General Updates and News

[kph06]

One of the cranes on Larry Uteck is now down, but I noticed a new one somewhere near the Circ. when I was driving down the Bedford Highway today. So the count stays the same (although this is a different type, more like the one that built Spice).

[Wishblade]

One of the cranes on Larry Uteck is now down, but I noticed a new one somewhere near the Circ. when I was driving down the Bedford Highway today. So the count stays the same (although this is a different type, more like the one that built Spice).

Where abouts on the Circ is the new crane? Do you mean the one for the new coast guard building?

[kph06]

Where abouts on the Circ is the new crane? Do you mean the one for the new coast guard building?

Not sure, I saw it from quite a distance, definately not the coast guard building though. I'd say its on the fringes of Burnside or Mic Mac Mall area. Definitely a new crane, possibly today.

[Empire]

Not sure, I saw it from quite a distance, definately not the coast guard building though. I'd say its on the fringes of Burnside or Mic Mac Mall area. Definitely a new crane, possibly today.

It's a mobile crane in front of Lockheed Martin.

[Jonovision]

I saw the crane from the bridge yesterday. It does look very much like the one that put up Spice. A bit more substantial than a mobile crane.

[Dmajackson]

A new building, plenty of prospects
Web designer’s workload requires new digs
By BRUCE ERSKINE Business Reporter
Wed, Oct 20 - 4:53 AM

THE CHECKERED PAST of the site of his information technology company’s new headquarters doesn’t faze the president of ISL Web Marketing and Development of Halifax.

"The (old) building’s past is not an issue," Malcolm Fraser said in an interview Tuesday. "We’re putting something new in there."

ISL, which has 28 workers, is building a three-storey, 8,000-square-foot complex on Agricola Street at West Street, a neighbourhood that has experienced something of an urban renaissance in recent years with funky cafes and stores popping up along the once-rundown north-end streetscape.

The location previously housed One World Cafe, a showcase for indie and punk bands that made headlines in 2007 when a man jumped out of a second-storey apartment window after being shot.

The site was also the scene of the 1996 stabbing murder of a convenience store owner.

Fraser said "all sorts of bad things" have happened in the neighbourhood.

But he said it has been transformed by a vibrant artistic community that is an excellent fit for his 15-year-old high-tech company.

"It’s a creative community. We felt we could add value."

ISL designs and develops websites and related assets for medium and large businesses.

"We also provide a suite of Internet marketing services, including search engine optimization, social media strategy and email marketing," said Fraser.

ISL is a Google Analytics Certified Partner, which enables it to provide clients with feedback on how their websites and web marketing initiatives are performing.

The company’s clients include Empire Co., the city of Saint John, N.B., and Doctors Nova Scotia.

Fraser, one of Atlantic Canada’s top 50 chief executive officers, said the new ISL building will include some street-level retail space.

"A coffee shop, ideally, or an arts organization," he said.

The building is scheduled to be completed next spring.

ISL is based in the CIBC building on Barrington Street, but Fraser said the business has outgrown that space.

"That prompted us to look at building."

The new building, being constructed by B. D. Stevens Ltd. of Dartmouth, is being designed to give ISL staff the space and flexibility required to do their jobs right, Fraser said.

"We’re building an environment suited to the people who work here. It’s a perfect location."

( berskine@herald.ca )

And the photo that was included with the article;

http://thechronicleherald.ca/sites/default/files/stories/photos/pp101910MalcomFraser_Provincial_10-20-10_R1G7VR6.jpg

[Jstaleness]

New crane at Regency Park and Bently.

http://i663.photobucket.com/albums/uu360/jstaleness/IMG00250.jpg
http://i663.photobucket.com/albums/uu360/jstaleness/IMG00251.jpg

Taken from my cell.

[Dmajackson]

^ That is the mixed-use lot #2 (4 total for that corner). No word on height but it's supposed to have 90 units so I'd guess more than five floors but less than 10 (maybe 8?).

I saw the crane from the bridge yesterday. It does look very much like the one that put up Spice. A bit more substantial than a mobile crane.

Is this crane still up? Or was it just for some work on Leechead Martin?

[Jonovision]

The crane in Burnside is still up.

[Jstaleness]

Yep, still up. Its been loading what looks like steel beams onto the roof.

[someone123]

It is really nice to see mixed smaller-scale infill in the North End to go along with some of the larger apartments and condos.

[Keith P.]

For a while a year or so back I had a dream about that lot on the corner of Agricola and West. I checked it out before it went on the market and found that the owners were the people who own Gus' Grill up the street. I had visions of tearing down the slums that were there and building me a nice little residential compound or maybe a pair of condos. Too much money, though.

[Dmajackson]

Halifax Regional Municipality Media Release (http://www.halifax.ca/mediaroom/pressrelease/pr2010/101020District14Councillorsdiscussionwithresidents.html)

Councillor Jennifer Watts invites residents of District 14 to attend a meeting to discuss district and HRM issues and concerns

(Wednesday, October 20, 2010) - Residents are invited to join Jennifer Watts, Councillor for District 14, to talk about district and HRM issues. Councillor Watts is pleased to be able to offer this opportunity to residents.

