Railway could play role in improving local transportation

Little planning so far on integrating services

By Darrell Bellaart, The Daily NewsNovember 16, 2009

Nanaimo would become more of a transportation hub for Vancouver Island if passenger rail service starts each day travelling south to the provincial capital from Nanaimo. But even as the Island Corridor Foundation moves forward with the plan to turn rail service around, no one has given much thought as to how air, rail, marine and road transportation would hook up in Nanaimo, or what the hub should look like.

Foundation executive direction Graham Bruce recently said daily passenger rail service will travel south to Victoria daily from Nanaimo, starting as early as next spring.It's what proponents have long called for to make commuter service to Victoria viable. Victoria sightseers could then travel up-Island and return the same day, something not possible under Via's current schedule. It harkens back to an idea to make the Nanaimo Wellcox train yard lands off Esplanade into a main transportation hub where buses, boats and trains could all connect. One "fly in the ointment," according to Nanaimo Mayor John Ruttan: the lands, owned by Canadian Pacific Railway, are on the table in treaty negotiations with Snuneymuxw First Nation.

The band has not stated public its plans for that land. Repeated calls to Coun. Doug White, acting council chairman, went unanswered.

Good transportation links are essential in a healthy economy and despite Nanaimo's close proximity to Vancouver, its transportation infrastructure is a mish-mash. Ferries are scattered among three different terminals, a Greyhound station is on Comox Street, many blocks from the Prideaux Street transit exchange. Twice, a harbour-to-harbour passenger ferry service to Vancouver has failed.

A key to any Wellcox plan would be linking as many transportation services as possible but so far no one seems ready to make it happen. The Wellcox yard is beside the Assembly Wharf, where the Nanaimo Port Authority will build its new cruise ship terminal. Bruce is convinced it will evolve over time once use of the rail service expands.

Improving passenger rail service seems a logical time to plan Nanaimo's future role as an Island transportation hub.

Coun. Fred Pattje likes the Wellcox yard location. It's adjacent to the Assembly Wharf, where the new cruise ship terminal will be built.

"The Assembly Wharf to me has to end up one way or the other as some sort of transportation hub," Pattje said. "Not just for trains, we should have a full passenger ferry to Vancouver, and there should be a bus depot there. The Greyhound is in the wrong place as far as I'm concerned. We need a proper downtown terminal for our own transit and if we can combine that with commuter rail to various areas, that's fine."

That would likely require co-operation from the city, Regional District of Nanaimo, Snuneymuxw First Nation, private operators, Island Corridor Foundation, which owns the E&N railway, and the provincial government.

"We have several things happening." Mayor John Ruttan said. "We know (regional) bus service will be relocated, it's not going to be where it is at Prideaux Street, by the RCMP. We expect if that does happen it would be logical to relocate the bus terminal as well."

The Snuneymuxw land claim is another issue.

"They definitely have a claim on that property. Will it be a hub? Well... Then there's interest in a possible commercial industrial component, possibly with the First Nation, or free standing. It's a gorgeous piece of land."

Only Greyhound can decide whether it wants to relocate and if so, it would be a business decision. Excursion bus and taxi operators would automatically gravitate as close as possible to the cruise ships.

City manager Al Kenning sees challenges putting a transportation hub in the Wellcox yards location.

"I think there is general agreement the concept sounds great but there's a lot of financial and business issues to be resolved before any decisions can be made," Kenning said.

For Kenning, first and foremost is a provincial economic study of the viability of the E&N itself.

"Until that's done, we need to wait and see," Kenning said.

Bruce foresees a day when a train station is located directly across from Nanaimo Airport, when passengers are "suddenly connecting to everything south and north."

He's less sure how the Wellcox yard/transportation hub will fit into the whole plan, but he agrees it has merit with the cruise ship terminal coming and especially if another passenger ferry operator steps forward.

"As the service improves and changes, you can start hubbing in more of the bus connections and boat connections as well. I think that's kind of phase three of all of this," Bruce said.

With the Snuneymuxw expected to eventually acquire the Wellcox land, any plan involving that land would need the band's support. Ruttan said whatever happens, it will take time.

"I think maybe in the short term it would be logical to leave everything where it is and not try to relocate everything, but they need to remember to look down the road," Ruttan said.

Upgrades completed at airport



Published: November 20, 2009 3:00 PM

Nanaimo Airport is set to begin the second leg of its improvement journey.

On Dec. 15, airport CEO Mike Hooper will officially recognize the completion of Phase 1, which includes the 490-metre runway expansion, 730m taxiway, high intensity lighting and instrument landing improvements.

“Everything was on time and on budget and we’ll have a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Dec. 15,” said Hooper of the $16.4-million phase.

The instrument landing improvements will be ready Dec. 17 and available to pilots on Feb. 11. Currently, approaching planes must be able to see the runway from 3.6km out and 200m in elevation before landing in reduced visibility, or else they must circle back to Vancouver.

With the improvements, including an additional 460m of high-intensity lighting, pilots will be able to close to within 1.6km and an elevation of 103m, providing more opportunities to land in bad weather.

