Victoria Construction - #7

[aastra]

Unless my eyes deceive me they're actually not tearing down that very old house on Pembroke just off Shelbourne. They're fixing it up. Colour me surprised.

The new build on the Turner's lot has all the ground level pillars done.

[aastra]

Apparently built in 1915, so not as old as it looks. I would have guessed 1895-1905.

Apparently the three clones on the other side of the street were built in 1908. I mistakenly assumed the simpler/smaller place at 1630 was built before them.

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Definitely looks older and possible it could be. They might be relying on the BC Assessment Authority date, but I've found at times the original date of construction was earlier, often the case if a significant addition was made to the original structure the date built shown is when that occurred.

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Telus Ocean and if you go to the Flickr link you can see what appears to be wavy benches being constructed along the Douglas Street frontage.



Telus Ocean Construction - August 18, 2026 by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr



Telus Ocean Construction - August 17, 2026 by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

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Some Saanich development news here on MappingVictoria. Sannich council rejected a 349 unit proposal next to UVic (red rectangle below) while previously bemoaning the delay in provincial funding for the 17-storey 510 bed UVic tower just down the road..



Housing Proposals near UVic by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

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Cook Street facade of 1050 Yates:

1050 Yates Street - August 21, 2026 by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

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A Fernwood Village infill project which replaces a nondescript 1907 single family home - MappingVictoria's 1252 Gladstone project page.



1252 Gladstone Ave - © Colin Harper Architect by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

Yet another revision for 1545 Bay Street



1545 Bay St - April 2026 Revision © Colin Haper Architect by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

And 899 Fort Street has shrunk a bit and is now 23, 12 and 11-storeys.



899 Fort Street - August 2026 Revised Plans© Low Hammond Rowe Architects by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

[aastra]

The perspective from Pioneer Square looks great. In effect the city will be gaining a new downtown park, in the form of an old downtown park that many Victorians ignore and/or have never bothered to enter.

[zoomer]

Yes, it looks very good from that perspective and good point how one building or project visually changes a far bigger area in terms of perception/sight lines, etc. It can fill in visual holes, create a leading line effect ('oh look up the street, let's check out what's up there') surround or border an area making it feel more connected, connected or intimate. Yadda yadda. And sometimes make things less pleasant of course with shadows, ugly architecture, etc.

So 90 Saghalie (aka 200 Tyee Rd) is finally underway - MV project page.



Opal - 90 Saghalie Rd by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr



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

[aastra]

...good point how one building or project visually changes a far bigger area in terms of perception/sight lines, etc.

I'll offer you another enormous example: Hatley Castle/Royal Roads. Seriously, those grounds are basically the Beacon Hill Park of the west comms. Back in the day it all seemed remote but now it's the very convenient park, ponds & gardens for almost a hundred thousand suburbanites.

So what I'm saying is, the negative perceptions I might prefer to indulge about the ever-evolving west comms are actually mitigated by the very presence of Royal Roads. The more Langford grows and matures, the more someone like myself appreciates the exceptional character of the park and grounds, and the less inclined I might be to bash that suburban scene in its entirety.

[Dylan Leblanc]

1545 Bay Street - that will be a trip to have a six story building there on Bay St! Nothing that size anywhere around it.

[Dylan Leblanc]

Thanks for all the updates Zoomer! Things are looking good

[zoomer]

Thanks Dylan. We'll have to see if the finished quality matches the renderings, but I'd have to say 1545 Bay Street is pretty decent for wood-frame construction, although the Bay Street frontage could have used some variation. So while it'll stick out, hopefully it'll feel a bit more appropriate or integrated into the neighbourhood because of the changes they've made.

aastra - the western communities, are very fortunate to have outstanding parks, beaches, mountains, lakes and natural features that stand out and make the quality of life quite high. I guess you can say that about anywhere in Greater Victoria. As for other Canadian cities? Is the natural environment a factor that helps override suburbia, or is it just bleaker and less interesting than the urban core? I haven't really explored suburbs of other cities to give a fair comment.