Date: Monday, October 25th
Time: 7:00 pm
Place: Citadel High School (entrance off Trollope Street)

If you have suggestions for Regional Council, ideas for the district, or questions you would like answered, Councillor Watts encourages you to attend.

Any bets on how long it will take before someone says proposals like Saint John United (Spirit Place) is too tall for a main road?

- DJ

[beyeas]

:previous:
"Quiet residential streets are no place for a tall building. And busy main roads are no place for a tall building. So tall buildings should go... oh right, no-where, because we actually just don't like tall buildings"

(aka a synopsis of the Watts meeting)

[someone123]

:previous:
"Quiet residential streets are no place for a tall building. And busy main roads are no place for a tall building. So tall buildings should go... oh right, no-where, because we actually just don't like tall buildings"

Keep in mind that they also tend to want "open space", low-income housing, space for artists and nonprofits, amenities like daycares, maybe some free yoga space for the community, public artwork, and a few other things. On top of this of course there must be an elementary school every 5 blocks to service the 12 children who live in the few housing units actually permitted...

Seems totally reasonable..? After all, the world exists only to please upper-middle class soccer mom homeowners, right??

[q12]

Dalhousie University mulls campus redesign
Last Updated: Thursday, October 21, 2010 | 8:19 PM AT
CBC News
http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/images/news/photos/2010/10/21/ns-dalhousie-campus.jpg
An aerial shot of Dalhousie University in Halifax. (Dalhousie University)


The board of governors for Nova Scotia's largest university is preparing to vote on an expensive and extensive new master plan for the school.

Dalhousie University is considering tearing down old buildings, adding new ones and overhauling a major thoroughfare as part of its plan.

The board of governors is expected to vote on the plan on Monday.

"There's about $600-million worth of work proposed over roughly a 10-year timeframe," said Jeff Lamb, assistant vice-president of facilities management for the university.

The 46-page proposal was developed over the course of two years in consultation with those inside and outside the university.

There are 12 major capital projects including new academic buildings, residences, sports facilities and altered streetscapes. Each of Dalhousie University's three campuses — Studley, Carleton and Sexton — will be affected.

Lamb said over the last decade, the student population at Dalhousie has grown by up to 7,000 students.

"We'd realize we needed more space and then there'd be a scramble to find it," Lamb said, adding that the university felt a more planned approach was needed.

New buildings planned
http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/571/dalj.jpg


One of the biggest changes would be on University Avenue, which is currently divided by tree-lined islands.

The redesign would transform the north side of the street into a pedestrian zone and bikeway, stretching the length of the street. The south side would be expanded to include traffic going in both directions, as well as parking on either side.

"The traffic capacity should be the same as it is now, but it's all on one carriageway instead of two and the north side becomes pedestrian friendly," said Lamb.

"I think it's a great idea," said Emma Drudge, a Dalhousie student. "There's always problems with pedestrians and cars in this area."

On the Carleton Campus, at Robie and South streets, the plan calls for two 16-storey towers to be added to the Tupper medical building for nurse training and research.

On the Sexton Campus in downtown Halifax, there is a plan for a five-storey innovative design, engineering and architecture building — dubbed the IDEA building.

Lamb said the plan is both a way for Dalhousie University to remain competitive, and to survive.

"We have to attract students from outside the province in order to meet the demographic challenges and you can't do that offering crumbling buildings and cramped classrooms," he said.

"If we're going to recruit the students … we need to do this work."

At this point, Lamb said, it's not clear how the university would cover the costs of the plan.



Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia/story/2010/10/21/ns-dalhousie-university-master-plan.html#ixzz132gCdM1K

http://campusplan.dal.ca/Files/Dalhousie%2520Framework%2520Report%25209-14-10.pdf

[planarchy]

"There's about $600-million worth of work proposed over roughly a 10-year timeframe," said Jeff Lamb, assistant vice-president of facilities management for the university.

600 million in construction over 10 years! Thats impressive. All this sounds great. If it wasn't for Dal, little would be built on the peninsula!

[DigitalNinja]

SMU has been spending a lot of money as well on campus... It's kinda odd that nothing has been built really in many years on the universities and the last couple years has seen a lot.
SMU built the Atrium, Re did the roofs on 2 buildings, renovating the big McNally building on the inside, re organizing the walking paths by Loyola, and the just started construction today on the new sports facility (Homburg Center).

Good to see some money being spent on the universities!

[sdm]

Without seeing the street redesign I doubt it would ever pass with being so close to a fire station and hospital. Anyone got the design?

Wonder how Phil Pacey feels about his employer building 20 storey buildings....... hehehe

[Northend Guy]

^ That is the mixed-use lot #2 (4 total for that corner). No word on height but it's supposed to have 90 units so I'd guess more than five floors but less than 10 (maybe 8?).