“This feature will greatly improve our reliability,” said Hooper.

Designs are already in place for the $10.4-million Phase 2, which is expected to begin in March 2010 and be completed 12 months later.

v2

Community eyes a new direction

There's a new energy, new focus and soon there will be a new look to Sooke as the West Coast town appears to be on the verge of a major transformation.

Having been moulded by forestry and fishing, Sooke is now reinventing itself as a tourism-driven community and it intends to bloom with infusions of investment, attractions and a commitment to evolution in the small, tight-knit community.

"We're ready for a great big burst of energy," said Gwen Fisher, chairwoman of the District of Sooke Chamber of Commerce and owner of Pure Elements salon.

Indeed, there was an air of optimism when a number of Sooke business owners sat down with the Times Colonist to talk about the direction Sooke is taking.

"As a business owner in a downtown area that relies on tourism, it's a very exciting time in Sooke. All the things we have been looking for in the past are now being planned for," said Kathy Drover, owner of the busy Reading Room bookstore and cafe. "It's been a long time coming and I'm really excited about what's coming."

What's coming is a re-imagining of the Sooke downtown, anchored by the development of Prestige's 122-room resort hotel and conference centre and developer Mike Barrie's Mariner's Village, a $300-million mixed-use development with homes, commercial space and a marina.

Those two elements, designed to put Sooke on the tourism map, will also open up the well-kept harbour secret -- access and views have always been a problem -- and establish a central focus for the town, which should lead to more development and increased density in the downtown area.

That has to be good news for a community that's felt the sting of loss as the forest and fishing industries struggled on the Island.

For years, those traditional industries fuelled small towns all over the West Coast, and when they got hit, communities that had yet to diversify their economies felt the pain.

The story has been retold all over the Island, but Sooke decided to fight back.

That fight led Sooke officials on a fact-finding trip to California looking for ideas. They returned with a stimulus plan to encourage development.

"We said if you build higher density or a LEED-certified development we will provide you with a tax exemption for up to three years, building permit reductions, development cost charge reductions and above that we will take all incremental tax generated in the town centre, put it into a reserve and funnel those dollars back into the town centre for amenities," said Dave Devana, the District of Sooke's director of finance.

"That was a big selling point as it provides things like boardwalks, sidewalks, waterfront access and more parks -- developers liked that we take their money and put it right back into the area they are developing."

The result of that was landing Mariner's Village. When it starts building in the spring of 2010, it will bring 10,000 square feet of commercial space, a 170-slip marina, a small boutique hotel and 475 residential units, all on 12 acres.

Sooke also took a chance to enter into a partnership to land a destination hotel for the area.

According to Evan Parliament, the district's chief administration officer, by laying out nearly

$1 million for a slice of the needed land Sooke managed to convince Prestige to move onto the waterfront and build both the 122-room hotel and a conference and banquet facility that could hold 400 delegates.

That hotel, which has started work on its foundation with a view to being completed in the spring of 2011, will also include a pub, spa, marina and a public boat launch.

KIM WESTAD

Times Colonist

Longtime Esquimalt residents remember when small shops lined the main street and when their town had a commercial core instead of the hodge-podge of businesses now strewn along Esquimalt Road.

That commercial core was one of the things that helped foster the strong community pride felt in the municipality over the Blue Bridge.

Over the years, numerous small businesses closed, leaving Esquimalt with little retail choice even as its population grew, largely with young families discovering its more affordable homes and sense of community.

But the current municipal council looks ready to try to change all that.

Council is considering rezoning about 86,000 square feet of municipal land to allow for a "village centre" -- an ambitious development incorporating retail, residential, restaurants, offices and civic space.

The village centre would take advantage of ill-used land behind and adjacent to the municipal hall at 1229 Esquimalt Rd.

Instead of rundown barracks and a mould-filled former municipal hall, there could be up to 19,000 square metres of mixed development, a community core that might even be home to a theatre or a children's museum. The residential buildings would provide the density Esquimalt needs to provide homes for its increasing population.

The township is expected to grow by almost 25 per cent to about 22,000 by 2027. Like other core communities, there is little available residential land to build on.

"What I'm hearing from the public is they like what they've seen so far and the time is right for a project like this in Esquimalt," said Mayor Barb Desjardins.

The plan is to be back before council in December with details on costs and anticipated revenue from different models.

Desjardins has seen several community core plans percolate over the last decade, with none moving ahead. The momentum now is different and residents are ready, she said.

This plan nearly hit the shelves after a rocky beginning in 2007. The former council got the revitalization plan going, hiring the Vancouver firm of Hotson, Bakker, Boniface, Haden to come up with a plan that covered almost all the municipal-owned land along and near Esquimalt Road. That plan -- covering three times the area of the current plan -- was too much, too fast.

Most controversial was one option that saw the Archie Browning Sports Centre closed and possibly replaced with a sheet of ice elsewhere.

The former council voted in favour of closing the arena because of expected high costs to upgrade it over the next few years.

It's also on prime land that could be redeveloped.

