[Harris Green] 979-983 Pandora Avenue | Rentals; retail | 16-storeys

They would still be able to excavate the site for the underground parkade while awaiting the development permit right?

Most of the wood and debris has been cleared off site. Looks like they are moving to the existing foundation. Hopefully this building along with the Wedge will refresh the area nicely.

Quick! The city needs to buy this piece of land and turn it into some much needed green space that is lacking in the area.

This project has been revised again.  A new letter from Townline (to the city) is up on Dev Tracker:  https://tender.victo...218132006022879

New rendering:

The step back on the top 2 floors works really well now.

The massing on this one is better, but I prefer the bold colour scheme of the previous iteration. This is looking dangerously close to the Yates on Yates, and we all know how that one is turning out

It looks a bit less cluttered, which is good, but I'm bummed about the color change. I really liked the dark brick that was proposed in the last rendering.

... I really liked the dark brick that was proposed in the last rendering.

Don't put too much faith in the colour/pattern of renderings of brick. We've been fooled a lot recently.

This one went to ADP in November and seems to have been very well received. The biggest concerns seem to be the lack-luster colour and material palette, fenestration on the south side, and an opening for the music room onto the breezeway.

Minutes here: https://www.victoria...er 25, 2020.pdf

Report and drawings here: https://www.victoria...attachments.pdf

Sounds like the designer that chose the colour scheme should be defenestrated.

New drawings! 

And as has been said on many a project in Victoria, why on earth is BC Hydro not undergrounding the overhead lines??? We do it for pretty much every project in Richmond, a floodplain, so why not Victoria?

Look, it's housing, that's good. But the design is boring. This feels very corporate.

Council will consider this proposal at the May 13 Committee of the Whole meeting.

New drawings! 

 

And as has been said on many a project in Victoria, why on earth is BC Hydro not undergrounding the overhead lines??? We do it for pretty much every project in Richmond, a floodplain, so why not Victoria?

$$$$$ and more $$$$$.

Undergrounding the hydro would be the largest portion of the off-site improvement costs. If housing affordability is a priority then undergrounding hydro isn't a reasonable ask at this point.

i do not want to throw too much shade on this thing.  because it's good to let developers try whatever they want.  but a lot of this is strange.

The co-living model already exists in places such as New York and Los Angeles, but it would be new to Victoria, Karen Hoese, the city’s director of sustainable planning and community development told council.

“I think we’re all going to be learning from this and it is a very unique situation at this point, but we’d like to see what type of benefits this provides, in terms of affordability and also meeting a variety of different needs, you know, whether it’s young folks, seniors, any mix of people who might be interested in using this type of housing,” Hoese said.

Mayor Lisa Helps said the co-living model may be desirable for people who want to live together and “create small pockets of community within the building.”

Chris Colbeck, senior vice-president of development, sales and marketing for Townline Homes, said he’s excited to see the project move forward to a public hearing.

Colbeck said the co-living units satisfy a gap in the housing market and are geared towards people looking for an affordable rental and ways to combat “urban loneliness.”

The building is designed with amenities that promote socializing, like a foosball table in the laundry room and an outdoor firepit area, and it would have a social curator who plans regular events, such as wine tasting or movie nights.

The cost of those events would be included in the rent for co-living units, Colbeck said. Tenants in other rental units could also opt in to events at a cost, he said.

While on a tour of a co-living building in New York, Colbeck said he noticed residents knew their social curator by name and stopped to chat with each other.

“There was an element of community. So you know, we are really trying to foster community,” Colbeck said.

The pods would be fully furnished, including kitchenware and toiletries.

“Basically you’re moving in with your laptop from an Uber,” Colbeck said.

Townline is also in the process of trying to develop a rental building that includes co-living units in Los Angeles.

https://www.timescol...room-1.24319635

if all you own is a laptop, what kid of weirdo are you?  somehow i do not think you are "social" if that's the case.

now it's a bit interesting to model this after new york and los angeles, the #1 and #2 largest cities (CMA) in north america.  we are #161.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 16 May 2021 - 10:05 AM.

Do many people over the age of 30 really want to live in a glorified dorm?

Do many people over the age of 30 really want to live in a glorified dorm?

The trend over the past decade has been for people to want to live by themselves and not have roommates. That is one major reason why we have a housing shortage.

Having said that, where these models work really well is in short term rentals. Get a few people travelling together and these are great options. The onsite "social curator" also acts as the onsite building manager.