This is 7 residential floors, and 2 parking levels. The main building entrance is on the lower parking level, so will have basically 8-9 storeys of height.

[fenwick16]

Dalhousie University mulls campus redesign
Last Updated: Thursday, October 21, 2010 | 8:19 PM AT
CBC News


Thanks for posting the story - I have been looking forward to this project since I first saw it in their masterplan. One surprising point regarding the renderings is that the twin Sir Charles Tupper Towers would block many windows of the existing Sir Charles Tupper building - I am not sure why they would want to block so many windows?

PS: I no longer see the rendering in q12's post but it is on page 19 of this report http://campusplan.dal.ca/Files/Dalhousie%2520Framework%2520Report%25209-14-10.pdf

[Dmajackson]

Without seeing the street redesign I doubt it would ever pass with being so close to a fire station and hospital. Anyone got the design?

Wonder how Phil Pacey feels about his employer building 20 storey buildings....... hehehe

It could still work. The firestation and hospitals are all on the south side which will remain open to traffic. The northside is only home to Dalhousie buildings, the rehab centre and the All Saints Cathedral residential building. Access to the two parking lots not owned by Dal could be created with small boulevard crossings. This is not likely, but Capital Helath could go further and underground the rehab parking lot. Two floors would adequately fit the users of the building along with more parking for MacKenzie and Bethune building employees. The area above the parking lot could make for a hospital expansion. If the parking lot in behind can be purchased this can be improved even more.

I'll draw up some ideas tomorrow or over the weekend however I will say this. The new expansion could be used for long-term hospital beds for the elderly (i forget the medical term for these facilities). With All Saints Catherdral, the Rehab Centre (I think might also be the Artritis Centre), and the Shannex retirement complex all on the same block it would consolidate all non-emergency uses for seniors into a very small area. Corridors and tunnels could connect the buildings allowing for inter-block connectivity (friends can visit friends, patients can attend mass). This can be done with or without the privately owned parking lot however if it can be purchased it would allow for parking ramps off of College Street and not University Avenue.

- DJ

[worldlyhaligonian]

lol, if the HT try to get involved here it will be most comical.

[Dmajackson]

This is 7 residential floors, and 2 parking levels. The main building entrance is on the lower parking level, so will have basically 8-9 storeys of height.

How is it a mixed-use building then?

[ScovaNotian]

Without seeing the street redesign I doubt it would ever pass with being so close to a fire station and hospital. Anyone got the design?
There are renderings on pages 7 and 8 of this: http://campusplan.dal.ca/Files/DAL-U-WEBSITE_2009-06-08.pdf .

[JET]

http://www.pbase.com/thomaxx/image/41877237

I think that these are the buildings that came down today.

A backhoe is down in the 'foundation' this morning. With an attachment for digging through rock. Somethings up

[sdm]

There are renderings on pages 7 and 8 of this: http://campusplan.dal.ca/Files/DAL-U-WEBSITE_2009-06-08.pdf .

Thanks

Interesting rendering on page 16, shows no new public library?

[EGS]

It needs to be said: Nova Scotia has 13 "universities" with a student population approximately the same size as the University of Western Ontario and they all build 'Rolls Royce' facilities with Other People's Money. Enough.

[DigitalNinja]

That is a big exaggeration there...

Dal:
Undergraduates 12,951
Postgraduates 3,860

SMU:
Students 7,281

MSVU
Students 4,900

NSCC
Students 10,000 full-time,
12,000 part-time

That totals up to about 40,000 students (More really)

Western Ontario University has about 25,000
Even if I take away the part time from NSCC, there are still 28,000 students in the biggest 4 universities in NS, with many more. NS probably has a student population of 50,000 or more...
I think money should be spent to improve these facilities for the students, and bring more students here.

[someone123]

I was going to say... it's also worth noting that Dal has about as many grad students as Western. Not sure how the Western enrollment has been changing but Dal's has been going up considerably. When I was there around 5 years ago they were dealing with overcrowding issues. Many of the new buildings were built out of necessity, involved substantial private donations, and are not "Rolls Royce" facilities by any stretch.

Sounds like an opinion from somebody who hasn't set foot in one of these institutions to be honest.

[JET]

I do worry about the building of buildings by universities. I worry that people from families with limited incomes are finding it increasingly difficult to attend university. There is disparity there that is troubling, and yet more lovely buildings are being built that become increasingly less accessible for increasingly more people. :(

[MonctonRad]

I'm not sure that I like the current plans for the health sciences campus.......

I attended Dal Medical School and I always thought that there was a certain elegance to the Tupper Building. I think a lot of this will be lost by putting twin towers on the site, located on the plaza in front of the Tupper Building and where the CRC is.

