Victoria Construction - #7

[Mike K.]

The 1515 Douglas/750 Pandora project is being criticized over its treatment of the pedestrian realm along the Douglas Street frontage. People are calling it too suburban and an unnecessarily obstructive treatment of a busy downtown street corner.

Downtown Victoria’s Roth Site redevelopment plan attracts criticism over “suburban” pedestrian realm
By Mike Kozakowski, VibrantVictoria.ca
http://vibrantvictoria.ca/local-news...estrian-realm/

In late August VibrantVictoria revealed “spy” photos of a building model captured at D’ambrosio Architecture’s head office at Selkirk Waterfront. At the time it was surmised that the design and dimensions of the buildings depicted in the models fit in with the constraints of the Roth Site. This has now proven to be the case.

In October of 2011 Jawl Properties purchased the Roth Site, bordered by Douglas Street to the west, Cormorant Street to the north and Pandora Avenue to the south, from Townline after the latter developer’s proposal for two residential towers, dubbed Centro, collapsed. Requiring specific design guidelines due to the proximity of City Hall, Jawl and D’ambrosio envisioned a 112,000 square foot six storey office building fronting Douglas Street (at 1515 Douglas Street) which features a cylindrical atrium that will expose the historic City Hall building from within while providing ample natural light throughout the structure. The design of the lowrise shares similarity with the Atrium building at 800 Yates Street that was also designed by D’ambrosio and developed by Jawl. The remainder of the site, known as 750 Pandora Avenue, is comprised of 175,000 square feet of office and commercial space across 13 floors. 225 underground parking stalls and facilities for cyclists will be shared among the two buildings.

Despite the shorter building's architectural inspiration drawn from the Atrium building, the major difference between them is the design of the public realm. At 1515 Douglas D'ambrosio has envisioned a raised area along the Douglas Street frontage which includes a set of stairs that take pedestrians to the level of the Douglas Street building entrance, while elongated planters impede pedestrians from cutting through the corner of the property and continuing onto Pandora (and vice versa). Along both of these planters are ramps rising to the height of the staircase. Adding to the stairs and ramps, a recessed ground floor complete with pillars under the second floor overhang and additional planters within the public plaza all come together to make for an untraditional urban design that, according to feedback on VibrantVictoria, appears better suited to a suburban environment and not a major downtown intersection. [Read the full article].

[Mike K.]

The Gateway Green tower, at 15-storeys (58 meters) and 143,000 sq. ft., would be the tallest office tower in downtown Victoria if built. The developer has confirmed that they are now in negotiations with an anchor tenant and the project is shovel ready, meaning if the deal goes through construction would be underway by early 2014. Gateway Green was originally approved in December of 2007.

[craneSpotter]

Originally Posted by Mike K.

The Gateway Green tower, at 15-storeys (58 meters) and 143,000 sq. ft., would be the tallest office tower in downtown Victoria if built. The developer has confirmed that they are now in negotiations with an anchor tenant and the project is shovel ready, meaning if the deal goes through construction would be underway by early 2014. Gateway Green was originally approved in December of 2007.

^This one has been planned for some time now...hope it goes ahead. It would fit in nicely.

I actually like this one and hopes it goes ahead too...rentals!

Three-tower project at Cook and Pandora part of rental revival

TC Nov 8, 2013

A 13-storey rental apartment building with three towers on ground-floor commercial space could be built at the corner of Cook Street and Pandora Avenue.

CGS Property Group is planning to build, own and operate the apartment complex at 1075 Pandora. The project consists of three residential towers linked by bridges over a lower-level podium.

“It’s definitely unique and different for Victoria from anything you’ve seen over the last 10 or 20 years,” said CGS spokesman Dan Cox.

Cox says there is a dearth of supply of two-bedroom rental units in the city. The bulk of the rental units that have become part of rental supply over the past 30 or 40 years are spinoffs from the condo market.

[RWin]

There have been a lot of changes since I left Victoria 15 years ago.

[Phil McAvity]

Yeah, i'll bet there is probably twice as many high-rises and mid-rises since you left.

[Mike K.]

A recap of retail, food and dining, and cafe comings/goings throughout the last quarter of 2013. It's been quite the busy period, to say the least, with notable retailers closing up and a variety of new retailers entering the market.
 

 
Fourth quarter shake-up for downtown Victoria retailers
By Mike Kozakowski, VibrantVictoria.ca
http://vibrantvictoria.ca/local-news...ria-retailers/
 
The retail scene in downtown Victoria has been a merry-go-round of business closures and openings throughout the fourth quarter of 2013.
 
Most recently Starbucks announced that its View and Government store will close by year’s end. With seven Starbucks locations within arms reach of each other the Seattle-based chain may have finally hit a saturation point within Victoria’s central business district. Market saturation or not, the newly opened Steamship Grill & Taphouse in the former wax museum space on James Bay’s shore of the Inner Harbour will include a coffee shop exclusively brewing Starbucks coffees.
 
A few steps down from Steamship the longtime tourist attraction Undersea Gardens finally threw in the towel after several years of declining interest and a questionable maintenance record. The good news is the Victoria Harbour Authority has announced that it now has the opportunity to decide how the space can be utilized as part of a comprehensive harbour master plan.
 
Further up the Inner Harbour, the former Wharfside Seafood Grille at the foot of Bastion Square along Wharf Street has been renamed The Docks on Wharf despite a press release issued by Wharfside stating that the restaurant was closing. Former Wharfside owner Duncan Morrison claimed he gave up operational control of the restaurant after a media inquiry into unpaid employee wages. Morrison is reportedly at the helm of the renamed Wharfside. [Full article]

[Phil McAvity]

Here's the latest from BC's picturesque capital city:

Whoever designed the Hudson Mews should be fired. No setbacks!