But politicians hadn't counted on the public outrage over the closure. Thousands of people signed a petition against its closure, and hundreds packed into a meeting to protest. Council reversed its decision after the public uproar. That became the key issue in the 2008 municipal election.

Desjardins, the only councillor to vote against the arena's closure, ran for mayor and won. The arena issue and how council handled its decision on the closure derailed the village centre plans. But the new council resurrected them, albeit on a much smaller scale.

The plan council will decide on next month covers less than one-third of the area dealt with in the controversial Archie Browning plan, and deals only with land immediately around the municipal hall.

"That's one of the comments I've heard over and over again, that it's good to break it down into more of a bite-sized piece," Desjardins said.

The municipality is interested in having the proposed Victoria Children's Museum be part of the development. That group has been looking for a suitable home to showcase and create children's art and activities. Municipal staff will present a report next month on the economic impact having a children's museum has for a municipality.

"We have to look at the dollars and cents. We have to make sure there's a business case to support it, and I expect there is as there are children's museums in communities across North America. But we need to satisfy ourselves that it makes sense economically, and not find out later that we're just chasing a dream that both for us and the children's museum is not viable."

Council will also get cost estimates for land values next month. Desjardins is well aware that many decisions have yet to be made before the village centre plan proceeds, but is a big booster.

"The economy is picking up, so it's a good time for the development community. This could be a real showcase for somebody."

http://www.timescolonist.com/travel/Community+eyes+direction/2280553/story.html

Bayview and the Roundhouse
Can anyone fill me in on this? Is this still being done? Is it done?
Im sorry for posting somthing I know nothing about but, it looks great! It would apear there are equestrian grounds as well!
http://www.vibrantvictoria.ca/pictures/Bayview-and-Roundhouse.jpg

No equestrian grounds but there is a skateboard park and an old lawn bowling club across the street.

So far the only thing that's actually been built is the first Bayview building. Rumour has it that it hasn't sold all that well, and Dockside Green (just out of frame at the upper left of that site rendering) seems to be going to sleep right about now, so it's safe to assume that the remainder of the Bayview/Roundhouse properties will take many years to build out.

It took about 20 years to build the dozen or so midrise & lowrise condo/hotel buildings that you see on the Songhees waterfront there.

The first 11-story Bayview building was criticized rather harshly for being so wide, so the developer applied for and got permission to build taller & thinner on the future phases. 21 stories and 17 stories, I think.

Bayview One:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3653/3398039791_c15f6119a2.jpg
Picture by the Great Scaper at Flickr.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/55063726@N00/3398039791/

Developer considers reviving stalled highrise project
Darrell Bellaart, Daily News
Published: Saturday, January 23, 2010
A Nanaimo waterfront highrise that was approved despite strong opposition when it was first proposed five years ago continues to languish amid uncertain market conditions.

InSight, the developer of a 24-storey condominium tower at 10 Front St., has no immediate plans to move skyward with its the building just yet.

The developer is trying to contain construction costs, which were at an unprecedented high and looked to be rising two years ago,

Now, with the commercial construction industry slowing down, the developer is looking for a better price on materials.

Like any business, market forces will ultimately determine whether suppliers and contractors are willing to cut their prices. B.C. construction costs are now falling.

InSight faced stiff public resistence when it applied in 2004 to increase the maximum allowable building height to 24 storeys from 16. Blasting started in May 2008 but the site sat idle for much of the past year. The company has other projects on the go but the tower is on the back burner.

"Because of the reality in the world we stopped work," said Doug Bromage, InSight Developments general manager.

"Financing disappeared and we thought the cost structure was getting too out of control."

The recession is now over, and InSight is now considering restarting the project. "We are going out to the marketplace to confirm our cost side. We're going back to the trades and suppliers."

Insight wants a 20% reduction in costs.

Where two years ago developers were lucky to get one bid on a project, today large projects typically draw 10 or 15 bidders.

"Of course there's less work out there and a certain fear factor in the marketplace," said Greg Baynton, Vancouver Island president, B.C. Construction Association.

That's driven prices down between 10% and 30%, and Baynton said that trend will likely continue through the year.

Bromage hopes to have the project back on track by mid-summer. "The good news is the phone is still ringing with inquiries about the place, so that's encouraging."

DBellaart@nanaimodailynews.com 250-729-4235

Cool. I'm looking forward to this starting. It will be the second building in Nanaimo taller than anything in Victoria.

Here's a pic of the site - http://palladian.mdu.ca/

I agree!!, plus a new 26 story tower is part of the Port Place redevelopment, we will be getting quite the sky line here in Nanaimo

Hospital ER starts $38.6M facelift
Significant expansion of Nanaimo Regional General Hospital facility will take two years
Darrell Bellaart, Daily News
Published: Saturday, January 30, 2010
Work has started on a $38.6-million expansion of the emergency room at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital.

Site development work, which includes building a new road and parking lot needed prior to construction of the actual ER expansion got underway in early January. It it not expected to disrupt traffic between now and the awarding of the major project, likely in summer.