The site will look way too crowded and will detract from the Tupper Building itself. I agree that expansion is probably necessary but there has to be a better way. :(

[fenwick16]

Referring to the Sir Charles Tupper twin towers expansion on page 19 of this report http://campusplan.dal.ca/Files/Dalhousie%2520Framework%2520Report%25209-14-10.pdf and posted by q12 on the previous page, I noticed that the side that the twins towers would be built on, would be the side that is partly a blank wall as shown below. I assume this is where the elevators are located for the present Sir Charles Tupper Building. So it would make sense to build the new twin towers on this side since all the elevators could be central to the three towers. (If the elevators really are in the blank wall section).

(source: http://www.library.dal.ca/duasc/buildings/images/TupperMedBldg_SirCharlesTupperMedicalBuilding.8.JPG )
http://www.library.dal.ca/duasc/buildings/images/TupperMedBldg_SirCharlesTupperMedicalBuilding.8.JPG

[worldlyhaligonian]

I'm not sure that I like the current plans for the health sciences campus.......

I attended Dal Medical School and I always thought that there was a certain elegance to the Tupper Building. I think a lot of this will be lost by putting twin towers on the site, located on the plaza in front of the Tupper Building and where the CRC is.

The site will look way too crowded and will detract from the Tupper Building itself. I agree that expansion is probably necessary but there has to be a better way. :(

I agree, its too busy... it wouldn't be so bad if the tower was on the corner next to the LSRC and not attached to the Tupper building.

I do want to see another tower built... this whole area is feeling much more urban.

[someone123]

I agree that it would be much nicer if they did a tower next to the LSRI on University Ave.

There is also a historic building on University attached to the Tupper Building that is worth keeping - either in that location or somewhere else. It could also be attached to an addition above, but it would be very easy to destroy the character of the Tupper Building.

[Jonovision]

Without seeing the street redesign I doubt it would ever pass with being so close to a fire station and hospital. Anyone got the design?

Wonder how Phil Pacey feels about his employer building 20 storey buildings....... hehehe

All the plans are on the link that was posted. Lots of amazing ideas. I like almost all of it. I think the IDEA building on the Sexton campus would be really cool. Bringing all the faculties together under one roof down there would be awesome. A great learning space. My only negative comment is that it appears the tupper atrium would be torn down. I really like that space.

[worldlyhaligonian]

I will take some before shots of dal campus as part of my phototour, including what I hope is a completed exterior shot of the Life Sciences building, the lot across from it, and the Shannex site furth down.

What does everybody recommend for online photo sharing?

As somebody else mentioned, I don't deal with Yahoo (Flickr).

Is photobucket good?

[Keith P.]

I use photobucket. It is pretty good albeit basic in function, but it hasn't made me upset yet, so that's good. :)

[alps]

I've heard good things about http://imgur.com/ but I haven't really gotten around to using it myself.

I use Photobucket and Flickr which are fine, though the interfaces for both can be a little clumsy.

[worldlyhaligonian]

Do any of them produce the image tags for you so that you can just copy image text directly into the message box?

I will be doing all the pics in one new thread for the Photos section.

DJ - I also will take pics from several different angles and of developments recently completed like Kaye, Life Sciences, etc.

[Keith P.]

Do any of them produce the image tags for you so that you can just copy image text directly into the message box?


Photobucket does. Not sure about others, but I suspect so.

[fenwick16]

Do any of them produce the image tags for you so that you can just copy image text directly into the message box?

I will be doing all the pics in one new thread for the Photos section.

DJ - I also will take pics from several different angles and of developments recently completed like Kaye, Life Sciences, etc.

I use ImageShack - it gives a variety of link options. You can upload an image in various size formats, view it and then copy the image location just as you would with an image that you would find on the internet. I haven't tried the others but ImageShack works well for me.

[Dmajackson]

Do any of them produce the image tags for you so that you can just copy image text directly into the message box?

I will be doing all the pics in one new thread for the Photos section.

DJ - I also will take pics from several different angles and of developments recently completed like Kaye, Life Sciences, etc.

Flickr used to but now there's and extra step involved (have to go into the properties). I still use it but its just because I didn't feel like changing websites after having a so many photos uploaded.

Nice to hear you'll be doing such a large phototour. I'd suggest taking a map or list of the project locations. A lot of the projects are in obscure places that may not be able to get to (ie Coast Guard). :)

- DJ

[worldlyhaligonian]

Flickr used to but now there's and extra step involved (have to go into the properties). I still use it but its just because I didn't feel like changing websites after having a so many photos uploaded.

Nice to hear you'll be doing such a large phototour. I'd suggest taking a map or list of the project locations. A lot of the projects are in obscure places that may not be able to get to (ie Coast Guard). :)

- DJ

I know that site well, I actually worked in one of the warehouses on the BIO property in the past.

I will be driving and doing each area separately. Will do Halifax downtown, south end, west end, fairview/clayton park, BL, downtown dartmouth and burnside.

sorry no bedford shots unless they are from a distance.

[Dmajackson]

I know that site well, I actually worked in one of the warehouses on the BIO property in the past.

I will be driving and doing each area separately. Will do Halifax downtown, south end, west end, fairview/clayton park, BL, downtown dartmouth and burnside.

sorry no bedford shots unless they are from a distance.

