Victoria Construction - #7

[Vin]

Originally Posted by Apey

Awesome video!

Thanks, Apey!

Originally Posted by zoomer

At one point a few years back the developers of the Roundhouse suggested they could include a station on their land if rail was revived. When the original Johnson Street bridge was replaced the decision was made to not include rail, so any route following this traditional path would not end right in downtown. That being said most believe commuter rail will first begin with a route up Douglas to Uptown. But that could be decades yet.

I should try and do more regular construction updates. So here's a small one to start with - Redfern condo on the Victoria side of Oak Bay Avenue is nearing completion. Hopefully the final touches will bring it closer to the render.

But before the pics, update on the two major projects at the corner of Yates and Cook, well three! The Nest (12 storey condo) and the Haven (six storeys) are nearing completion. 1050 Yates (25 and 15 storeys) the site of Pacific Mazda has a ton of crew now demolishing the old building - well, today at least the overhang for the service entry. Talked to a guy on site who said there is still asbestos to be removed in the main building and that excavation will take 20 MONTHS!

Across the street at the old Dodge Chrysler site they are busy building what appears to be covered walkways for the sidewalks. Not yet on the sidewalks, but on the site. They look to be getting close for excavation as well. This is phase 1, which will consist of 20 and 21 storey buildings.

Thanks for the update!

As for the Roundhouse project, it would be sweet if they can dedicate a stop/station space for future commuter train service. It can be called the "Roundhouse Station". In the near future, a temporary final stop (Victoria) can still exist just west of the bridge. Commuters can do a short walk to cross into Old Town.

Even though the final stop is currently not possible due to the loss of track space over the new Johnson Street bridge, they can perhaps build a twin railway bridge over the water in the future when there are funds available. Even better, let the tracks go underground to a better spot for a city centre railway station: perhaps somewhere closer to the Harris Green neighbourhood. This can be the central station for rail service to the ferry terminal, etc. Of course, those would be decades down the road.

[zoomer]

That's a great vision Vin - I hope I live long enough to see it!

Telus Ocean update from February 9:

Telus Ocean Construction - February 9, 2024. by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

[Apey]

They are really moving along with the Telus build. Thanks, for keeping us updated!

[Vin]

Another underground floor to go before reaching ground level!

[zoomer]

Hopefully by summer we'll see a couple floors above ground level. This section of downtown will really be amazingly dense with the potential of the 780 Blanshard just up the hill being redeveloped to build an 18 storey hotel/condo on top of the existing art deco building.



700 block of Burdett Street, Victoria. March 13, 2023. by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

CHEK is reporting that Lululemon will be moving into the ground floor of the Custom House building, which has been empty since it's completion. Probably the most prime retail space in the city. It had to be a high profile company or someone with deep pockets. Would have been a nice restaurant location with the potential for outdoor seating, but it's a tough industry nowadays with the rent being charged here. Although Starbucks has a nice location in the historic side of the building.

Not sure if this means they'll be leaving their Johnson street location. Like Lululemon locations across the country it was a prime shoplifting location because of the value of the merchandise which can be easily flipped online. I'm sure the new location will have room to build in better anti-theft deterrents. Perhaps a double door type of thing - but I think their policy now is to not stop anyone.



CHEK story

Finally I posted some new Victoria photos in the Canada thread, you see the full thing here - just sharing a couple below from that thread:



Douglas Street - Victoria. Sunday, February 4, 2024. by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr



Belmont Building - Sunday February 4, 2024. by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

[Vin]

Nice updates, Zoomer! I'm glad more of the retail units are now taken, although Lululemon would not be something that I would imagine going into that prominent corner.

Your pictures of Victoria really show that the real charm of this city comes from all the well-taken heritage buildings. The city should continue this path, but at the same time increase the size/FSR of proposed structures allowed to match the Customs House or more. There seems to be a trend in many European cities now to bring back the more aesthetic structures of the past to replace what was rebuilt post-war up till the 80s.

[zoomer]

/\ I think the lower mid-rise quality has increased in Victoria, but buildings over 10 storeys or so I think the quality has declined a little. Cost savings, but I'm a bit tired of these snap on grey/white/black metal panel buildings we've been seeing lately. Makes me miss the brick or painted concrete of past years. To be fair besting Aria, Shutters, The Falls, The Wave, etc. is a relatively high bar. But there is a nice mix of heights all over downtown which adds to the visual interest. Here's one just outside of downtown on Burdett street, hard to see through all the scaffolding. Nice rounded elements with setbacks, but what appears to be a brick ring is going to be a stucco material I think and looks like fake wood panelling. Oh well.