When complete in mid-2012, the project will more than double the size of the ER, which now handles three times the number of patients it was originally designed to accommodate.

Additional space will ease crowding problems in the ER but without additional improvements elsewhere in the hospital, NRGH hallways could still sometimes be overflowing with patients waiting for beds.

Island Westcoast Developments of Nanaimo submitted the lowest bid, at $1,633,255, winning the contract. Work started on site the first week of January.

Since the ER expansion will be built on top of the existing road and parking lot, that work can't happen until site development is finished. A new road will be punched through off Boundary Avenue parallel to the existing road. It will hook up to an expanded 107-space parking lot, which will double the existing lot.

"Right now the main activity is off Nelson Street up from the Kiwanis addition," said Jim Morris, project manager. "It's business as usual until summer time."

Working drawings for the new ER are about half-finished. The schedule calls for tendering to be done by summer, with a ground-breaking expected in July.

The new 24,600-square-foot ER will have 41 treatment rooms, compared to 24 treatment rooms in the existing 10,365 square feet of ER space. The new facility will have a capacity of up to 60,000 patients a year, four times existing numbers.

That will get patients through more quickly but won't solve all capacity problems at NRGH.

"The second thing is having enough beds so we're not keeping admitted people in emergency," Morris said. "By doing the emergency won't address that. That's another problem and we hope to solve that before we open, because it will impact our capacity to treat people we need to treat."

DBellaart@nanaimodailynews.com

Nanaimo's housing starts lead the IslandApartment construction is credited with buoying up the city's construction industry
Darrell Bellaart, The Daily News;
Published: Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Apartment construction is keeping Nanaimo's building industry ahead of the rest of the Island.

New figures from the federal housing agency indicate housing starts fell just 13% overall last year, bucking a provincial trend in which new home construction fell by 39%.

Developers are busy making up for a slowdown in new rental accommodation from the mid 1990s through the past decade.
After five consecutive quarters of decreases in housing starts, a turnaround is being reported in urban Vancouver Island for the fourth quarter of 2009, compared to the same quarter a year earlier. It's too early to say if the trend will sustain itself, or how long

Nanaimo builders started work on 798 units in 2009, down 13% from 2008, which was just 26 units shy of Nanaimo's best year in the past decade.

Nanaimo's housing industry tends to grow in fits and starts. After a strong period of growth ending in the mid-1990s little new rental housing was built until about 2004, when a surge in new apartment construction started.

"It's a strong year in Nanaimo in terms of multi-family development," said Travis Archibald, CMHC senior market analyst, Vancouver Island region.

The city had a "huge buildup" of rental inventory during the late 1980s and early '90s.

In 2008 apartment housing bounced back again, and last year 315 new apartment units were started, eclipsing the 264 single-family housing units started.

"Nanaimo is kind of strange, historically," Archibald said.

CMHC put the number of seasonally adjusted housing starts across the country up 5.9% from November, to 174,500 units, higher than the 160,000 to 165,000-unit increase most economists expected in December.

"I'm pretty confident next year will be quite strong for Nanaimo," Archibald said. Many builders told him they have projects on the books, but the startup of construction is market driven.

DBellaart@nanaimodailynews.com

Any renderings of the future skyline? =D

Pictures from the fall and winter of 2009 by the Great Scaper:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2665/4180378869_cbbae06f36_b.jpg
picture from http://www.flickr.com/photos/55063726@N00/4180378869/

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2719/4180379739_0d74685a97_b.jpg
picture from http://www.flickr.com/photos/55063726@N00/4180379739/

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2626/4142678939_b93a0fd165_b.jpg
picture from http://www.flickr.com/photos/55063726@N00/4142678939/

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2584/4142678469_619d8c2bff_b.jpg
picture from http://www.flickr.com/photos/55063726@N00/4142678469/

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2671/4161933347_4f592b1ed4_b.jpg
picture from http://www.flickr.com/photos/55063726@N00/4161933347/

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2562/4180378427_7a64990d4e_b.jpg
picture from http://www.flickr.com/photos/55063726@N00/4180378427/

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2802/4142673701_64f411b7d9_b.jpg
picture from http://www.flickr.com/photos/55063726@N00/4142673701/

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2757/4162694028_df7ac60cea_b.jpg
picture from http://www.flickr.com/photos/55063726@N00/4162694028/

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2777/4142677955_4ec7c01993_b.jpg
picture from http://www.flickr.com/photos/55063726@N00/4142677955/

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2773/4143434240_df3c465b05_b.jpg
picture from http://www.flickr.com/photos/55063726@N00/4143434240/

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3491/4000042936_0cb2bde597_b.jpg
picture from http://www.flickr.com/photos/55063726@N00/4000042936/

^^cool photos! It's nice to see victoria from a new angle.