[Phil McAvity]

Originally Posted by Dylan Leblanc

1545 Bay Street - that will be a trip to have a six story building there on Bay St! Nothing that size anywhere around it.

Zoom, It looks like you need to update your site because you have it listed as a 5 story building

I couldn't tell on Google Maps streetview what it was replacing so I drove over there to have a look and there are a couple of little houses on the corner of Victor and Bay but they didn't really look dilapidated to me which is odd because it's usually places that are pretty rundown that get targeted for redevelopment. It will probably end up being similar to that 7 story building on the corner of Elford and Pandora/Begbie that was erected many years ago, it seemed like no one noticed or cared but of course I noticed and was really surprised to see a building that tall go up in Fernwood although i'm sure the fact that it was in a real low point in Fernwood played a part in it getting approved

[aastra]

Six is the new four. It's the new fore, too. I shout "Six!" all the time now when I'm playing pitch and putt. By coincidence I also write 6 a lot on my scorecard.

Off the top of my head in the Jubilee/Fernwood/Oaklands area there's that older 6-story job behind Christie's pub, the Aryze building at Fort and Belcher (and more to come on Richmond Rd and Oak Bay Avenue), the retirement residence beside the old Turner's building, the new Turner's building, and the Sparrow at Cook and Hillside. And wasn't that proposal for Cook Street backing onto Empire Street supposed to be six stories?

Folks in the central neighbourhoods need to start watching their six.

[aastra]

Speaking of Aryze, have we mentioned 951 Beach Drive? I think I had conflated this one with the other project on that stretch where a couple of mansions were taken out while nobody was paying attention.

[zoomer]

Originally Posted by Phil McAvity

Zoom, It looks like you need to update your site because you have it listed as a 5 story building

I couldn't tell on Google Maps streetview what it was replacing so I drove over there to have a look and there are a couple of little houses on the corner of Victor and Bay but they didn't really look dilapidated to me which is odd because it's usually places that are pretty rundown that get targeted for redevelopment. It will probably end up being similar to that 7 story building on the corner of Elford and Pandora/Begbie that was erected many years ago, it seemed like no one noticed or cared but of course I noticed and was really surprised to see a building that tall go up in Fernwood although i'm sure the fact that it was in a real low point in Fernwood played a part in it getting approved

Thank you Eagle Eye McAvity - now corrected and I've included the precise height it will no doubt be - 19.23 metres.

As for Elford and Pandora I think it's on it's THIRD exterior wall remediation. But yah I think being surround by trees it gts forgotten about. Way too many trees to be honest, must be dark in those suites.

[zoomer]

Originally Posted by aastra

Six is the new four. It's the new fore, too. I shout "Six!" all the time now when I'm playing pitch and putt. By coincidence I also write 6 a lot on my scorecard.

Off the top of my head in the Jubilee/Fernwood/Oaklands area there's that older 6-story job behind Christie's pub, the Aryze building at Fort and Belcher (and more to come on Richmond Rd and Oak Bay Avenue), the retirement residence beside the old Turner's building, the new Turner's building, and the Sparrow at Cook and Hillside. And wasn't that proposal for Cook Street backing onto Empire Street supposed to be six stories?

Folks in the central neighbourhoods need to start watching their six.

Six is the luckiest number.. oh wait I think the lyrics are "one is the loneliest number" by Four Dog Fight. I could be wrong.

Other Fernwood proposals of modests height:

1516 Camosun (at Pandora) at five-storeys

6-storeys at 1342 Pandora

5-storeys at 2525 Cook St

two six-storeys at 1132 Johnson

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Originally Posted by aastra

Speaking of Aryze, have we mentioned 951 Beach Drive? I think I had conflated this one with the other project on that stretch where a couple of mansions were taken out while nobody was paying attention.

Yes, local website MappingVictoria was all over it in May. I don't know who these guys (gals?) are but besides getting their five sixes mixed up they seem to be relatively on the ball.

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1778 Adanac Street looks promising, although that's one (two) heck of a staircase- plans received by the City on August 27, 2026. MappingVictoria project page.



1778 Adanac St - August 2026 Plans - © Fold Architects by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr