Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Marina at Songhees taking shape

The outlines of $24-million Victoria International Marina at Songhees are becoming apparent after years of planning and an impassioned debate in the community.
B1-marina-0914.jpg
The first 300-foot-long piece of floating dock for Victoria International Marina has been installed. More sections will be towed from Vancouver to Victoria Harbour in coming months. The $24-million, 28-slip luxury marina is scheduled to open at the end of July. Two related commercial buildings, constructed on stilts in the water, are expected to be completed this year.

The outlines of $24-million Victoria International Marina at Songhees are becoming apparent after years of planning and an impassioned debate in the community.

Construction is attracting attention from walkers along the Songhees waterfront as the first section of the dock is installed and as building construction gets underway.

A 300-foot-long chunk of floating dock — the “cornerstone” of the 28-slip marina — arrived this month to the waters in front of Songhees, Craig Norris, chief executive for developer Community Marine Concepts, said Wednesday.

It was pieced together and fixed into place with steel piles.

Workers are putting up two commercial buildings, also supported by piles. One is at the foot of Paul Kane Place, the other at Cooperage Place.

Bookings are coming in for short-term (transient) moorage at the marina, scheduled to open at the end of July.

Daily rates will range from $2.90 to $6 per foot, depending on the size of the vessel, Norris said.

Many bookings are from the U.S., particularly Seattle, he said. He described the response at the Seattle boat show this year as “overwhelming.”

“We got hundreds of people interested in us and in Victoria.”

The Victoria International Marina was to have 52 slips at one point. But some nearby residents and harbour users thought that was too large for busy Victoria Harbour. Public meetings were held and all three levels of government were involved in the permit process.

Proponents said the economy, particularly the tourism and ship-repair sectors, will benefit from the new marina.

More sections of the dock, built by Blue Water Systems of Delta, will be towed to Victoria Harbour, with the trips dependent on weather. The docks should all be in place by the end of June, Norris said. That allows for finishing touches to be done in the following month, in time for opening in late July.

The dock is 12 feet wide and seven feet thick. It will accommodate vessels 65 to 150 feet long, and will muffle the impact of waves.

Workers from Blue Water are focusing on the base of the Cooperage building that will house marina services. Structures for B.C. Hydro service are being installed as well, Norris said.

That building is expected to be complete by October or November, Norris said.

Hydro facilities should be running by June so that vessels can use the marina.

Lining up Hydro service took longer than expected because the buildings are on water, making the approval process more complex, he said.

The construction site has steel piles in the water at each building site.

At Cooperage Place, metal beams have been installed on top of the piles. A flat bed of what looks like hollow concrete pipes, with spaces between them, forms the base. More concrete will be poured to create a solid foundation. Finally, a concrete slab goes on top of that.

A steel frame will be constructed on the base. Blue Water is handling construction in the water. Farmer Construction Ltd. of Victoria will put up the buildings, Norris said.

Workers will do more construction on the Paul Kane Place building in a few weeks, he said.

That building is expected to open, along with its restaurant, near the end of this year, Norris said.

Another 50 piles are still to be driven into the seabed.

Rates have not yet been released for the marina’s seven 40-year leases. Norris said three deposits have come in so far. Yearly leases are available as well.

cjwilson@timescolonist.com