so cool!

 

 

I can't think of a bunch of oval building in Toronto and Vancouver and none of them are particularly inspiring or memorable. The ones I know of are basically just seafoam spandrel from tip to toe, so no different than anything else in either city.



#40 Mike K.

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Posted 28 June 2018 - 08:19 AM

Westbank's Palisades buildings in Vancouver immediately come to mind. They decided not to pursue such shapes following that project due to the difficulty expressed by purchasers with finding suitable furniture.


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