Victoria Construction - #7 - Page 211

aastra · #**4201** Posted **Jun 21, 2026, 7:16 PM**

Wellburn's has been a slow burn, for sure. When it's done I hope there's a candy store and a watch repair place in there, just to emphasize how they took their sweet time with it.

aastra · #**4202** Posted **Jun 21, 2026, 7:25 PM**

Dang it, I like that Gladstone house. If they build something new there they would have to do a serious job re: excavation and levelling. I hate to see that happen in the old neighbourhoods. Give me those little retaining walls and staircases and such any day of the week.

aastra · #**4203** Posted **Jun 21, 2026, 7:38 PM**

Quote:

...just to emphasize how they took their sweet time with it.

Nah, I should be more patient. I'm sure we all remember how the renovation of Wellburn's got off to a very crappy start back in 2019. Everyone involved must be pooped by now.

Vin · #**4204** Posted **Jun 22, 2026, 9:19 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by aastra

^I tend to be a fan of such stuff when it's done well but on the Christ Church block there's already a fair bit of it re: the east end of the cathedral itself. How much would be too much, even if you do a decent job with it? And what if you don't do a decent job? That first building you linked looks pretty good but to my eye it doesn't fit the neighbourhood at all and it's also much too large. But take a portion of it and I'd think it could probably work in an old commercial area.

Yes, that's the key. They have to be done really well, otherwise they would be nothing but mere tackiness.

Phil McAvity · #**4205** Posted **Jun 24, 2026, 1:56 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by aastra

Wellburn's has been a slow burn, for sure. When it's done I hope there's a candy store and a watch repair place in there, just to emphasize how they took their sweet time with it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by aastra

Nah, I should be more patient. I'm sure we all remember how the renovation of Wellburn's got off to a very crappy start back in 2019. Everyone involved must be pooped by now.

I don't get the puns, did they accidentally bust open a sewer line excavating?

aastra · #**4206** Posted **Jun 24, 2026, 6:45 PM**

It actually happened just before the renovation was officially announced. Somebody on the interwebs was claiming it was knee deep in the basement. No idea if that's accurate.

Quote:

Customers were being turned away at about 10 a.m. after a notice was posted, according to one customer who said the sewage system in the building’s basement had collapsed...

Wellburn’s had intended to close its doors sometime in 2020, and a redevelopment of the site is expected.

aastra · #**4207** Posted **Jun 24, 2026, 6:56 PM**

Quote:

I don't get the puns,

The most important thing is, you're showing interest in proper punmanship. Over at VibrantVictoria I can submit some fiendishly clever stuff but I'm lucky if I get a handful of likes for my trouble. I'm talking about plays-on-words that should be hanging on the wall in the Louvre. Fine art. Brilliant & multi-layered, worthy of an afternoon of contemplation.

aastra · #**4208** Posted **Jun 24, 2026, 7:05 PM**

Over at MappingVictoria.com I notice the image of the graving dock expansion shows Dockside Green as completed but not a whiff of progress at the roundhouse.

I assume this is meant to illustrate the potential impact (or not) of the expansion on the Dockside Green neighbourhood specifically.

But because I'm a jerk I'm also going to assume a comment is being made about the pace of development at DG as versus at the roundhouse.

zoomer · #**4209** Posted **Jun 26, 2026, 3:17 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by aastra

Over at MappingVictoria.com I notice the image of the graving dock expansion shows Dockside Green as completed but not a whiff of progress at the roundhouse.

I assume this is meant to illustrate the potential impact (or not) of the expansion on the Dockside Green neighbourhood specifically.

But because I'm a jerk I'm also going to assume a comment is being made about the pace of development at DG as versus at the roundhouse.

Turtle vs Snail - wasn't that a childhood fable? Slow vs Slower?

But on the other hand, 1050 Yates is already installing windows:

1050 Yates St - June 25\4, 2026 by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

zoomer · #**4210** Posted **Jun 26, 2026, 4:22 AM**

There is a cool Don Mann Excavating Instagram video posted today for Estoya at 1708 Quadra. Check it out on MappingVictoria.com here.

zoomer · #**4211** Posted **Jun 29, 2026, 9:07 PM**

Belleville Terminal construction

254 Belleville St - Belleville St Terminal by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

aastra · #**4212** Posted **Jun 30, 2026, 12:29 AM**

How's Telus Ocean looking these days? I haven't been out of the cave in ages.

zoomer · #**4213** Posted **Jun 30, 2026, 3:24 AM**

Not much new to report other than a lot of interior work, final touches to the rooftop terraces and the ground level. And the entire lane which they've taken over for quite some time now, will be nice to eventually be able to get a good look at that ground level and the walkway/courtyard.

