Victoria Construction - #7 - Page 7

hollywoodnorth · #**121** Posted **May 15, 2007, 5:11 PM**

thx for all the pics

The Great Scaper · #**122** Posted **May 15, 2007, 6:26 PM**

G.Man during excavation of the Juliet there was a ramp that they brought the excavators down to do the digging. When it rained a lot in the spring the ramp gave way and created a mud slide & they almost rolled one of the large excavators down the hill. They also buried some of the intitial form works too.

Talking about excavators on that site, a contractor had in operation there a month ago and the seal broke on the oil filter. It was smoking so bad you couldn't even see the buildings next door. My friend Frank who is the labour foreman for Farmer told the guy to shut it down but he refused since his contract was buy the working hour. He continued to use the machine for over an hour until the new filter arrived. Anyways so many people walked up to the Juliet Show suite and made a complaint to David Chard. Dave actually had to walk down and see what was going on, he also wrote a very strong letter to Farmer. I know David Chard is trying to keep a good face and a good reputation with the City of Victoria and this was the last thing he needs...so I know why he would be upset. Frank said he had never seen anything like it people were yelling and screaming at them out windows and from the sidewalk. Crazy

zingzamzoom · #**123** Posted **May 15, 2007, 6:31 PM**

Hey I walked to work that morning! It really was awful. The smoke was so thick and it felt impossible to breathe. Everyone around the area looked pretty pissed off! Anyways......

Aaron

zingzamzoom · #**124** Posted **May 15, 2007, 6:35 PM**

Oh, by the way, I have a question? I was wondering why new signs have been put up at construction sites lately? ie- The Falls, The Juliet, and Parkside? Has council changed the bylaw of what kind of signs are allowed? I have to say that these new signs look way more decent. Finally, it seems as though Victoria is acting as a city rather than a small, english, town! The developers must love that they have been permitted to actually advertise proper signs on site! Haha, why would they not be able to in the first place?

Aaron

Mike K. · #**125** Posted **May 15, 2007, 10:05 PM**

Parkside had a tough time with their fence signs but I don't think there was a peep in the media about the Fall's or Juliet's. Perhaps signage above the street during construction is ok, but signage at street level around a fence requires a variance.

The Great Scaper · #**126** Posted **May 15, 2007, 10:46 PM**

Aaron...nice hearing from you again!!! it's been awhile!!!

I didn't get a chance to see the smoke show but from several people I heard it was pretty nasty!!! The Excavator operator was supposedly a real ass and didn't care at all about the pollution and stench.

The Great Scaper · #**127** Posted **May 16, 2007, 7:38 AM**

I was driving to Oakbay Rec tonight and noticed that Paul's motor Inn finally has closed at night. I remember having dinner there with my Mom and Dad a couple of months back when a waitress told me that they would be closing at night. Too bad actually it was a good place to go at night. I wonder maybe when the Hudson and the Radius are complete, having a good 1500 people living next door if they will change back to 24 hours.

Also I went to the Vic theatre this week. I hadn't been there for so long. I asked the manager if the new highrises next door had helped business, he said not at all. Though he stated that the construction workers always come over for popcorn during the day and has increased sales!!! hahahaa... I explained that maybe when the Falls, The Aria, The Parkside are completed that it may help to, as well as the Crystal Court project. He had no idea of the Crystal Court redevelopment but was extremely excited to here of the Art Gallery portion and that another highrise was planned for the neighbourhood.

It was kinda sad actually maybe fifteen people were watching a movie there, I wonder how they can stay in business. Maybe The Fall's and company will save this theatre.

Jarrod · #**128** Posted **May 16, 2007, 7:59 AM**

As I am trying to be awake until about 10 a.m. (it's almost 2 a.m.) after working an 8 hour shift at the hospital and I work 11 p.m. - 7 a.m. later on and I'm not one for staying up that late anymore, I was just wondering why it takes such along time for a building, once approved, just to get started, or, they start and then stall. It seems that way in Victoria and it's a total different situation in Calgary. Perhaps it's an over-saturation of buildings being built in Victoria and the over speculation of buildings in general being built there. But I was just wondering why it takes along time for a building to get off the ground?

Victoria is a strange, strange city in more aspects than one. But as I have to find things to do to pass time, I felt the need to ask this question. It's just for my knowledge since really, how does it apply to my life now as I don't live anywhere near the city, nor will any of my family live there in the next 4 months.