That's good. You may know a better way then walking down a sketchy looking stairwell to get the photos from the bottom.

I would offer to pay you to take photos of Bedford but I may be home over the weekend so I can get a few photos of the new interchange with cars legally using it. You'll be missing out though. If you want to see a booming community Bedford is the place to be. :)

[Jstaleness]

I know photobucket has the image tags.

[worldlyhaligonian]

That's good. You may know a better way then walking down a sketchy looking stairwell to get the photos from the bottom.

I would offer to pay you to take photos of Bedford but I may be home over the weekend so I can get a few photos of the new interchange with cars legally using it. You'll be missing out though. If you want to see a booming community Bedford is the place to be. :)

I'll go to bedford if you tell me the locations... taking images of interchanges can be challenging from a car.

[Dmajackson]

I'll go to bedford if you tell me the locations... taking images of interchanges can be challenging from a car.

I was just kidding with you. I'll be home sometime soon so unless you want to go out to Bedford don't worry about it. I usually do the interchange area photos on foot since it is dangerous otherwise and until last week the area was officially blocked off to cars. If I go home I'll want to do West Bedford, the Commons and the Sackville projects so a five minute detour to Larry Uteck won't bother me.

If you do end up in Bedford (on they way in town from the airport or whatever) the projects under way are on Larry Uteck. There's two cranes and four projects on the street as of Thanksgiving and the area is growing fast. New projects start up monthly and some on the upper end are now inhabited.

[Jonovision]

Dalhousie votes to build its future

Project to cost as much as $600 million


By JOHN McPHEE

Staff Reporter

Dalhousie University’s board of governors has given the thumbs-up to a long-term plan that could transform its campuses.

The vision for the future of Dalhousie includes the construction of mixed-use highrises, the creation of study “hubs" at the university’s central and downtown campuses, and a more environmentally friendly transportation plan.

The estimated cost of the work would be about $600 million. But that amount would be spent over at least 10 years and only if all of the recommended projects were approved.

Referring to media coverage of the plan last week, “the implication was that we’re farther down the development path than we are," university president Tom Traves told the board of governors meeting Mon day.

“This plan creates a vision for how the campus will unfold. It offers a variety of ideas on where the campus could unfold, in terms of particular buildings. But any building is a unique project and any pro ject would have to be approved by the board. . . . What we’re doing here is ap proving a sense of possibilities."

The university has held public consulta tions and focus groups on how the cam puses could be expanded over the past two years. The report, which cost $600,000, was written by the Halifax companies WHW Architects and the IBI Group, which specializes in urban devel opment and planning. The companies produced a 46-page Campus Master Framework Plan, as well as background documents and advice on such things as strategic planning.

Larry Sherman, director of the IBI Group, presented details of the plan to the board Monday, after which it was unani mously approved.

The report suggests about a dozen cap ital projects, including tearing down some buildings, renovating others and building two 17- to 20-storey towers on University Avenue. It also suggests a redesign of the avenue to limit traffic to one side, while opening up the rest of the street for cy clists and pedestrians.

While the university has a lot of unde veloped property, some areas present some challenges, Sherman said. For exam ple, the health sciences Carleton campus at South and Robie streets doesn’t have a lot of room to grow. A local resident sug gested the idea of two tall towers on Uni versity Avenue, Sherman said.

The planners are recommending the towers be placed in front of the Tupper building, where it would least affect the surrounding residential area.

The university has two other campuses — Studley, which is bounded by Coburg Road, Oxford, South and Robie streets; and Sexton, in downtown Halifax.

“You do not need to acquire a lot of land, as some universities do," Sherman said. “What you need to do is build more intensively."

The plan also calls for the creation of study hubs at Carleton, Studley and Sex ton.

The trend toward informal study groups and using technology for learning spurred this concept. The hubs would provide informal spaces for students to work, eat and relax.

“We asked them, how do you study? At the library, before the computers in the labs?" Sherman said. “Not so much. We study together. We ask each other ques tions and interpret things in different ways. "

(jmcphee@herald.ca)

[PoscStudent]

^ Tuition won't be long increasing.

[cormiermax]

Apparently demo of QEH started today.

[JET]

Apparently demo of QEH started today.

Exterior demo? They've been working on the interior demo for a few months.

[kph06]

I drove by last night and couldn't see any of the structure down

[beyeas]

Yeah they had been doing remediation work for a while taking out environmental hazards before they started the real demo work.

My office is right next door so I when I see it come down I will let people know.

[someone123]

Allnovascotia is reporting that construction will begin tomorrow on a 37 unit, 4 storey apartment building at 3150 Barrington.

[Jonovision]

Allnovascotia is reporting that construction will begin tomorrow on a 37 unit, 4 storey apartment building at 3150 Barrington.

There is a rendering of this floating around on here somewhere. It looks like crap. They had a sales center set up for the longest time on the northern part of Gottingen.

