[Fairfield] Essencia Verde condo (formerly Castana) | 4- & 3-storeys | Completed in 2010

[Number Six]

Most (but not all) of the original purchasers in the building fronting Cook St. are still on board. The townhouses that were originally going to be built at the back were replaced with condos in the last redesign and so I assume all of these will be for sale.

I noticed that some small trees were planted along the back of the building on Saturday. I'm curious to know what they plan to do with the north side that borders the new construction site.

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I'm still wondering if they're building both the front condo/ retail building and the back complex at the same time, or if they will build one after the other. I would assume both at once.
I suppose we'll find out soon enough if they start excavating the front condo site in the near future or not.

[Number Six]

I'm curious to see how exactly they will do it. I assumed they would excavate and prepare the entire site before beginning construction, however perhaps they will prep the back section first and then move to the front.

Getting the unsold Condo block underway may also be useful from a marketing point of view. Either way I've heard the contractor has 14 months to complete the project, with bonuses for completing early and penalties for completing late.

[concorde]

To answer the common question, both buildings will be built at the same time.

If anyone cares, Til Construction is the construction manager, JCR Construction is the subcontractor completing the excavation, formwork and framing.

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You gotta love this forum. You ask questions and you get answers!

D2 Construction was in charge of the former Food Country reno. I'm sure glad to see they're not doing this phase. That was the messiest and slowest job I had ever witnessed. They should be ashamed.

I'm encouraged so far at the rate at which things are happening for the new condo complexes.

[Number Six]

Thanks Concorde ... that info is appreciated.

I saw the D2 Construction sign was up for awhile but I thought they were the company working on the excavation / site prep rather than the FC renovation (which I agree was the construction equivalent of the Chinese Water Torture)?

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The D2 sign was up for the majority of of the FC upgrade and was promptly taken down when this excavation began.

[concorde]

Til Construction was the general for the Food Country store as well.

D2 Construction was supposed to do the excavation for the current condo phase, but since the excavation took so long to start, they left the project.

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Once again. My bad. I take away all the bad things I say about D2.

Knowing that Til did the FC portion makes me nervous about this one.
According to their website they're doing Parkside. I thought Farmer was doing Parkside.??

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Here's the landscape plan again:
[url=http://imageshack.us:a8720][/url:a8720][/quote]

[concorde]

In regards to Parkside:

Til is the owners representative, while Farmer is the construction manager. Til also did some of the formwork at Parkside and they (how to say this politely) have numerous deficiencies. Phone Farmer and ask what they think of Til.

[Number Six]

Their website indicates they are "Owners Representative" on the Parkside Project and "Construction Manager" on Castana and FC.

It is a bit of a concern but excavation does appear to be moving along at a good pace. There is a lot of very expensive kit on site and with the project underway it would seem to be in their (and the developer's) best interests to move it along.

I noticed that Serious Coffee is advertising for staff on Craigslist and is anticipating a mid-April opening.

[Number Six]

Til also did some of the formwork at Parkside and they (how to say this politely) have numerous deficiencies. Phone Farmer and ask what they think of Til.

Ok ... now I'm concerned.

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The most activity I've even seen on the site today.
Four excavators and a a bunch of haulers taking away the dirt. I'd say the hole is about one third dug. This pic is from the parking lot behind the building on Sutlej.

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Here's the FC portion floor plan again. Taken January 2007:

[Number Six]

I'd say about 75% of the hole has been excavated. I notice they've begun installing the drainage pipes at the western edge of the property. I spoke to someone at the site today and the plan is to pour a large concrete "raft" when the excavation is complete (as suspected).

I noticed someone delivering milk to Serious Coffee yesterday so the opening must be close at hand. Today I thought I saw the owner of the Wine Shop moving materials into the unit at the north-west corner of the FC building, so perhaps they are moving into the back of the building after all.

The fixtures have been going up inside the Pharmasave for the past few days.

There is still quite a bit of landscaping to be completed ... I don't know what the hold up is there.

[gumgum]

^Good detective work Number Six. Still not quiet sure what's behind of the concept of a "concrete raft".

I suspect the hold up on the landscape has a lot to do with those complex flowery designs on the corners. I'm guessing nobody's figured out how they're gonna actually execute it exactly. Or maybe they're waiting for some important stonework to finish the pattern.*

*Thinking out loud again.
[url=http://imageshack.us:a8720][/url:a8720]

The parking lot behind Pharmasave is supposed to be some sort of brick pattern, but they've gone ahead and asphalted it instead.

[Number Six]

The concrete raft idea is similar to the one used for Crystal Gardens. Here's a quote from "Crystal Gardens West Coast Pleasure Palace" (1977, p84) which I may have already quoted once before but couldn't find (quickly):

Although the glass and steel superstructure is perhaps the Crystal's most obvious and outstanding feature, a little-known but ingenious aspect of the design devised by James (Percy Leonard) is the use of a large concrete pad for the foundation. Faced with the problem of erecting a building on the soft reclaimed bog behind the Empress Hotel, he cleverly adopted the unusual expedient of using a gigantic concrete raft on which to "float" the centre, instead of sinking pilings to the rock foundation some forty feet below the surface. The idea proved to be highly successful in compensating for unknown structural stresss and in carrying the combined weight of the building and the 232,000 gallons of water required to fill the pool. Lying only a few inches below the surface of the ground, the slab is two feet six inches thick and is reinforced top and bottom with large steel rods. Today settlement is marginal with the deep end slightly below grade and the shallow end above.

Ironically Percy Leonard James' daughter is my next door neighbour.

[G-Man]

Aria is also on a concrete raft.

[Number Six]

Wine Shop location confirmed (and opening date of May 1 or sooner):

http://www.bcwineguys.com/glen.html

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Ha! I was right. They're taking the back unit. (Toot toot!)

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The first official business is open in the FC building. Serious Coffee is open today.
I'll have to have a peek inside later today.

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Oh, and furniture and fixture installation is well underway in the liquor store location, as well as the Pharmasave.

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So I went in Serious Coffee for a tea and a muffin this morning and I was very pleased with the decor. Everything is fresh and new, but as this place ages and wears, it will still retain its charm.
Much larger than I expected. Nice looking leather furniture (didn't try them out). Beautifully polished concrete floor, fireplace. Good lighting. Original artwork for sale on the walls.
What makes it better than Starbucks: loose leaf tea, I had a freshly baked muffin, free TC newspapers, free internet connection. Too bad they have little patio space. Only room for one small table. I assume once Castana is finished, the alley will be open to more patio space. But until then, they will suffer - espescially over the summer. This place will do wonderfully in the winter. Cozy and comfy.

The odd thing about it is the fact that the space behind the counter takes up about one third of the total floor area - really wasteful. Maybe this was a conscious thing - to influence the cozy ambiance.
The staff really seemed to have their **** together, which is to be commended considering that they just opened yesterday.

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Tremendous progress here. They're well into the foundations of the back building and the pit for both buildings are pretty much dug. I counted 32 men working on site yesterday.

Today:


Mr. Squirrel insisted I move along.