With photos from Dylan Leblanc of SSP

Highlander

http://gingert.net/images/langford-highlander01-11.01.2010.jpg
http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/5493/highlanderiw8.gif

Bolzano
http://gingert.net/images/langford-bolzano02-11-01-2010.jpg
http://gingert.net/images/langford-bolzano01.jpg

Golf and housing project finally a go at Cable Bay
Developer hopes critics accept high-density plan
Derek Spalding, Daily News
Published: Saturday, February 20, 2010
Glenn Brower can finally look forward to planning the details of the golf and residential development planned for south Nanaimo now that city council members finally approved the project's latest concepts.

An overwhelming majority (7-2) of council voted to include the Oceanview master plan in the official community plan on Thursday night. The decision came immediately following a second public hearing that focused largely on the details of an main connector road that will be used by the heavy equipment trucks during the buildout. The politicians were forced to hold a second public hearing because of possible legal issues that may have come from a mishandling of information at the first meeting held Jan. 14.

The latest hiccup in this project's drawn-out history is over and Brower is finally smiling. The concept has finally been approved after nearly four years.

Brower can finally tell the three Calgary investors that Oceanview has a green light. He boasted on Friday about the 21 kilometres of trails throughout the project. Park land and archeological sites will be preserved along with a Gary Oak meadow that contains a red-listed plant. The golf course will attract people from all over the world. High-density residential planning could take 16 years to fill, but annual tax bills to the city could be $9 million, Brower explained.

He has taken criticism from all corners of the city: Cedar residents didn't want a rebuilt road with construction traffic running through their community; about 6,000 people signed a petition against the project and some urban planners feel the area will take away from the revitalization of downtown. But he hopes the worst is behind him. Brower wants people to understand just how beneficial this development will be to the community.

"The headache went away at about 10 p.m. last night," he said. "I dont know why people think if you're a developer you have to sell your soul to the devil."

The Oceanview project, originally called Cable Bay Lands, is one of the largest developments in Nanaimo, situated on a track of land that is more complex than most sites in the city. The project began in 2006 when investors requested an OCP amendment for the 215-hectare site.

Several hurdles have come along since then. Residents created a Save Our Strategy group that waged a campaign to stop the developers from annexing 40 hectares of land in Cedar in order to broaden the scope of the project. The Calgary investors then decided a more compact concept would be better.

The investors knew they wanted a golf course, which is why they pushed for resort centre rezoning. It wasn't until 2008 that the city stretched its urban containment boundary and made room for the project. They also stretched that imaginary line to include Linley Valley, portions of the Jingle Pot area and South Nanaimo Lands. That change allowed the Cable Bay area to be rezoned for resort centre, which meant the golf course was a go-ahead. Geotechnical and environmental studies, however, have changed the layout several times.

CRTC considers an application for new local television station for Victoria and Nanaimo

Corus TV station application promotes 'hyper-local' content

By Dustin Walker, The Daily NewsMarch 3, 2010

A proposal for a new local television station has broadcasters on Vancouver Island worried.

Media giant Corus Communications has applied to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to operate specialty cable channels in 64 Western Canadian centres, including five communities on the Island.

A spokesperson for Corus said it was too early to provide details about the channels, but a website promoting the new service said "the heart of the proposed service will be community-specific weather information, forecasts, news feeds, environmental features and road reports."

Local broadcasters says there is little room left in the market.

"A third conventional television station would seem a little bit overkill to me," said Jim Blundell, general manager of 'A' Vancouver Island. "If it's in fact a conventional television station, it will put the two existing broadcasters in grave jeopardy in my mind."

John Pollard, general manager of CHEK-TV, said the idea of a specialty channel that sells local ads is a different kind of model.

"I don't think it adds anything to what's available on television today. It's not the same as CHEK, it's not the same as A-channel. It's a specialty channel selling locally," he said, adding if Corus' proposal is successful it would add another player in an already full market. "It would concern me, it should concern the radio stations, too."

After last-minute negotiations last summer, employees at CHEK took over the station from CanWest Global, which was planning to shut it down.

But Corus apparently feels there is ad revenue that hasn't been tapped in B.C., said Ambarish Chandra, an instructor with the University of B.C.'s Sauder School of Business.

While a new player in the broadcast market would "squeeze the existing media" it could be a benefit for local advertisers by providing more options, he said.

Chandra is surprised that the company is interested in smaller markets such as Nanaimo and Port Alberni that lack the revenue potential of centres like Vancouver and Victoria.

The Corus website describes the proposed channels, using the name Local1, as "a multi-zoned layout with several pieces of content on screen at once. Each of our 64 cities and towns would get their 'own channel' featuring hyper-local content like weather, news feeds, road reports and even community and municipal information."

The CRTC is accepting comments on Corus's applications until March 15.

DWalker@nanaimodailynews.com

© Copyright (c) Canwest News Service





--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Millennium running out of time on hotel deal
City councillors want to see the money and construction plan for project, not another extensionDerek Spalding, Daily News
Published: Saturday, March 06, 2010
The hopes of a hotel being built by Millennium Development may disappear in the coming weeks as the latest agreement made with city politicians expires at the end of the month.

Mayor John Ruttan said another extension is very unlikely, considering the consensus among his fellow councillors. The city has paid the Vancouver-based company more than $3 million in project management and development fees, but after nearly six years of missed deadlines and unkept promises, Nanaimo will turn elsewhere to complete the hotel component of the Port of Nanaimo Centre.