[eastcoastal]

There is a rendering of this floating around on here somewhere. It looks like crap. They had a sales center set up for the longest time on the northern part of Gottingen.

Is this the sales centre that was at the site of the former North End Diner? I had always assumed the building would be constructed where the sales centre was. If this is what I think it is, then I don't think it's suitable anywhere.... Barrington, or Gottingen.

[Jonovision]

Is this the sales centre that was at the site of the former North End Diner? I had always assumed the building would be constructed where the sales centre was. If this is what I think it is, then I don't think it's suitable anywhere.... Barrington, or Gottingen.

I don't know where the old diner was but the sales center was on the corner of Gottingen and Bloomfield.

[Dmajackson]

The Chronicle Herald Article (http://www.thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1209118.html)

Giant Tiger making its way to Dartmouth
By CHRIS LAMBIE Business Editor
Thu, Oct 28 - 4:53 AM

It’s not exactly roaring into Dartmouth, but Giant Tiger plans to set up a new store in a Woodlawn Road mall next fall.

The food, fashion and general merchandise store plans to open a 23,000-square-foot location in September 2011 at the Staples Mall at 114 Woodlawn Rd.

...

The Halifax location is on Dutch Village Road just a few metres down the road from the 3473 proposal site and across from the Halifax West site.

[JustinMacD]

Just saw the plans for the redevelopment of the Agricola St. NSLC into a 12 storey condo/retail building.

Very impressive renderings. Looks kind of like the Martello.

[someone123]

Does anybody know when the NSLC lease is up?

I can easily imagine it being fairly impressive given the size of that lot. The area can certainly use the increased density - as I've said before, ideally there would be dozens more of these types of buildings in the North End.

[Dmajackson]

12 storeys is taller than I was expecting. Could look good in the area though given Gladstone and the seniors' residences in the area.

[David1gray]

^^^cbc article: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia/story/2010/10/28/ns-agricola-liquor-store-proposal.html

[someone123]

^^^cbc article: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia/story/2010/10/28/ns-agricola-liquor-store-proposal.html

Wait.. somebody needs to contact CBC immediately and tell them they forgot the soccer mom quotes!

(Nice to see a more reasonable article that doesn't turn a run-of-the-mill infill project into an "issue").

[Keith P.]

I think NSLC has 2 or 3 years left in their current lease. I know they have been sniffing around for a new location in the area because talks about their existing site were going nowhere and they were apparently not happy with what the developer was willing to provide in this proposal. I hear they are looking at yet another potential new development in the area, which would be great if it happens.

[HRM]

The lease expires in 2012.

[Jonovision]

Great article. It's nice to hear people be reasonable and welcome density to a neighbourhood that is perfect for it.

[eastcoastal]

12 storeys is taller than I was expecting. Could look good in the area though given Gladstone and the seniors' residences in the area.

It's hard for me to tell from the renderings what the relationship to the street is. Hopefully it's arranged to acknowledge the residential neighbourhood behind it (not the Agricola side), and provide great retail spaces along Agricola. This site is awesome for redevelopment, and the current building/parking lot configuration is terrible for the continuity of the street. The potential offered by a site that spans the block is encouraging.

[Keith P.]

It's hard for me to tell from the renderings what the relationship to the street is.


Is the rendering online anywhere?

[HRM]

See Dawn Sloane's site for renderings. Not sure though if these are the final ones that will be submitted to the city.

[DigitalNinja]

Can you link or post them I can't find them on her site.

[hoser111]

Can you link or post them I can't find them on her site.

http://www.dawnsloane.ca/documents/0909_AgricolaStProject_3D.pdf

[fenwick16]

http://www.dawnsloane.ca/documents/0909_AgricolaStProject_3D.pdf

This looks very nice. I hope that it won't morph into a rectangular slab by the time it is built.

[beyeas]

Big shuffle going on downtown with the province.

Looks like Universal won the bid for Joe Howe building.

Apparently the health department, which is housed there now is moving into the space vacated by Emera in Scotia Square, and Justice is moving to the Joe Howe building from that building they are in now down on terminal road.

[JET]

Big shuffle going on downtown with the province.

Looks like Universal won the bid for Joe Howe building.

Apparently the health department, which is housed there now is moving into the space vacated by Emera in Scotia Square, and Justice is moving to the Joe Howe building from that building they are in now down on terminal road.

I've never figured out all the moving that Departments make.
Somebody must have shares in a moving company.

[halifaxboyns]

I've never figured out all the moving that Departments make.
Somebody must have shares in a moving company.

Sometimes it's a matter of updating the office space itself. I know here with the City of calgary; when I started with them I had an office on the 4th floor. Then we were all moved to a temporary space for 2 years while our new home on the 5th floor was created. Then with budget cuts; the budget cuts came and aside from new paint and duct work; it's basically the same office structure (none of the new glass panels etc).

So we moved twice.

