Music for Mom
Conservatory hosts annual garden and music tour Page A3
DRIVEWAY: Audi A7 a luxury fuel sipper /A15 ARTS: Steve Martin goes country at the Royal /A22 HOMEFINDER: Mortgage products revamped /A23
VICTORIANEWS Friday, May 9, 2014
Proudly serving Esquimalt & Victoria
editor@vicnews.com
250.812.3942 www.vicnews.com
Highrise gets go-ahead – for a price
Craigdarroch stained glass sparks idea for new silver coin Craigdarroch Castle’s collection of fine stained glass will soon be featured on a new silver collector coin by the Royal Canadian Mint. Officially unveiled Tuesday, the coin, which features a replica of one of the stained glass windows that adorns Craigdarroch Castle, is the first in the Royal Canadian Mint’s Stained Glass series of coins. Coated in glass-like enamel, the $20 coin shines and reflects light much like the exquisite Victorian residential stained and leaded glass collection for which Craigdarroch Castle is renowned. “This stunning coin is a wonderful celebration of the stained glass windows that are admired by the thousands of people that visit Craigdarroch Castle each year,” said John Hughes, executive director of Craigdarroch Castle. “It’s an honour for us to work with the Royal Canadian Mint, and to see our stained glass collection’s timeless beauty and craftsmanship forever immortalized on this fine coin.” The focal point of the coin’s design is made up of a grouping of six brightly coloured flowers. To create a stained glass effect, each petal is filled in by hand with blue, purple and red translucent enamel and green translucent enamel is painted as veined leaves. A diverging brick pattern, like that of the castle’s original windows, serves as a backdrop to the flowers, while the obverse of the coin features the effigy of Queen Elizabeth by Canadian portrait artist Susanna Blunt. A national historic site, Craigdarroch Castle’s stained glass collection is believed to be one of the most exquisite in North America.
Our team takes care of all your renovation needs
Chard Development pays city $10,000 for more height Daniel Palmer News staff
Don Denton/News staff
Spider, man Xing Chen, the new owner of the Victoria Bug Zoo, makes friends with Jane, a Mexican red-legged tarantula. On May 1, Chen and his family purchased the business from founder Carol Maier. The Victoria Bug Zoo, located at 631 Courtney St., continues to be one of the city’s top tourist draws.
The developer of a 10-storey residential building planned for downtown Victoria will pay the city $10,000 in exchange for more height. Under the city's land lift analysis program, developers can build above zoned height restrictions by paying into the city's public realm and heritage seismic upgrading funds. Escher, an 84-unit Chard Development Ltd. building slated for a parking lot at 838 Broughton St., is the first test of the new program, and president David Chard said he's relieved with the result. "We were a little bit worried, because there's really been no examples yet where this economic analysis has gone through the city. It's been an interesting process for us and for the city," he said. The land lift analysis program was created in 2011 to help fund the city's public realm improvements and seismic upgrading of heritage buildings, a model adopted by many North American cities. Chard spoke about his upcoming projects from the rooftop of Duet, a 90-unit residential project on Michigan Street in James Bay, on schedule for completion by November. The units are currently about 50 per cent sold, he said. The project is the fifth Chard building built in or around the downtown core since 2006, which has given Chard a unique perspective on the Victoria real estate market. PlEASE SEE: Chard sees bright future, Page A26
Your summer boredom buster. Call 250.412.8500 to register your kids for the BEST summer camps around. See our program & event guide at www.esquimalt.ca/recreation available. Redeem this ad for ONE (1)available FREE Familycamps. Admission. Offer expires May 4th. See our program & event guideforatcamps www.esquimalt.ca/recreation for