As per the Citified article

..."Lee...anticipates demand for the tower to materialize within several years at which point the upcoming surface parking lot will make way for construction...

Any idea how long "several" years may be? This corner is far too high profile to be left as a parking lot for any extended period of time.

I was initially enraged with the idea of victoria taking a step backwards in the war against surface parking, but there's probably some very sound reasons for this. If you have an idea you'll be demolishing this building in a few years anyways but the existing building might need an expensive upgrade or renovation to continue use then it probably works out far better to just demo it and earn some money off parking. They were probably at this stage years ago when Gateway Green was first proposed and were maintaining the building only minimally, and now it's past due.

Yes, it is absolutely past-due. Travis Lee described it as at its "life's end."

Well they have been trying to lease the proposed building for over 10 years and the retail and office market demand is low and has been for several years. Not surprised its becoming a parking lot to cut down on property taxes and create some income. Quick math puts the property taxes at around $91k per year

Maybe the city should buy the lot and built a multi storey parkade?