[halifaxboyns]

I have to say I'm quite impressed with the drawings KGS did for the NSLC site. I'm very impressed at how they've treated the fact it's a through lot - which is not easy to deal with. The commercial on the Agricola side works well and townhouses on the back; fits really with my vision the area.

The only thing that differs is probably the building height; I would've pushed it to about 15 stories. But that's just my position; but the proposal is in line with my person vision of the area.

It's developments like these that will help redevelop Agricola and Gottingen Street to be nice vibrant, walkable, higher density communities. One thing (which I hate to admit) I agree with in the STV retoric; is that in some cases, you can have very good high density at lower scale. But what my vision of lower scale is and theirs is probably way different. For me, lower scale is in the 12 to 15 storey range.

12 to 15 storey ranged buildings all down this street (Agricola) and in certain locations along Gottingen and Quinpool would help all three develop into really nice commercial pedestrian corridors. This is a great first step.

[someone123]

It looks to me like there are storefronts on Agricola with townhouses on the other side and a south-facing curtain wall. Definitely an improvement on what is there.

For an area like this it isn't necessary to have tall buildings or to redevelop everything to significantly increase density. Right now there are maybe 150 housing units on this block (a couple of small apartments, subdivided rowhouses). Nobody lives on the NSLC site, so putting residential above the retail and parking will just about double the density.

[sdm]

Does anybody know when the NSLC lease is up?

I can easily imagine it being fairly impressive given the size of that lot. The area can certainly use the increased density - as I've said before, ideally there would be dozens more of these types of buildings in the North End.

I access to property online, i will check but believe its till 2014

[beyeas]

Sometimes it's a matter of updating the office space itself. I know here with the City of calgary; when I started with them I had an office on the 4th floor. Then we were all moved to a temporary space for 2 years while our new home on the 5th floor was created. Then with budget cuts; the budget cuts came and aside from new paint and duct work; it's basically the same office structure (none of the new glass panels etc).

So we moved twice.

Yeah that is it exactly.

Universal said that they are putting money into updating the Howe building (into which Justice will move) and I am sure that Crombie offered incentives in terms of reno cost offsets in the lease for the scotia square space (since they were probably pretty desperate to get that huge chunk of space rented). McCrea didn't sound pleased though, since he was hoping to get DoH into the Waterside apparently (that building was almost exactly the floor size that D of Health was looking for).

[Keith P.]

Re. the renderings for the Agricola site: I cannot place it into perspective. Nothing in those pics looks anything like what currently surrounds that lot. Is the rendering with the raised driveway (a neat trick, since the lot is flat) supposed to be the Agricola entrance?

As for govt offices moving, that is the folly of supposedly saving money by tendering for space every 5 years. I know one department that moved out of one building to expensively-refitted new space, then moved back from whence they came after 5 years. Ridiculous.

[halifaxboyns]

Keith you are exactly right - it doesn't really save money at all.
We here at COC are in the unique position that administration has two buildings it owns outright; well three technical: Old City Hall (mostly for city council and the mayor and clerks office); The Administration Building (City Manager's office, records, various offices) and then the Municipal Building (12 stories; all other city offices and council chambers).

Unfortunately the Muni (as we like to call it) is pretty much full and since it was built in the 80's; needs renovating. So they were moving people all over to gut each floor and bring it up to today's standards.

Unfortunately; even with the renovation - we're still leasing office space because administration has grown so big (over 14,000). There is a heritage building down Stephen Ave (near the Olympic Plaza) called the Public Building which we also own that has city staff in (our offices were there for my group a while back). I miss that building - it had the only elevators that had operators in Western Canada. Unfortunately; when they'd take a break - you were left waiting.

[eastcoastal]

Re. the renderings for the Agricola site: I cannot place it into perspective. Nothing in those pics looks anything like what currently surrounds that lot. Is the rendering with the raised driveway (a neat trick, since the lot is flat) supposed to be the Agricola entrance?

I can't read the renderings either... not enough context to be able to guess as to whether or not the urban design moves are appropriate

[halifaxboyns]

Assuming that the condos/townhouses are on the non-commercial street side; the 'driveway lip' would be Maynard Street. So the first image is looking at the building from Maynard, the second and third from Agricola and the fourth further down Maynard Street towards Buddy Daye Street. If my memory is correct the driveway lip is actually an existing condition because the grade of Maynard is slightly lower than Agricola in that area and because of how the site is graded - the middle part of the lot is higher than Maynard, this creating the driveway situation pictured.

[Empire]

http://www.dawnsloane.ca/documents/0909_AgricolaStProject_3D.pdf

Excellent design. It's nice to get away from STV Cambridge Suites and Prince George box boring buildings. Has a bit of Martello feel with better street presence.

[Dmajackson]

No photos out of respect to worldly but I did notice something tonight.

The Agricola@West office which was supposed to be 3 floors has at least a small 4th floor area now.

- DJ

[spaustin]

Not a blank wall to be seen! :tup: That bit of the 4th floor roof that angles upwards though on the Agricola Street side looks really strange.

