[Downtown Victoria] Hudson Walk | Mixed-use | Zoned for 13-storey office & 17-storey residential

[Mike K.]

Given Townline's pending acquisition of the old Radius project, a separate thread may come in handy.

[Nparker]

Has it been confirmed that Townline HAS purchased this site?

[Mike K.]

Several sources say that that's the word on the street.

[Nparker]

Moderators: To avoid confusion and double-posts, should the two Radius (Radii??)threads not be combined? After all it is the same piece of land regardless of what it ultimately is called and who develops it.

[concorde]

Originally Posted by Nparker

Has it been confirmed that Townline HAS purchased this site?

NO!!! I posted this on Friday on the Radius thread:

I heard a rumor that the Radius project has officially been sold to Townline Group as of last Friday. It might explain why the sales office and website are down. I'm going to try and phone an executive at Townline that I know tomorrow and see if there are any truth to the rumors.

and I posted this today:

I talked to Townline today, its not official, but they have expressed interest in purchase of the site, but it is still in the early stages of negotiation.


Lets not jump the gun, it might not even come to pass that they purchase the site.

[Mike K.]

Sounds good. I'll axe the name in the thread title.

[Zimquats]

Am I the only one that thinks that if indeed Townline bought this site, the purpose of them buying it would be to sit on the empty lot. The way I see it, if the Radius doesn't go forward, that would significantly reduce competition for the Hudson.

Wait..oh, oh...I have to go, people in a white van are following me....

[guyinthesky]

Originally Posted by Zimquats

Am I the only one that thinks that if indeed Townline bought this site, the purpose of them buying it would be to sit on the empty lot. The way I see it, if the Radius doesn't go forward, that would significantly reduce competition for the Hudson.

Wait..oh, oh...I have to go, people in a white van are following me....

I would tend to think something along those lines...buy the property (I'm assuming Townline would have the capital...) and sit on the site until an upturn on the economy and then perhaps additional development to work with the Hudson project? - As ambitious as the Hudson is, and as awesome it would be on the skyline with projects like Bayview II and Dockside Green III (and yes despite popular belief Dockside III is "slowing" down to a more realistic pace) stalling with the current credit crunch and economic situation I'm sure we won't be seeing the towers at the Hudson start right away...

Zimquats are you sure the people in the white van aren't there to invite you to the underground VV Beautiful People's Club?

[G-Man]

No I bet they will go commercial on the site.

[Kapten Kapsell]

Per an article in today's T-C, the Radius site is under contract to Townline.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimesc...a-c6425a5cb715

[Mike K.]

Townline will probably build the parking structure for both towers and complete the commercial component well before the residential component is started.

But then again, perhaps there will be no residential component at Radius given Townline's future residential projects in the immediate vicinity.

[Zimquats]

That article screamed of Townline trying to renegotiate all the additional parking for SOFMA the city was making them include.

[Rob Randall]

I'm not sure but eliminating the residential might entail rezoning, or at least a new Development Permit. I'd have to read the docs to be sure.

[Nparker]

Originally Posted by Zimquats

That article screamed of Townline trying to renegotiate all the additional parking for SOFMC the city was making them include.

And as well Townline should. It's shameful that private developers have to pick up the pricetag for supplying parking for a public facility. The city dropped the ball big time on SOFMC, when (amongst other things) they didn't insist that it include reasonable on-site parking. Now whenever a private developer wants to build something of any size nearby SOFMC, they are expected to supply parking for a facility that doesn't really benefit them at all.

[VicHockeyFan]

Originally Posted by Nparker

And as well Townline should. It's shameful that private developers have to pick up the pricetag for supplying parking for a public facility. The city dropped the ball big time on SOFMC, when (amongst other things) they didn't insist that it include reasonable on-site parking. Now whenever a private developer wants to build something of any size nearby SOFMC, they are expected to supply parking for a facility that doesn't really benefit them at all.

How many times do I have to say this. There is no parking problem at the arena. None.

[aastra]

People wanted underground parking at the arena, where it wasn't needed, but they don't want underground parking at the Jubilee hospital, where it is needed.

Originally Posted by VicHockeyFan

How many times do I have to say this. There is no parking problem at the arena. None.

I dunno, when I roll in for a concert or a Salmon Kings game, parking can be a real pain in the ass.

[Mike K.]

If you're trying to park within a one block radius of the arena, then yes, parking could be tight. But if you don't mind walking three or four blocks then there is no problem to speak of.

[G-Man]

I think they should build a parkade along Quadra with retail storefronts.

Originally Posted by Mike K.

If you're trying to park within a one block radius of the arena, then yes, parking could be tight. But if you don't mind walking three or four blocks then there is no problem to speak of.

Well, yes thats exactly it...if you want to walk 4 blocks...which don't get me wrong I've got no problem doing that, doesn't bother me, it just strikes me as it would have been prudent planning on the part of the City of Victoria to incorporate a parking garage under the arena or a parking structure somewhere on the property...

[Mike K.]

For the sake of convenience it would be nice, but the cost of building a parking facility that would only be used during events at the arena would be too much of a burden on tax payers. Radius' excavation cost somewhere around $4 million (can anyone correct me here?) and construction of the parking facility hadn't even begun.

[VicHockeyFan]

Originally Posted by Marcat

Well, yes thats exactly it...if you want to walk 4 blocks...which don't get me wrong I've got no problem doing that, doesn't bother me, it just strikes me as it would have been prudent planning on the part of the City of Victoria to incorporate a parking garage under the arena or a parking structure somewhere on the property...

People will not pay much over $6 to park. Building a facility would call for parking fees in the $15-$18 range. It would not work.

[Mike K.]

$20, or thereabouts, to park at GM Place.

[Nparker]

Originally Posted by VicHockeyFan

People will not pay much over $6 to park. Building a facility would call for parking fees in the $15-$18 range. It would not work.

Build the cost of parking into the price of event tickets at the venue. The facility should be paid for by users, not the city of Victoria taxpayers. If you aren't parking there, well too bad. As a user of the SOFMC you should be paying for the full operating costs of its existence including any and all parking-related costs. If you don't like the cost, don't go.

[Mike K.]

Tack an additional $20 parking fee onto a $10 hockey ticket? I'm not so sure that would go over well.

But getting back to the point, parking is not a problem. People may be doing silly things when they park in areas they should not be parking in, but that's an issue of enforcement and the practice would occur even if a parkade had been built at the arena (in fact, given the cost to park at such a facility, it would happen just as often).