Victoria鈥檚 Inner Harbour has come a long way since the days when it was surrounded by industrial operations that turned the water into an open sewer. The 鈥渏ewel鈥� of Victoria in those days shrank to the corner overlooked by the legislature buildings and the Empress Hotel.
It took decades of labour to clean up the water and transform the shoreline and clean up the water 鈥� and the work is not finished. With the redevelopment of the former CPR steamship terminal building under way, one piece of the puzzle is falling into place.
Now, the City of Victoria is once again taking a close look at another piece of unfinished business: Ship Point. Although there are no plans to redevelop the site soon, the city is contracting experts to do environmental and geotechnical assessments of the area.
The three lots at 940, 946 and 1000 Wharf Street have been underused for decades. Parking cars on some of the most valuable lots in the city is a waste, but what to do with the land is not an easy question to answer.
There was a time when much of the Inner Harbour shoreline could have sprouted condos, reducing public access and lining the water with highrises. For years, private owners planned a twin-tower development on the parking lot below Bastion Square, but the idea slowly died. Community groups fought against the condo trend and to keep it a working harbour, as well as a place to 鈥渓ive and play.鈥�
Despite its unappealing appearance, Ship Point has been of value. If nothing else, it has provided parking in a downtown that is often in need of it. The floatplane terminal offers a downtown-to-downtown link with Vancouver that few in business or government would want to give up. And it has become a harbourside setting for concerts and festivals like the Tall Ships Festival, Blues Bash and SkaFest.
If the city is looking for inspiration, the festivals are a good place to start.
When Ship Point comes alive with people and music, its potential is clear. Who wouldn鈥檛 want to party by the water in such a beautiful harbour?
With all the possibilities, it鈥檚 no surprise that many plans and suggestions have sprung up.
A waterfront convention centre was on the drawing board, but was killed in 1981.
In 1990, the city and the province held public meetings and hired an architect to design a mixed-use development that would include commercial space, a floatplane terminal and a new Maritime Museum, but nothing happened.
In the run-up to the 1994 Commonwealth Games, the city briefly entertained an offer from the Provincial Capital Commission to find a sponsor to build a 1,000-seat amphitheatre. The timeline was too tight and the public response was tepid, so council turned it down.
A Maritime Museum on the water is worth considering, as is the amphitheatre idea. One-night concerts rarely use Ship Point because erecting a stage is too expensive. A flexible, permanent venue could bring more events to the harbour.
Everyone involved knows that anything built on the site will be there for a long time, and no one wants a white elephant.
But fear has held us back for too long.
The planned David Foster Way will soon thread for five kilometres from Ogden Point to Rock Bay, passing through the Ship Point lots. A natural addition to the pathway would be a public space that could showcase concerts and festivals, but also be inviting the rest of the year.
The background research is being done. The next step must be a vision for a development that will draw residents and visitors to Ship Point, to make the most of this remarkable site.
