[St. John's] The Official Project Thread

[Marty_Mcfly]

A fair amount of the glass is up on the harbour side. It's inoffensive. If you want to see what it'll likely look like, dig up the old Fortis development plan (with the large tower next to the above mentioned building) before Fortis moved their new development to Springdale Street.

[NewfBC]

Originally Posted by J_Murphy

Just came across this on Facebook...looks like they may be rebranding this building as “The Royal”.

http://www.facebook.com/The-Royal-on-Water-100971434586864/

That makes sense.. This was originally the Royal Trust Building.

Ron.

[Engibeer]

Originally Posted by Marty_Mcfly

A fair amount of the glass is up on the harbour side. It's inoffensive. If you want to see what it'll likely look like, dig up the old Fortis development plan (with the large tower next to the above mentioned building) before Fortis moved their new development to Springdale Street.

Interesting. Two renders from 2010:

Water St:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfo...ohn-s-1.878818

Harbour Dr:

http://thescope.ca/city/fortis-relea...l-for-downtown

[thevan]

Originally Posted by statbass

Starting to get on your nerves? Welcome to SSP St. John's my friend, lol! In all honesty, there's always a vocal minority stepping in to complain about development. Most others are just indifferent or apathetic to it so we hardly hear that side of the story. This is probably the only spot where pro-development is heard on a regular basis.

What I find strange is this concept that some think we are very different and unique to many other north american cities. We are different and unique to a certain degree, but not to extreme that some think. It's quite possible to blend old architecture will new and it doesn't take away from our heritage. Many European cities do this (they are much much older than us). Halifax does this better than us for goodness sake! Some have legitimate concerns about how this will maximize the benefit of the area and the public should have input in development. Process is important here.

The telegram article doesn't really help either, IMO. Putting 'Mammoth' in the title certainly brings some negative connotation to the forefront. To be honest, the development isn't mammoth and seems to fit well in the landscape. Some residents are complaining about green space, which is important to have. However (and please correct me if I'm wrong), but I don't think this is developed green space. Is this something a lot of people use or just a select few? I don't know.

There will always be NIMBYs and it's not unique to St. John's. I hope council sees the value in this and approves the development.

What they're we're trying to avoid is more of this (I hope, anyway).

The new Star of the Sea condos/apartments are great as far as new designs though, but the thing is that they never should have tore down the old one in the first place! It was structurally sound, and a great venue!

[Vivid_Ascent]

Originally Posted by J_Murphy

Just came across this on Facebook...looks like they may be rebranding this building as “The Royal”.

http://www.facebook.com/The-Royal-on-Water-100971434586864/

This is the post on the facebook page:

The old Fortis Tower on 139 Water Street is undergoing major renovations including a glass curtain wall on the rear of the building. When completed in early 2020, it will house several businesses including a 7500 sq foot event space with a view like no other! We will begin taking bookings for weddings, conventions and other gatherings in the next month or so.

A few thoughts:

1. Great call by the owners on the re-branding. The "Royal" name ties into the building's history and clarifies any confusion between it and Fortis Place in the west end.

2. Love the idea for a penthouse event space. Given that the Battery Campus now prioritizes professional events over social events, this space will fill a hole in the wedding-with-a-view market.

3. The wording of the post worries me that they're only planning to glass in the harbour-facing wall while leaving the rest of the building untouched. I really hope this isn't the case. That would leave us with one glass wall, one blank wall, and two walls with the current facade. I would like to assume that they're just doing the reclad in phases, but, then again, would they open the event space in "early 2020" if they were planning to rip the other walls off within a short timeframe? And given the pace of the project so far, I don't think they could start and finish the other walls before the end of the year.

[IronMan]

Originally Posted by Vivid_Ascent

This is the post on the facebook page:



A few thoughts:

1. Great call by the owners on the re-branding. The "Royal" name ties into the building's history and clarifies any confusion between it and Fortis Place in the west end.

2. Love the idea for a penthouse event space. Given that the Battery Campus now prioritizes professional events over social events, this space will fill a hole in the wedding-with-a-view market.

3. The wording of the post worries me that they're only planning to glass in the harbour-facing wall while leaving the rest of the building untouched. I really hope this isn't the case. That would leave us with one glass wall, one blank wall, and two walls with the current facade. I would like to assume that they're just doing the reclad in phases, but, then again, would they open the event space in "early 2020" if they were planning to rip the other walls off within a short timeframe? And given the pace of the project so far, I don't think they could start and finish the other walls before the end of the year.

