Victoria Construction - #7

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Originally Posted by Phil McAvity

I agree, those Raven apartments are ugly but at least you get a luxurious little fence with each unit. The Great Scaper and I checked it out in person awhile ago and we were both raven about how bad it is

Also, is it just me or are construction projects starting to completely take over the roads next to the site? It seems like a recent thing to me and they create big traffic backups as a result

You were both raven about it eh.. I'm shocked aastra didn't fly in and start crowing some more witty puns. Yes a tiny fence that is detachable and serves as a fire screen for the fake electric fireplace.

I've definitely noticed the construction sites taking over a lane of traffic, which used to be for short term exceptions, such as crane installation, cement pouring, etc. Now it seems its based on convenience for construction while proper pedestrian/traffic management has declined.

So, big news of sorts - guess what's finally starting? No, no and no. Not those three projects, but the 24-storey tower at Uptown Shopping Centre. It's starting. Pretty much. I'm sure.

[Phil McAvity]

Originally Posted by zoomer

So, big news of sorts - guess what's finally starting? No, no and no. Not those three projects, but the 24-storey tower at Uptown Shopping Centre. It's starting. Pretty much. I'm sure.

I'll believe it when I see it. it's been what, 15 years? Mayfair Lanes weren't even demolished that long ago

Mind you nothing beats the Northern Junk Buildings, those things have been frozen in time for decades

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If they were only frozen and not crumbling. Reliance Properties takes forever to do anything, I wonder how long they'll take to start on the Capital Cultural District..

Ok, a few updates, starting with Estoya, or according to the sign they've added a word to the title, so The Estoya. If they wouldn't have been so cheap on the materials this could have been very good - but it's not. Full project page here on MappingVictoria.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2stHpjY]




The Estoya - 1708 Quadra St by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr



The Estoya - 1708 Quadra St by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

And interesting how this development got hardly any flack despite replacing a 1911 apartment building and not exactly complimenting the church (not saying it should, but that's the usual arguement against such developments).



The Estoya - 1708 Quadra St by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

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Phil mentioned road closures, well Yates at Cook was totally block off today for the installation of the second crane at 1045 Yates.

MappingVictoria project pages for 1045 and 1050 Yates



L - 1045 Yates 2nd crane installation R - 1050 Yates construction by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr



L - 1045 Yates 2nd crane installation R - 1050 Yates construction by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr



L - 1045 Yates 2nd crane installation R - 1050 Yates construction by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr



1045 Yates St - August 6, 2026 by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

[aastra]

...this could have been very good - but it's not.

Sometimes it feels like the CoV est toying with us, ya? I can't stand it anymore. I might just become a monk and live out my days in a quiet abbey.

...interesting how this development got hardly any flack despite replacing a 1911 apartment building and not exactly complimenting the church...

Remember not all that long ago when projects like the Sussex or Juliet or Gateway Green were getting scrutinized to death re: their potential negative impacts on the ~175 foot tall spire of St. Andrew's, even though the cathedral was blocks away? In 2026 we don't care anymore if the new build is smack on Church Row directly across the frickin' street from a heritage church, and we sure don't seem to care what the new build looks like.

Dare I say it, but using churches and cathedrals as anti-development ploys seems to be out of fashion nowadays. See the Fairfield church for the most extreme proof of this.

[aastra]

I still say Estoya would be umpteen times better if only they had gone with a subtle copper or bronze effect for the metal mesh and maybe also for a small percentage of the panels or even just for the panel trim (whatever we call that).

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/\ yah, that would have been better. That mesh is just so thin and cheap looking and the bottom level looks like cheap interior drywall boards patched together (it's not) which they applied it to. They could have gone with a higher quality approach such as at Wade, the former medical building at Pandora and Cook. Yes, make it more open and wire mesh like if they want vs. this heavier less transparent version, but don't make it look like an HGTV budget home makeover show with a $1,000 budget.





One is class the other is ass.

source

[Phil McAvity]

Originally Posted by aastra

I still say Estoya would be umpteen times better if only they had gone with a subtle copper or bronze effect for the metal mesh and maybe also for a small percentage of the panels or even just for the panel trim (whatever we call that).

What's not to like about balconies that look like fishing nets? If only they had made the building salmon color

Originally Posted by aastra

See the Fairfield church for the most extreme proof of this.

You mean the empty lot now at Moss and Fairield?

Originally Posted by zoomer

It looks like someone went to town on that balcony railing with their 9mm, what's with all the little holes?