The hotel is vital to the success of the Vancouver Island Conference Centre, which lost about $865,000 last year, due to a lack of hotel space and the slumping economy.


View Larger Image
Millennium ran out of money and failed to build its downtown hotel.
Daily News file

Success depends largely on delegation numbers, but booking conferences of 800 are difficult without beds within walking distance. Faith has disappeared with the publicly silent Millennium, but even without the financially strapped company, the city has spent the last year meeting with other potential developers and have come up with nothing. Without banks lending money, finding funding is difficult.

The possibility of a future deal with Millennium is there, but the current agreement could be over soon, Ruttan explained. He would rather revisit plans to hire a real estate expert to seek out a developer and the financial backing. That plan was quashed late last year because public pressure put the politicians off the $300,000 fee for such a successful bid.

"As much as I'm supportive of the project, I don't see how I can agree to another extension with Millennium," Ruttan said. "Without a solid plan to start construction, this deal will be over."

The politicians have discussed hiring an expert to seek out a developer, but the majority of council would not even consider such a move until the agreement with Millennium has expired.

The proposed idea would pay some money up front to the successful bidder, who would receive the final payment only if they were successful.

The lengthy agreement started with Triarc International in 2004 and since then deadlines have been set and reset by Triarc and its partner Millennium Development. The city terminated its agreement with the developers in March 2007 because Millennium failed to find financing for the $50-million hotel. By June, the city signed an amended agreement to see the hotel built by January 2010, pushing the construction start to the end of February 2008. The construction start was pushed to May 31 and again, the company missed the deadline.

Representatives from the company promised before the last agreement that they would have proof of finance and a construction plan by at least March 31.

That could still happen, there is no "commitment to this point," said city manager Al Kenning.

The city has paid $1 million in project management fees and another $2 million in development fees to the cash-strapped Millennium, but that money will return to the city if the company fails to meet its latest deadline

A recent picture of the new office block at Yates and Blanshard:

http://vibrantvictoria.ca/wp-content/gallery/atrium/Atrium-03-24-10c.jpg
Picture by Mike K. at www.vibrantvictoria.ca

A recent picture of the east (rear) face of the Hudson:
http://vibrantvictoria.ca/wp-content/gallery/the-hudson/The-Hudson-03-24-2010a.jpg
Picture by Mike K. at www.vibrantvictoria.ca

Old hotels and new condominiums in the "Humboldt Valley" (also known as the southern part of downtown Victoria behind the Empress Hotel):
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4018/4525377058_cddc032af3_b.jpg
picture by Battle Royale1 at www.flickr.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30634635@N03/4525377058/

I like your pics!!!
Anyway you could get more and do a project for Victoria run down?

http://vibrantvictoria.ca/wp-content/gallery/the_834/The-834-04-01-2010.jpg

Great pic from Mike K. at SSP.

lookin' great. I can't wait for 'Hudson Mews' and 'Hudson Place' to get completed.
something like 26 storeys?! gonna be the highlight of vic's skyline for sure.

I can almost guarantee you that the Hudson will not happen, at least not the 24 story portion (the tallest building was supposed to be 24 stories, not 26) since the project has been on hold for over a year.

You may be right. It looks like Radius will be going forward as a lowrise/midrise project instead of a highrise project. Which is interesting because it started off as a midrise project before becoming a highrise project (a highrise project containing a terrific looking office tower, that will never come to be).

Then again, the extra height allowance on the Hudson parkade site may be too valuable to squander, if only they can hold out until the next real estate rush.

The 24 storey Hudson tower will get built. The rezoning is there, the developer will simply wait until market conditions are favourable enough. The three tower complex was never intended to get built all right away. Things are always dependent on market conditions.

This is the latest massing model for the Hudson. The tower on the right is now under-construction.

http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m256/5955483/Hudson%20Model/P1040548.jpg
http://vibrantvictoria.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=4262&page=4

Yeah Hudson mews is def happenin as the crane as been moved. And I think your right Leblanc. According to vibrantvic it's simply a matter of time. Honestly, I'm waaay more concerned about the future of roundhouse and bayview. Both projects are approved and supposed to have a couple towers each around 21 storeys. I just hope they can get built. This market sure is frustrating >:| still though, I'm optimistic. I have a vision of Victoria as a modern westcoast city with an Impressive highrise skyline, a clean, contemporary rapid transit system (lrt), and an ever growing population. Can't wait.

May some of us live to see it.

The 24 storey Hudson tower will get built.

I don't think i've ever been happier to find out i'm wrong. :banana:

Cool. I'm looking forward to this starting. It will be the second building in Nanaimo taller than anything in Victoria.

Here's a pic of the site - http://palladian.mdu.ca/

It's too bad that Seawalk is on hold but it's location kinda sucked anyway since it was jammed right in between two other downtown high-rises. I noticed it's webcam hasn't been operational since January which tells me that this one may be a while before getting built, if ever.