This is exactly my fear. One wall? What's up with that? I love the new wall but as it is now it looks like the most mis-matched building ever! Why did the city approve this?

[Horsell]

Someone from the Telegram must have been reading Jim Case's blog, there is a story in the paper (and online) today.

https://www.thetelegram.com/news/loc...-johns-339083/

[Vivid_Ascent]

Originally Posted by Horsell

Someone from the Telegram must have been reading Jim Case's blog, there is a story in the paper (and online) today.

https://www.thetelegram.com/news/loc...-johns-339083/

From the article:
Across Water Street from RBC is Atlantic Place, a building he calls an “architectural albatross.”

“Based on all my research, and 40 years of knowledge, and having worked with the people who actually worked on this building, I know there was no architect. This was a building designed by engineers.”

This makes so much sense.

[Marty_Mcfly]

If there were architects involved in the design of Atlantic Place they would certainly hope it never gets out that they were involved. That's the type of building that could ruin your entire career.

[ec1983]

Originally Posted by Marty_Mcfly

If there were architects involved in the design of Atlantic Place they would certainly hope it never gets out that they were involved. That's the type of building that could ruin your entire career.

I remember seeing a post on here somewhere about the original design of Atlanic Place. It was much fancier looking as far as architecture goes, I believe there were some drawings included. And, as everyone knows, there was an additional 12 floors for a hotel. I'd guess when the hotel was cancelled the budget for the building was decreased and the look of the building was simplified. Saying it was designed by engineers sounds like an architects old wives tale. Blame the engineers!!

[CBSNewbie]

Originally Posted by IronMan

This is exactly my fear. One wall? What's up with that? I love the new wall but as it is now it looks like the most mis-matched building ever! Why did the city approve this?

I sent a Facebook message to the Royal group and this was the response I got. The other sides will be getting new glass as well as a metal wrap around the concrete panels presently there. That is slated for next spring.

[Vivid_Ascent]

Originally Posted by CBSNewbie

I sent a Facebook message to the Royal group and this was the response I got. The other sides will be getting new glass as well as a metal wrap around the concrete panels presently there. That is slated for next spring.

Interesting; thanks for looking into that!

It sounds like we're still looking at mismatched facades. They're doing a full glass curtain on the harbour-facing side, are they not?

With new windows and metal wrap, I imagine the other sides will closely resemble the 2011 renders, which I was a fan of. I'm curious to see how they will address the blank wall.

[J_Murphy]

Demolition of Bishops College has started. Anyone know what plans Pennecon has for this site?

[rthomasd]

Plans came before the city over the winter, I believe. It called for turning it into senior's apartments and keeping the attached gym intact.

[J_Murphy]

Originally Posted by rthomasd

Plans came before the city over the winter, I believe. It called for turning it into senior's apartments and keeping the attached gym intact.

Ok, I don't recall seeing that. Maybe they aren't tearing the entire building down, but I did notice a lot of demo work happening a couple of day ago.

[rthomasd]

I think senior's apartments complex is in the same zoning as a school, so doesn't need the typical
zoning change and all that goes with it.

At the May 13 2019 Council meeting they approved parking relief for the project, allowing for
102 spaces for residents. Not much other detail on how many units and the physical layout.

[Marty_Mcfly]

Anglican Cathedral addition proposal is being pulled by the Diocese, according to the city Twitter page.

I think it was a proposal that could have worked if they could have guaranteed that no graves would be disturbed by the work. Unfortunately that likely wasn't possible. The design of the addition itself wasn't horrendous, and could have been worked to have a bit more cohesion with the old church itself.

[Marty_Mcfly]

Also from council meeting: Churchill Square development has been unanimously approved.

[jjavman]

Originally Posted by Marty_Mcfly

Also from council meeting: Churchill Square development has been unanimously approved.

WOW. That's news

[J_Murphy]

Originally Posted by Marty_Mcfly

Also from council meeting: Churchill Square development has been unanimously approved.

Cool photo tweeted by councillor Burton yesterday on this. Not sure if this was shown in previous council agenda or not, but here it is:

https://twitter.com/mmburton/status/...828068352?s=20