[aastra]

You mean the empty lot now at Moss and Fairield?

Exactly. Victorians used to say "you're not allowed to build something new because there's a precious old church over there" but now Victorians say "church, what church?"

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Uptown Residential tower today. Well, early stages..



Uptown Residential Tower - August 9, 2026 by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr



Uptown Residential Tower - August 9, 2026 by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

MappingVictoria Uptown Residential project page

[Phil McAvity]

wow, I can't believe they're finally moving on this project, is it really going to be 24 stories?

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/\ It really is!

Some more updates:

It looks as if they may be starting on Opal Victoria - 6 storey seniors housing building with 160 residences. MappingVictoria project page



90 Saghalie Rd - August 10, 2026 by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

If you're interested in planning nitty gritty check out the Porsche dealership/Gain Head Office project page in Vic West and the planning links there. July 29th revised plans submitted with a letter to mayor and council on the economic impact and an eight page response to the city staff comments. This staff comment made me think of previous aastra posts:

City staff: "Changes to the external cladding to relate more to the surrounding industrial and working harbour uses and reduce the perceived scale of the showroom portion of the building."

To which the developer replied:

"More corrugated panel siding to relate to surrounding uses. Office building is cladded with charcoal metal panel throughout to emphasize the industrial look while highlighting Porsche dealership that is cladded with silver panel. Additional changes to cladding, building massing and/or articulations or glazing would have a negative impact on building envelope performance and would have a negative impact on LEED standard achievement."

City staff comment:

"The storage of cars should be ancillary to the employment related uses. Staff will likely recommend to Council that any storage of vehicles associated with “Vehicle Sales and Rental” be limited to the inside of buildings and to a maximum floor area as shown on the plans, to help reduce potential negative impacts on the public street."

Developer response: "Noted. We maintain this is achievable."

Anyways if you read through that document it's clear the city would prefer this dealership proposal didn't exist and now that it does it should look as little as a car dealership as possible, which for a location right across the brdige from downtown makes some sense especially now that there are no remaining car dealership in downtown.

The lot is quite small, (see project page) it's the fenced off section to the right of the Dockside Green sign and below the dirt mound.



202 Harbour Rd - Vic West - August 10, 2026 by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr



202 Harbour Rd - Vic West - August 10, 2026 by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

[aastra]

So the faux-industrial esthetic is still one of the CoV's preferred flavours after all. The plain panels will get jealous if they ever find out.

The thing is, I thought this proposed Porsche dealership was going to be of the new-and-improved urban-style? Basically a building full of cars? The dealership across the street is only a few years old and it has plenty of surface parking. Where was the CoV on that one?

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Ok now for a project that is moving along at a great pace, perhaps only bested by Estoya.

1132 Johnson Street - two six-storey non-profit affordable rental housing buildings with 160 homes. They were still clearing up the site in early January of this year.



1132 Johnson St - August 11, 2026 by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr



1132 Johnson St - August 11, 2026 by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr



1132 Johnson St - August 11, 2026 by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr



1132 Johnson St - August 11, 2026 by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

[aastra]

So is this Alberta/Northern BC network outage also happening here? We've had no Robbers (formerly Shaw) service for 24 hours at least. I've been using Telus phone as hotspot but it also went out for a while today so I gave up.

Robbers (formerly Shaw) support told me there's an issue in our area, which is about as vague as you can get.

[aastra]

"Please be patient, it will be resolved soon."

In these fast-paced 2020s the concept of "soon" can mean anywhere from a few days to several months, so I'm not feeling very optimistic.

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hmm, no problems here - I assume you're in South Surrey right now? Or I guess some folks would prefer to say White Rock border area.. Anyways their site says service was restored at 12:50 p.m. Maybe as the ancient Chinese proverb goes - 'turn off and then turn on again'.

[aastra]

They told me the issue here occurred last night and asked me to be patient. So I assume we'll see it on their outage report a few hours after they finally resolve it. Gotta love the pace of modern life. Never been easier to keep people in the loop, so naturally nobody bothers.

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The Herald Street facade of the Spencer Block is coming together - more appealing than the Chatham St facade.



Spencer Block - Herald St frontage - August 11, 2026 by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr



Spencer Block - Herald St frontage - August 11, 2026 by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr



611 Chatham St - June 5, 2026 by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

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The Hyatt Centric hotel on Broad St has been slow going but hopefully now they've reached ground level things should pick up.



1324 Broad St - Hyatt Centric hotel construction - August 13, 2026 by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr