Ship Point options put to public
Tours, information sessions to compare trio of concepts
Victoria residents will have one more chance this month to weigh in with opinions on the future of Ship Point, as the city plans two days of walking tours and information sessions on options for the site.
“We’ve done lots of public engagement over the last three or four months,” Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps said. “This is basically one more opportunity for the public to give input and have a look around, and get a sense of the spectacular future of what that site could hold.”
In addition to walking tours of the site, there will be three concepts to consider for Ship Point.
The concepts — known as Green Wave, Flex Pavilion and Folded Shores — all add commercial space, improve green space and change pedestrian and vehicle access to the site.
The Green Wave design would allow for increased commercial space and a festival plaza.
The Flex Pavilion design has a flexible market plaza and pavilion with commercial space, a festival lawn and an amphitheatre. The Folded Shores concept features unique landscaping with commercial frontage, an amphitheatre, and a festival plaza.
“All of the concepts are green and all of them are spectacular,” Helps said. “Some have more commercial activity than others and some have more green space.”
The ideas were developed in conjunction with the Downtown Victoria Business Association, the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority, city residents and other groups concerned with the Inner Harbour’s future, Helps said.
“The Inner Harbour is one of the most beautiful places on the planet. And there have been lots of good intentions [with respect to developing the site], but very little follow-through over the decades,” she said.
Myriad ideas have been tossed around for the site since the 1960s. She is determined that this time, the city will put one of them into action.
Over the years, there have been proposals for a conference centre, a marketplace, a terminal for the Victoria Clipper, a new home for the Maritime Museum of B.C., an amphitheatre and green spaces.
The challenge in the past has been a lack of funding and the fact the city did not control the entire site. A land swap in 2014 changed that. Helps said the city may have found a funding source for whichever concept is chosen for Ship Point.
“We will look to creatively finance something down there over the next three to four years, but I would like to see some short-term implementation,” she said.
The open houses at Ship Point will be held at the site from 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. on July 22 and 4:30 p.m.-7 p.m. on July 24.