1120 Burdett Avenue, Victoria. February 23, 2024 by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

Nest and Haven is coming along well - if you look closely you can see one panel has been installed and the unusual horizontal pattern. I'll get better pictures later of the the Haven part and the whole site at Cook/Yates/Johnson - as a whole it looks pretty good.



The Nest Condo Construction - February 23, 2024 by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

[zoomer]

Picture of 1088 Johnson Street. They squeezed in this condo building and it's surrounded on all three sides with barely any room to spare. Thus the design choices on the side facades.



1088 Johnson Street - February 26, 2024. by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

I also posted some new Victoria photos in the photo thread you can find here.

Two highlights:



Johnson at Broad Street - February 26, 2024. by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr



Rockland Modern Home - February 16, 2024 by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

[VantageHD]

Beautiful house! Absolutely love that.

[zoomer]

VantageHD - The part I like most about that house is how it presents 3 faces as you approach it, giving it a church type look, but when you look at it head on it has a flat modern look as you don’t really notice the insets. High end modern without looking tacky.



Rockland Modern Home - February 16, 2024 by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

[Apey]

Beautiful photos, I come back often to look at them and feel better! Since I've been at home sick for a week!

[zoomer]

I hope you feel better soon Apey! I just posted some new pics in this thread, I’ll share a few here, but go there so see them all. I’ll post a couple construction photos later today.



Fairfield Home - March 21, 2024. by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr



Yates Street, Victoria BC. March 24, 2024. by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr



Laurel Point - Victoria. March 24, 2024. by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr



Laurel Point - Victoria. March 24, 2024. by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr



Dockside Green - March 24, 2024. by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr



Johnson Street Bridge - March 24, 2024. by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr



L - R The Pearl, Hudson Place One, The Janion. March 24, 2024. by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr



Downtown Victoria - March 24, 2024. by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

[Vin]

Great spring photos Zoomer, and thanks for sharing.

[Vin]

This is an exciting piece:

Major mixed-use waterfront development with new Art Gallery of Greater Victoria proposed for Victoria Inner Harbour
https://dailyhive.com/victoria/capit...es-development

By Dailyhive Victoria

[vicdevelopments]

Absolutely beautiful photos Zoomer. Amazing how much more dense the city is over the last 20 years. I hope you are feeling better Apey.

[Apey]

Originally Posted by vicdevelopments

Absolutely beautiful photos Zoomer. Amazing how much more dense the city is over the last 20 years. I hope you are feeling better Apey.

Thank you for the well wishes, am starting to finally feel like myself again!

[Apey]

Originally Posted by zoomer

I hope you feel better soon Apey! I just posted some new pics in this thread, I’ll share a few here, but go there so see them all. I’ll post a couple construction photos later today.



Fairfield Home - March 21, 2024. by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr



Yates Street, Victoria BC. March 24, 2024. by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr



Laurel Point - Victoria. March 24, 2024. by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr



Laurel Point - Victoria. March 24, 2024. by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr



Dockside Green - March 24, 2024. by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr



Johnson Street Bridge - March 24, 2024. by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr



L - R The Pearl, Hudson Place One, The Janion. March 24, 2024. by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr



Downtown Victoria - March 24, 2024. by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

Thanks for the well wishes, most appreciated! Love the picture of the cherry tree, it made my day. It was like a bouquet of flowers to cheer me up!

[zoomer]

Good article Vin - Daily Hive really do great in-depth urban/development stories. I really like how this development will extend downtown with a good density and a mix of uses. It goes right up to Rock Bay which makes me wonder what could be there one day now that it’s been remediated.

Thanks for the kind words Apey and Vicdevelopments - some new pics coming up!

[zoomer]

Pretty much adjacent to the Capital Iron development is this rather large block size development. Excellent extension of the northern part of downtown.



Spencer Block Construction - March 31, 2024. by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

Reminder of what it will be:





source

It was also announced in January that the developers bought the hold out Victoria Transmission on the corner and a residential building there will integrate with the rest of the development.

[zoomer]

First three pics from the BC Government Flickr account - the 109 year old Vic High reopened this week after four years and $100 million in seismic upgrades. The lawns around the two sides still need to be seeded. Vic High is the oldest public high school in western Canada, first opened as a log cabin in 1876 on another nearby site.



Safer, larger Victoria High opens by Province of British Columbia, on Flickr



Safer, larger Victoria High opens by Province of British Columbia, on Flickr



Safer, larger Victoria High opens by Province of British Columbia, on Flickr

Now a few of my own:



Douglas Street - Victoria BC - Sunday, April 7, 2024. by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr



Douglas Street - Victoria BC - Sunday, April 7, 2024. by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr



Victoria Chinatown - Sunday, April 7, 2024 by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr



Victoria Chinatown - Sunday, April 7, 2024 by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr



Victoria Chinatown - Sunday, April 7, 2024 by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr