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Proposal for 32-metre illuminated silo up for discussion in Victoria

Silo would form part of Trio Ready Mix’s environmentally friendly waterfront concrete plant
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Rendering of the concrete materials storage silo proposed for the new Trio Ready Mix waterfront plant in Rock Bay on the Gorge Waterway. (Courtesy City of Victoria)

A Victoria construction supplier is banking on a 32-metre silo to put the finishing touches on its new concrete plant in the city’s Upper Harbour.

Trio Ready Mix’s proposal to build the large silo to store raw aggregate materials, is a key part of its state-of-the-art, lower-emission plant at 2800 Bridge St. on the Gorge Waterway. Trio, a division of the Ralmax Group, will have its development permit application with a height variance for the storage facility – current zoning allows for 15 metres – heard by city council sitting as committee of the whole this morning (Sept. 3).

The modern industrial design for the silo includes an art installation using 3,400 LED lights behind a perforated metal screen, an element that would be visible on both sides of the upper harbour. A city staff report calls the variance “supportable” for the silo’s various design elements, and for the way it complements overall sustainability plans for the plant.

ALSO READ: Victoria Harbour Ferry will continue, Ralmax now majority owner

The major selling points of the silo and plant are its environmental advantages.

The silo is designed to help bring the footprint of the plant from the traditional four or five acres down to one or less. And according to environmental review consultant Synergy Enterprises, barging raw materials to the site instead of trucking them in, then moving the material to the silo via an electric, enclosed conveyor belt, would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 3,250 tonnes each year.

Other sustainability features onsite include new reclaimer equipment that allows for waste concrete recycling; a system for capturing, treating and reusing stormwater; a reduction in carbon emissions created in manufacturing concrete by using a different process; and the potential to use a product called ECOncrete to rehabilitate the shoreline.

City staff recommend that the silo proposal be forwarded for an opportunity for public comment, noting that it would “enhance the industrial waterfront area in a more sustainable manner compared to the conventional ways of storing raw aggregate materials for processing purposes.”

ALSO READ: Artificial reefs under construction in Victoria harbour

Trio general manager Stephen Hay wrote in a company newsletter last fall that the new plant “has the potential to be a showcase for sustainable, industrial innovation that supports the economy and protects and enhances the environment.”


 

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Aerial view of the Trio Ready Mix concrete plant site. The company is looking to build a 32-metre silo on the property that is a major component of its sustainable operations plan. (Courtesy City of Victoria)