This is the link to the building's site (http://www.insightdevelopments.ca/communities_coming_soon_Seawalk) with a nice little photo gallery of Nanaimo, although the pictures are a bit outdated.

is anything getting built in Nanaimo?

Construction continues at the Uptown (Town & Country) shopping centre:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1363/4721448200_d79b3784b1.jpg
picture by Ryan Goldvine at www.flickr.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ryangoldvine/4721448200/

Small office building on Fort Street under construction:

http://gingert.net/images/victoria-2010.07.05-03.jpg
Picture by Dylan Leblanc.

New office block at Yates and Blanshard:

http://vibrantvictoria.ca/wp-content/gallery/atrium/Atrium-07-28-2010a.jpg

Looks like there is a construction bloom in Victoria. :cheers:

Another pic from the same set by Mike K. at www.vibrantvictoria.ca:

http://vibrantvictoria.ca/pictures/North-downtown-Victoria-from-Atrium-July-29-2010.jpg

From summer 2010:

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_Rg-tSGYurlI/TFJj8EsEe2I/AAAAAAAABTQ/s1agiSb6L90/s640/CIMG0850.JPG

picture by Yule Heibel at http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/yulelog/2010/07/29/behind-the-scenes-at-the-rbcm/

***

The new little office block on Fort Street from a couple of months ago:

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i129/carewser/IMG_0027.jpg?t=1283132527

picture by Phil McAvity at http://www.vibrantvictoria.ca/forum/showpost.php?p=143696&postcount=173

***

The large new office block on Yates Street:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1061/5124941805_6bf46eb516_z.jpg
Picture by ngawangchodron at http://www.flickr.com/photos/ngawangchodron/5124941805/

Interior of the same building:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1122/5124940761_99e48dd94a_z.jpg
Picture by ngawangchodron at http://www.flickr.com/photos/ngawangchodron/5124940761/

***

Proposal for the "Northern Junk" site. The 1860s warehouses would be preserved and fixed up.

http://www.timescolonist.com/business/3676753.bin?size=620x400

Picture courtesy Merrick Architecture Borowski Sakumoto Fligg Ltd., TimesColonist.com

Read more:
http://www.timescolonist.com/business/Harbourside+condo+retail+development+proposed+next+Johnston+Street/3676662/story.html#ixzz12Sbp5VZ9

Victoria
pictures from Vibrant Victoria and SSP ( Mike K )


http://vibrantvictoria.ca/pictures/MCMP-buildings-seen-from-the-hudson-Sept-2010.jpg
http://vibrantvictoria.ca/pictures/First-Island-and-Corazon-Sept-2010.jpg
http://vibrantvictoria.ca/pictures/Downtown-looking-south-Sept-2010.jpg
http://vibrantvictoria.ca/pictures/Downtown-looking-down-Douglas-Sept-2010.jpg
http://vibrantvictoria.ca/pictures/Downtown-looking-down-Douglas-Sept-2010b.jpg

expanding on an image posted by Aastra on November 2nd 2010.

Harbourside condo-retail development proposed next to Johnson Street Bridge in Victoria

These shots are from SpongeG via SSP on October 15th 2010
http://www.vancouversun.com/business/3676675.bin
An architect's model of a proposal for the lands occupied by the Northern Junk buildings in the Old Town section of Victoria.
Photograph by: Courtesy Merrick Architecture Borowski Sakumoto Fligg Ltd., timescolonist.com

http://www.vancouversun.com/business/3676755.bin?size=620x400
The proposal includes a new mixed use building beside the Johnson Street bridge and public space next to the bridge.
Photograph by: Merrick Architecture Borowski Sakumoto Fligg Limited, timescolonist.com

Via the Vancouver Sun
http://www.vancouversun.com/business/3676752.bin?size=620x400
http://www.vancouversun.com/business/3676759.bin?size=620x400
http://www.vancouversun.com/business/3676755.bin?size=620x400

A proposal by Anthem Properties for a five storey residential and retail building in Victoria's Chinatown, named The Union.

More at - http://vibrantvictoria.ca/local-news/chinatowns-union-condo-project-shown-to-public/

http://vibrantvictoria.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/nicks-011-1.jpg


A tower crane has just gone up at phase 2 of the Uptown development in Victoria. The crazy thing about this photo is the city's two tallest buildings can be seen.

http://gingert.net/images/victoria-uptown-2010.12.01.jpg



This is Insight Development's proposed Seawalk condos in Nanaimo, designed by Raffi Architects. It has been "proposed" for several years now, it'll happen when there's a market for it. At least the site has been cleared and excavated though.

It'll be built between the two towers on the right in this photo - http://www.flickr.com/photos/38628255@N00/3691899829/sizes/o/in/set-72157623376680934/ (you can actually see the dirt clearing where the site is, just above the water)

http://www.rafiiarchitects.com/projects/0450/01s.jpg

More pics here - http://rafiiarchitects.com/seawalk.html

DB entry - http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=33222

I LIKE VICTORIA IS A WONDER PLACE. I´LL COME BACK.