[Jstaleness]

There was at least 2 equipment trailers and a crew of surveyors onsite where the YMCA towers are supposed to be built in Dartmouth. Looked like a lot of stuff to not be the start of something.

Also across the pond the building on Admiral looks to have most of the first floor up and the second has begun to go up.

[Dmajackson]

There was at least 2 equipment trailers and a crew of surveyors onsite where the YMCA towers are supposed to be built in Dartmouth. Looked like a lot of stuff to not be the start of something.

Also across the pond the building on Admiral looks to have most of the first floor up and the second has begun to go up.

Sorry to put your hopes down but the trailers and surveyors are for maintenance of the Trans Canada Trail through there. It's all part of the Dartmouth North Trunk Sewer project I believe.

[beyeas]

Keith you are exactly right - it doesn't really save money at all.

LOL yeah I wasn't arguing FOR this as a plan in my previous post... just I am sure that is what the province's plan is.

[sdm]

Yeah that is it exactly.

Universal said that they are putting money into updating the Howe building (into which Justice will move) and I am sure that Crombie offered incentives in terms of reno cost offsets in the lease for the scotia square space (since they were probably pretty desperate to get that huge chunk of space rented). McCrea didn't sound pleased though, since he was hoping to get DoH into the Waterside apparently (that building was almost exactly the floor size that D of Health was looking for).

Waterside Centre was too small for the department of Health (82,000 Useable square feet). Waterside is 85,000 sqft Rentable, probably close to 70,000 range useable.

McCrea bid on the purchase of the Joe Howe building not on the department of health tender. From sources Armour was going to redevelop the building to LEED standards. From the numbers i've crunched from the tender it appears Universal would have less then 1 million to spend on the building, which means they plan to do nothing to the building.

With Crombie`s bid of 20.95 a square foot for the department of health no new development could compete. A new development would require a bid price per square foot of $35.00 or more.

[Dmajackson]

Back around the Agricola@West office building again and there is now a rendering on the Agricola side. Looks like it will be a decent building for the area.

[beyeas]

Waterside Centre was too small for the department of Health (82,000 Useable square feet). Waterside is 85,000 sqft Rentable, probably close to 70,000 range useable.

Curious... because AllNS had reported several times that McCrea was trying to get DoH as a single tenant into Waterside.

I know that the current bid we are talking about was for the building, but according to AllNS in an article talking to McCrea about potential Waterside tenants: "Waterside is in a good position to nab the 82,000 sqft Health Department tender for new office space"... hence my comment.

I agree with you on Crombie's big though... there was no way a building could compete. As I said in my previous comment, Crombie was desperate to lease that space and was going to do what it needed to to undercut.

[sdm]

Curious... because AllNS had reported several times that McCrea was trying to get DoH as a single tenant into Waterside.

I know that the current bid we are talking about was for the building, but according to AllNS in an article talking to McCrea about potential Waterside tenants: "Waterside is in a good position to nab the 82,000 sqft Health Department tender for new office space"... hence my comment.

I agree with you on Crombie's big though... there was no way a building could compete. As I said in my previous comment, Crombie was desperate to lease that space and was going to do what it needed to to undercut.

Yeah the media was stating that as there opinion, which was obviously not factual.

The fact that Armour didn't even bid should be evidence alone that what was reported was in accurate. No issue really, i think McCrea is discouraged with the tender results for the Joe Howe Building in that the province isn't forcing bidders to clean the building up.

The lease rate by Crombie illustrates clearly the challenges with office development in the core, as this is just a chuck of the space that is still available and that there is other buildings with chunks of space who can do the same.

[macgregor]

Work is underway at the Nova Scotia Hospital on Pleasant Street in Dartmouth. I think it was brough up in the threads before but I'm not sure where. I think it was townhouses for assissted living/patients.

[eastcoastal]

Work is underway at the Nova Scotia Hospital on Pleasant Street in Dartmouth. I think it was brough up in the threads before but I'm not sure where. I think it was townhouses for assissted living/patients.

I think it's transitional housing for people in the mental health system - between full-on hospitalization and living in the community

[Dmajackson]

SSP Dmajackson 01's Photo Page (http://www.flickr.com/photos/53383761@N07/5140418766/)

3150 Barrington Street - Photo taken on October 30th, 2010

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1161/5140418766_448cfff923_z.jpg

[Dmajackson]

Don't know if this was mentioned before but the 5495 Spring Garden proposal by Westwood Group is expected to be complete by next summer (August 2011). So I'm estimating a March start-date at the latest.

Their other project, Gladstone Ridge North, should be done a month later (September 2011).

[Jstaleness]

SSP Dmajackson 01's Photo Page (http://www.flickr.com/photos/53383761@N07/5140418766/)

That hole has become much larger in the past few days.

[someone123]

Allnovascotia just released a story about the Public Gardens bandstand restoration project that will take place this winter. The red top (apparently fiberglass from the 70s) is going to be replaced with copper. The wooden ornamentation is going to be saved and used in the restored structure.