Picnic time
NEWS: Carole James takes on finance role /A5 ARTS: Lady Highlanders top perfect season /A8 SENIORS: Bridging the retirement gap /A12
Picnic a social event in early Esquimalt Page A16
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VICTORIANEWS Wednesday, July 30, 2014
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United they stand Teachers Selena Jensen, left, Tara Baird, Martha Dietiker, Connie Warrender and Julie Campbell hold the line outside the Greater Victoria school district Tolmie boardroom. Teachers have remained on the strike line throughout the summer at key locations. For more on the story, please turn to page A2. Drew McLachlan/News staff
Business centre to take on new look Re-development set for Blanshard Street commercial sector in Broughton/Fort corridor Drew McLachlan News staff
Having acquired the old credit union building at 1001 Blanshard St., Fort Realty has the final piece of the Fort/Blanshard block. Now, sisters Jayne and Suzanne Bradbury have big plans for the downtown block – turning it into a mini-village. The Bradburys won the bid for the building last month, after it had been left vacant for three years. Jayne Bradbury said that the next step in their plan is to work with the city to change
the zoning of the building, which currently may only be used as an office or call centre. Though the process is likely to take eight to 12 months, the sisters hope to have pop-up shops or other temporary businesses set up in the meantime. “There’s nothing as off-putting as a vacant building,” Jayne Bradbury said. “It’s right across from the Royal Theatre, so a lot of tourists see it. It’s not a good representation of what downtown Victoria could be.” The Bradbury sisters are still unsure what purpose they would like the building to be used for, and are looking to the Victoria Down-
town Residents’ Association and nearby business owners and employees for input. “We really want the tenants we select to satisfy the wants and needs of the people who are already here,” Suzanne Bradbury said. “This block is technically part of Fairfield, it’s a transition area between residential and commercial,” Jayne Bradbury added. “People work here, and shop here and eat here. One of the things we’ve heard a lot from restauranteurs is that they want to be able to get fresh produce nearby.” Though Suzanne Bradbury said that there are no plans to knock the building down, at least not within the current decade, there is a lot of work to be done with renovations. Interior repurposing will depend on the ten-
ants’ desires, but exterior renovations will take place in the meantime. “We already have some ideas for the exterior, it can only improve from how it looks now,” Suzanne Bradbury said. “A lot of moms run their day-to-day errands here, and we want that experience to be pleasurable. Even just some landscaping and paint could help with that.” The area is bound for an influx of residents once developer David Chard’s Escher building, an 82-unit condominium building, is built just down the road at 838 Broughton St.. The additional residents will have an impact on how the block will function. PlEASE SEE: Corridor, Page A9
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