I BET THEY ARE LOOKING FORWARDS TO IT !!!!

834 Johnson Street under construction (picture by Dylan Leblanc at http://vibrantvictoria.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=1215&page=16):

http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/7673/victoriathe834dylanlebl.jpg

***

A condo proposal for an empty lot on View Street:

http://www.timescolonist.com/4124584.bin?size=620x400
picture from http://www.timescolonist.com/Victoria+council+mulls+permit+condo+project+with+1950s+theme/4124462/story.html

NEW photo's of 834 in Victoria.
Special thanks to Dylan Leblanc of SSP.

http://gingert.net/images/victoria-the834-2010.02.15-01.jpg
http://gingert.net/images/victoria-the834-2010.02.15-02.jpg
http://gingert.net/images/victoria-the834-2010.02.15-03.jpg
http://gingert.net/images/victoria-the834-2010.02.15-04.jpg
http://gingert.net/images/victoria-the834-2010.02.15-05.jpg

I LIKE VICTORIA IS A WONDER PLACE. I´LL COME BACK.

Good we need your money.

Bosa will be partnering with Bayview to building the second phase of the Bayview project:

http://www.bosaproperties.com/bayview/

Condo buildings and hotels in south downtown by the Great Scaper:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5026/5599213053_08330a1d2c_b.jpg
picture from http://www.flickr.com/photos/55063726@N00/5599213053/

"Mondrian" condo building proposed for the parking lot on the corner of Cook and Johnson streets:

http://vibrantvictoria.ca/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Mondrian-Condo.gif
picture from http://vibrantvictoria.ca/local-news/10-storey-the-mondrian-condo-expects-green-light-from-city-hall/

Developer's website:
http://www.alphadevelopments.com/newprojects.html

Bayview's next phase:

http://www.bosaproperties.com/bayview/media/images/slide-1.jpg
picture from http://www.bosaproperties.com/bayview/

More info:
http://www.bosaproperties.com/bayview/

Condo building proposed for Yates Street between Douglas and Blanshard...

Vancouver-based Concert Properties hopes to build a 15-storey condominium in the 700 block of Yates Street.

Concert, which had the site at 726-746 Yates rezoned last year to build a 12-storey office tower with ground-floor commercial units, is now seeking a development permit to instead build a 157-unit condominium over groundlevel commercial units.

Full story:
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/developer-wants-15-storey-highrise-000000739.html

corner of Tyee and Esquimalt road
http://www.bosaproperties.com/promontory/media/images/rendering-building.jpg

Admiral Inn motel location
http://www.vibrantvictoria.ca/pictures/257-Belleville-c.gif


700-block of Yates Street

http://vibrantvictoria.ca/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/728-Yates-Concert-Properties.gif

Uptown Mall location
From The Great Scaper @ SSPhttp://farm6.static.flickr.com/5022/5573849692_ac7de79f55_b.jpg
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5024/5573255043_28cf30c24e_b.jpg
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5065/5573840374_0028f9aa2c_b.jpg

No new pictures lately so I'll post some older pics that I found during my travels:

Balance at Dockside Green:

http://www.architectureticker.com/images/Dockside-Green1.jpg
picture from http://www.architectureticker.com/perkins-will%E2%80%99s-dockside-green-features-environmental-response/

***

The rear side of the Hudson:

http://www.justlist-it.com/blog/wp-content/gallery/the-hudson-hudson-living/hudson_victoria_08.jpg
picture from http://www.justlist-it.com/bc/victoria/condos/the-hudson-townline/

http://www.justlist-it.com/blog/wp-content/gallery/the-hudson-hudson-living/hudson_victoria_07.jpg
picture from http://www.justlist-it.com/bc/victoria/condos/the-hudson-townline/

***

The atrium at 800 Yates:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4128/5056124397_c2647a24d5.jpg
picture from http://www.flickr.com/photos/ngawangchodron/5056124397/

Photo of the Promontory model from BuzzBuzzHome:

http://www.buzzbuzzhome.com/promontory-at-bayview-place

http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/1301/promontory.jpg

Concert's new project called, "Era" :

http://eravictoria.com/

http://eravictoria.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Era_Elevation_cut.jpg

Picture by Dylan Leblanc from vibrantvictoria.ca showing the new condo building almost finished at 834 Johnson Street:

http://gingert.net/images/victoria-justapic-2011.09.26.jpg

Teardown of Colwood Corners strip mall has begun. Move over "Uptown".

Ad showing how Promontory at Bayview will be tallest thing in Vic West by a fair bit... by about 12 stories (it looks somewhat taller than it actually is because it's up on a rise behind the other buildings there):

http://www.vibrantvictoria.ca/pictures/Promontory_on_skyline.jpg

834 Johnson is almost completed:

http://72.41.113.4/images/834byMarkoJ.jpg

picture by MarkoJ at www.vibrantvictoria.ca

Picture by the Great Scaper:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7173/6491570077_68839869ca_b.jpg
picture from http://www.flickr.com/photos/55063726@N00/6491570077/