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Victoria mulls Ship Point future; mayor wants upgrade

The City of Victoria is trying once again to develop a plan for Ship Point and the adjacent parking lot below and to the west of Wharf Street. Mayor Lisa Helps is determined that this time a plan will be developed and implemented.
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People stroll through the Pop Up Ships installation at Ship Point Plaza Park during the summer.

The City of Victoria is trying once again to develop a plan for Ship Point and the adjacent parking lot below and to the west of Wharf Street.

Mayor Lisa Helps is determined that this time a plan will be developed and implemented.

The city issued a request for proposals on Monday for a master plan for the site. Closing date is Dec. 8.

Participants have not been determined.

If the plan ends up being public park-like land, then that would be a city expense and city project, Helps said.

But she said she is always looking for creative opportunities to partner with the private sector.

“Who knows what could be there? It’s something that I would like to see put us on the map nationally and even internationally with what comes out of the planning process.”

The aim is to “take all the work that has been done over the years and actually make something happen,” Helps said.

Ideas set out in city documents include creating more green spaces, plazas and seating. Also included are thoughts of installing infrastructure for year-round use for special events, an amphitheater, strengthening pedestrian links, adding small structures for cultural or retail use and access for boating and marina activities.

The city and the province held the lands in the past. But in February 2014, a land swap was announced that saw Victoria take ownership of land at Ship Point.

Today the chunk of land is being called Ship Point, whereas in the past, the parking lot to the north was dubbed the Reid site.

“The difference is the city has jurisdiction over all of the parts that we are doing the plan for,” Helps said. “Staff has a very strong mandate from council, and therefore from the public, to actually make something happen at Ship Point.”

Ship Point is the “city’s signature venue for cultural events and festivals,” Victoria’s bid document states. “Ship Point represents an important opportunity for enhancing Inner Harbour vitality and becoming one of the city’s preeminent public spaces and destinations.”

The lands have been in limbo for more than half a century.

Consultants have been hired in the past. Public meetings have been held and citizens have been asked for input.

Proposals over the years have included a conference centre, marketplace, terminal for the Victoria Clipper, new home for the Maritime Museum of B.C., amphitheater and various green spaces.

In the 1970s, citizens railed against a developer’s plans for two concave towers on the site. They feared they would block views, turn Victoria’s waterfront into another Miami or Acapulco, and lead to the eventual destruction of Old Town.

Helps said the city is not starting from scratch. “We are building on a number of plans that have already been done.”

There would definitely be some parking for Harbour Air, with its new terminal at 950 Wharf St. The amount would need to be negotiated with the company, she said.

“But my opinion is that the best and highest use of harbour-front land is not a surface parking lot owned by the city. I think it is quite embarrassing that is the state of things down there.”

It is “atrocious” that the site has been used for a parking lot for the years it has been held by the city, Helps said.

“It’s a large swatch of concrete in a beautiful site.”

Coun. Geoff Young is not optimistic, saying past experience has seen proposals end up being shelved because the city can’t afford them. He agrees that these properties should be developed for something other than a surface parking lot.

If the goal is to please everyone, then it is likely nothing will happen, Young said.

It may be that a private developer is needed to lead a project on the property and create activity on the site, Young said.