As Victoria sailed into the new millennium, its waters were swelling with hundreds of vessels -- dinghies with Fdozens of kids, rowboats with retiring residents, and steamers with stowaways.
Those who steered the vessels anticipated, in wisdom and foresight, great winds so they battened down the hatches, studied the charts, and stayed the course.  When the boom hit, Victoria was prepared.  Just as expected, a wave of ocean liners cruised into its waters and lowered their drawbridge to those from the dinghies and rowboats and steamers.  The world was transformed for all those who came aboard.

Four large proposals are on the drawings boards at the City of Victoria at this time that could, if brought to fruition, change the landscape of the community more than it's been changed in a hundred years. 
Whether one approves or disapproves of any of the various proposals, it is a fact that the projects did not appear overnight in the form of plans and sketches at city offices -- nor on these first three pages of The Victoria Gazette.  They have been in the process of arriving ever since 1995, the year Mayor Mary Meuwissen began steering the Vessel of Victoria.
A hundred homes and residents continue to move into Victoria each year and now, in 2002, the ocean liners are finally on the horizon.  They include the Victoria Field House, the Stieger Lake Condominiums, the Hartman Retail Office Building, and the St. Victoria Catholic Church.
One of the connecting drawbridges, located between the condominiums and downtown Victoria, is the little old bridge on Stieger Lake Lane.  It has been redesigned and will be reconstructed to accommodate the new traffic.
The above five projects, including the bridge, are each proposed for a ground-breaking in 2002.  Together they have an estimated total construction value of $25 million.  There are five different archi-tects, five different developers, in five different areas of Victoria.  Each of the projects has a different function, a different purpose; they are places to live, to work, to shop, to play, to pray.
But if there are differences among the large proposals, there are many more commonalities.  They all exist in response to growth.  They will all be new construc-tion.  They are all proposed to be complet-ed in 2002 and 2003.  All lie within the current city limits of Victoria.   None of them is reminiscent of days gone by in this little hamlet, but of days to come.  All provide something brand new to Victoria.  For example ...
A multiple sports facility and indoor ice arena is brand new for Victoria.
A condominium complex adjacent to the business district is brand new for Victoria.
A multiple retail and office building on Main Street is brand new for Victoria.
A church that seats over 1,000 people is brand new for Victoria.  So is a theater in the round style church.
A bridge that is lighted and esthet-ically pleasing, as well as functional, is brand new for Victoria.
Yes, the boom has hit, and if these proposals become realities, the landscape of Victoria will change as it's never changed before.  It must be emphasized that all these projects are considered "proposed" until the dirt moves.  When the dirt moves, they are "under construc-tion."  When the rope is cut and the champagne poured, they are "launched." 

In preparation for this boom, and with a Comprehensive Plan in mind, the City of Victoria has been purchasing property at pre-boom prices, hoping to entice developers when the market drew them in.  The market is now drawing them in.
The City of Victoria finalized its first purchase of property, in recent times, in 1996 when it acquired the ballpark parcel from the St. Victoria Catholic Church.  This created the ability to reconfigure Lions Park to create an extra ballfield for the growing numbers of kids.
This initial purchase also ensured that all of Lions Park would remain available for use by all residents of the City of Victoria.  At the same time, it allowed the church to purchase property contiguous to itself -- on the same side of Victoria Drive as itself.  The road between the church and the ballpark continues to increase in traffic and speed.  Safety of pedestrian crossings is an issue.
But that purchase was only the begin-ning of the Reign of Acquisition.  In the next five years ...
*The city purchased the Victoria Auto Body parcel across from Schmitty's Tavern.  The body shop sold out and the city was a willing buyer. 
*The city purchased Tuffy's Tavern and Victoria Liquor Shop parcels on Main Street, as those establishments had gone out of business, and removed the dilapidated buildings.  This purchase makes the Hartman Retail Office Building possible today.
*The city purchased Jerry's Noreen home, which is next to the Victoria House, as he sold the restaurant to its current owners.
*The city purchased 40 acres which came up for sale on the east side of Vic-toria for the express purpose of creating more ballfields and sports facilities for the city's growing number of kids and families.  This purchase makes the field house and ice arena possible.
*The city purchased three adjacent homes overlooking Stieger Lake, just down from the old downtown bridge.  One of the homes came up for sale; the city actively pursued purchase of the other two as it battened down the hatches.  This purchase makes the condominiums possible today. 
When the city owns the property, the city has control of it and does not have to deal with pirates demanding unreasonable prices in high tide.  Instead, the city can negotiate for the benefit of the taxpayers and hope the large ships drop anchor.

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