Another angle of Hudson Mews:



I don't even need to name this one or the street it's on-it says so right on it.



Same with this pic:



A shot of the topped-out 21 story Promontory proudly towering over it's neighbours:



The soon-to-be 15 story Era will rise at this spot:

[Phil McAvity]

It doesn't seem like anyone's too interested but I have a few more pictures to post anyway:

The topped out 6-storey 200 Douglas Building:



The neighbourhood that 200 Douglas is going up in:



Another project in Victoria's James Bay neighbourhood, Duet:



How the two buildings of Duet will eventually look upon completion:

[giallo]

Thanks for the updates, Phil. Hudson Mews doesn't look so bad.

[hollywoodnorth]

thx for all the updates Phil! more in the future would be great

[aastra]

I think Phil was making an ironic remark about how the setbacks on the new apartment building actually jive with the setbacks on the old HBC building. For some reason in Victoria there's a persistent effort to introduce large setbacks in areas where large setbacks don't fit or otherwise have no relevance. The new apartment building behind the HBC building actually respects the established/historic format of the immediate area, which is refreshing.

[Mike K.]

15 storey Era by Concert on Yates Street.

[craneSpotter]

Haha I don't know about shaping skyline but...nice looking project.

Two towers to shape skyline across from Victoria city hall

Article Link

Towers rising six and 13 storeys across from Victoria city hall are being designed to bring a dramatic change to a drab block of Douglas Street, now covered by asphalt and old buildings.

The 287,000-square-foot development by Victoria’s Jawl family will include offices and a mix of ground-floor retail and commercial uses in the latest major development on the north end of downtown.

1500 block of Douglas looking west:

[Mike K.]

The 15 storey Era on Yates

[Dylan Leblanc]

Originally Posted by Phil McAvity

Seeing the building now I wonder why the west facing side of the building didn't have a setback on the upper two floors with a terrace and windows with a great view towards the harbour. Maybe the developer just didn't want to bother altering the floor plan or trying to sell fancier units.

[Mike K.]

Quite a lot of rental construction in downtown at the moment with some 600 units u/c or nearing construction.

 
Downtown Victoria rental construction roundup
By Mike Kozakowski, VibrantVictoria.ca
http://vibrantvictoria.ca/local-news...ction-roundup/
 
After decades of a near-freeze on rental housing construction throughout the south Island Victoria builders have recently eased off the condo bandwagon and are once again investing into rental housing.
 
The bread and butter of multi-unit developments throughout the 1960’s and 1970’s, rental projects in Victoria have traditionally been tied to either government-backed incentives or periods of exceedingly high demand. With the downtown condo market over-supplied and plenty of pre-sale units awaiting buyers, developers are tapping into a segment of the market in search of newly-built downtown housing without the commitment and investment required with condos. In tandem the financial outlook for rentals is strong while rates remain low and banks are eager to lend money.
 
“Banks have appetite for rentals right now as mortgage restrictions make renting more feasible for a lot of people,” says Victoria mortgage adviser Sean Dhillon. “In the period between 2001 and 2008 there was strong demand to buy but that has eased and now there is strong demand to rent.”
 
Monthly rents have also increased over the last several years, further making the case for rental construction while condo sales dip.
 
“Market rental rates are impacted by both the cost to build and demand.  Strong demand gives developers more motive for higher unit rates,” Dhillon said, adding that the financial climate is just right for rental development. [Read more]

[LeftCoaster]

Thanks for all the updates. I may not always comment but I check the thread a lot, since its tough to find Victoria updates in the Canada section.

[Mike K.]

15-flr Era on Yates

[Mike K.]

Construction has now started on the four storey The Argus which will house the Office of the Auditor General of British Columbia. The project is located on Fort between Government and Broad.

[Mike K.]

The Dockside Green project will not continue as originally envisioned after market crash of 2008 derailed construction and stalled the development.

 
Dockside Green mega-project goes back to the drawing board
By Mike Kozakowski, VibrantVictoria.ca
http://vibrantvictoria.ca/local-news...drawing-board/
 
The 15-acre Dockside Green development in Victoria’s Vic West neighbourhood remains idle nearly five years after the second of multiple phases was completed in 2009.
 
Midway through the previous decade when Dockside Green initially got off the ground then-development partner Windmill West, hand-in-hand with current owner VanCity Credit Union, anticipated full build-out of the 1.3-million square meter LEED® Platinum Certified mixed-use mega-project by 2015 with some 2,500 residents calling the neighbourhood home.
 
Despite global publicity for its bold plans to build the “greenest” development anywhere in the world and the rapid pace of construction early on, Dockside Green lost its momentum shortly after the economic collapse of 2008 and unlike other projects in the region, never recovered.
 
Formerly used as a rail yard and a catch-all basin for industrial activity, the land bordered by Esquimalt Road, Harbour Road, Tyee Road and the Bay Street Bridge, was sold to the City of Victoria by the province for $1 due to the millions of dollars required for soil remediation. The City of Victoria saw opportunity in turning this former brownfield site into something special, investing nearly $6 million on soil remediation before launching a competition to find a developer capable of transforming the land into a world-class environmentally-conscious neighbourhood.
 
Although Windmill West and VanCity offered the lowest purchase price for the land ($8 million), the City of Victoria saw tremendous potential in their “Triple-Bottom-Line” proposal, and entered into an agreement guaranteeing the City millions of dollars worth of public amenities. Those amenities, together with additional phases of the project, have not materialized. [Full article]