Holden West · #**129** Posted **May 16, 2007, 3:04 PM**

The various lengthy committees and panels and such at City Hall combined with the escalating cost of construction combined with the unknown factor of soil contamination (and who pays for it). If the lending bank doesn't like how the numbers are adding up they'll pull their financing.

The original proposal for the Aria site was just one project that died over soil contamination disputes. Mozart and View/Vancouver stalled for similar reasons. Is this an issue in Calgary? Aria's problem was industrial fill from the harbour. A lot of the other sites in downtown are due to the fact that at one time there was lots of industry in town, including tons of leaky gas stations.

G-Man · #**130** Posted **May 16, 2007, 3:42 PM**

That soil remediation is based on provincial legislation there may not be as stringent environmental necessities in Alberta but I would imagine that they are the same. I would bet that two of the reasons that buildings get off the ground faster in Calgary is 1) booming economy 2) Buildings have more financial backing so therefore that takes away the time to find investors.

The Great Scaper · #**131** Posted **May 16, 2007, 4:40 PM**

Some buildings in Victoria have gone up right away and quickly too. Such as the Falls which started immediatly as well as the Aria. Though projects like the Juliet took time which I know had to do with slow pre-sales. Also the Juliet is two months behind because of unexpected blasting. Could massive Rock beds and blasting be more time consuming here than in Calgary? I would imagine that there would much more Rock here than in Calgary.

Some projects like Victoria Parkside had financial troubles and had a contractor that was short of workers until Farmer took over. Though I know Calgary has labour shortages too.

Also the approval process of building proposals are so much quicker in Calgary than in Victoria too.

Mike K. · #**132** Posted **May 20, 2007, 10:57 PM**

This rendering shows another angle of the planned Roundhouse development and to its right the u/c Bayview Victoria development being built by the same developer.

gumgum · #**133** Posted **May 21, 2007, 2:29 AM**

Where is the commercial component planned? Will it be a significant one or just a token corner store or something?

Mike K. · #**134** Posted **May 21, 2007, 3:35 AM**

Commercial will go in the podiums of the towers and the white low-rise buildings partly obstructed by the towers. Those would be the existing brick roundhouse structures that will be remediated.

Baro · #**135** Posted **May 21, 2007, 7:52 AM**

aweful lot of green space. I hope the towers and shops can actually use it all to capacity or if it's just some lovely "radiant garden city" nonsense where people will have to cross meandering paths and track mud durring the day, and sneak around a scary haunted forest at night to get home. I need to make a club out of the bones of Jane Jacobs and beat planners over the head with it untill they stop suburbanising urban projects with wastefull vibrancy destroying "open space" obsessions. Green is nice, well used parks are great, but trying to isolate every building from interacting with the urban fabric by setting it within a large unused "open space" isn't serving anyone. "open space" or "Green space" is a great buzzword to win over the planning-unimformed, but in many cases it ends up not as an amenity and sometimes even a negative.

That said, with well planned "open space" and enough cross-use throughout the day such an open space can become vibrant and be a source of attracting further vibrancy. But if the critical mass of use isn't high enough, an oposite reaction can occur and people avoid the area as it feels empty, dead, dangerous.

G-Man · #**136** Posted **May 21, 2007, 3:32 PM**

I agree Baro it does seem like an awful lot of green space. Especially when you consider how much is already around that area. Its too bad council doesn't look at larger parcels and say things like sorry too much of this area is underdensity you guys are going to have to cover much more area.

Jarrod · #**137** Posted **May 22, 2007, 2:57 AM**

I dunno, it looks rather nice. It could be more compact with green space though, but otherwise I like it.

There are jobs at the RJH and VGH and SPH that I could apply to. I think I might.

Mike K. · #**138** Posted **May 22, 2007, 5:07 AM**

Cool. Is this the project that's pulling you back this way?

aastra · #**139** Posted **May 22, 2007, 5:38 AM**

Give me an abundance of townhomes that engage convenient/sensible pedestrian thoroughfares and I can live with the excessive green space.

gumgum · #**140** Posted **May 22, 2007, 4:51 PM**

Yeah, as long as it's more pedestrian oriented, as compared to the rest of Songhees, I'll be happy. (As well as significant retail.)