There is this June 7th picture with the panel side off in the distance, looks not terrible and at least interesting from this perspective. Plus that diamond pattern on the rooftop to obscure the mechanical equipment looks nice.

L to R - Church of Lord, Aria condo and Telus Ocean - June 7, 2026 by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

aastra · #**4214** Posted **Jul 1, 2026, 8:20 PM**

Just checking the news over at MappingVictoria.com. I'm only vaguely familiar with Langford Lake but methinks that temple building could potentially have an interesting impact on the views around there if it's visible enough and if it looks decent (not cheap). It might represent a step forward re: the west comms developing a kind of architectural maturity, if you get my meaning. (less like suburbia, more like a neighbourhood worth a walkabout)

aastra · #**4215** Posted **Jul 1, 2026, 8:30 PM**

I really really really wish they hadn't walled up the back corner of Telus Ocean to that degree. It's not a true back corner. Even the rear face isn't a true rear side, because of the angle of Penwill as compared to the prevailing grid.

Even if the intention was sincere re: appeasing the condo residents, methinks neither the CoV nor the developer should have been willing to take it so far in the bleak & blank direction.

Remember when architectural controversies in Victoria used to be about shunning extreme choices in favour of moderation? Victorians seem to be eager to do it when the extreme is something potentially interesting, but if the extreme is something blah then no problem, go nuts with it.

zoomer · #**4216** Posted **Jul 2, 2026, 5:36 PM**

Makes me wonder if they ever presented the revisions to the condo dwellers cause even they probably would have said 'ok, we're good with more glass'. And city planners - wtaf?

Still I don't dislike it as much as I thought I would, lol.

As for the Mormon temple, there's only a handful (I think around 10 if I recall) in Canada so I assume the quality will be good? As for Langford - you'd think starting from an established community would help with the urban feel, but I guess with the car centric design baked in it's actually easier to build on a green or brownfield, heck even a wheat field. Here's a new neighbourhood in Calgary that seems very popular among SSP types in the photos of your city thread, yet it looks a lot like what Langford is building nowadays, but with better planning, no crappy historical residue and less surface lot parking. Still feels a bit generic and I don't know how well it'll age or appealing it will be in 30-40 years. Now we have Beachlands which will have higher density than neighbouring Royal Bay and both built on virgin land (well, reclaimed from the gravel pit) but a fresh start in terms of neighbourhood building. I'm not a huge fan of what Beachlands is doing as it feels more like linear apartments built for the view and not a well thought out neighbourhood village feel with walkable streets, public square, yadda yadda. Still early to be fair.

aastra · #**4217** Posted **Jul 8, 2026, 1:37 AM**

What do y'all think of this project from Salt Lake City? Not so much the entire project, but that red brick section?

pic from here...

aastra · #**4218** Posted **Jul 10, 2026, 7:59 PM**

Did y'all see the "food alley" planned for the back side of the Blanshard/Fisgard tower?

Sounds like they'll be pairing the new lane with the lame-duck lane beside the First Island Financial building, similar I guess to what Yates on Yates did with the lame-duck lane beside the old Coronet Theatre building. In that case it was an improvement, but not by much.

But I'm liking the premise of this Fisgard lane, especially since there's already the Hudson's lane on the other side of Fisgard and potentially a significantly improved square coming eventually on the other side of Cormorant.

Here's the link to the TC article about the tower...

zoomer · #**4219** Posted **Yesterday, 3:45 AM**

Comments to follow on SLC building this weekend along with pics of a Vancouver building that is actually a good take on the grey/white panelling experience..

But yes, did see that food alley - shown on the MappingVictoria project page.

The MappingVictoria page also includes photos from 1950 and 1960 of the building. It was yet another victim of the 1950's drive to destroy/convert/reclad brick buildings, which I suppose to be fair were only 40 to 60 years old in many cases. Maybe we should hold off refinishing the peach stucco buildings of the 1980's just in case..

zoomer · #**4220** Posted **Yesterday, 8:38 PM**

So that Salt Lake City building is horrible. I guess they had the right idea, but the execution and final product is a failure. It looks like a Lego kit plopped down on a Lego board, and what's up with the ground level details? Looks fake and sterile even though it appears they used real brick, lol but the whole is less than the sum of its parts and proportionally it feels off.

Now thinking of Victoria and they grey/white panel theme, and say the Mod condo or the firehall - it appears that theme can be done if you're more subtle and refined in your approach. Here's a building at Oakridge, and they've also incorporated a very light green tone and surprisingly the fake wood tone under the balconies adds a nice touch from afar.

Oakridge - July 7, 2026 by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr