It would be really great if development of the waterfront started to proceed in a more timely manner. The current pace is clearly far below what the market will bear in terms of new residential construction.

If the Salter and Cunard blocks proceed there will be a pretty good stretch of newer development from Salter Street to the seawall. Waterfront development would also tie in with some of the newer buildings up along Salter Street on the way to Barrington, and the Alexander if that is built.

There's a big advantage to having coherent neighbourhoods that are pleasant to walk around in and have lots of shops and services within a small area. Right now the waterfront doesn't have that because it has too many parking lots. It's also poorly connected to the downtown. There aren't many inviting paths going west when you're walking along the waterfront.

There was an article about the Cunard Block in ANS tonight. Lydon Lynch are creating plans for the WDCL and Southwest Properties is interested in handling the development. The site isn't in a viewplane and they're looking at 14-15 storeys -- not a dramatic height but a development like that would be good for the area.

There are also details about changes to HRM by Design. Apparently some greenspace requirements basically make it impossible to undertake certain types of developments in certain areas, particularly Spring Garden Road. This holding up both the Drum condos on Cogswell and the development next to the old DQ building on SGR.

I think the DQ building is becoming an Eastlink store or something (was that posted here?) so that corner could theoretically look much nicer in a couple of years.

Diamonds on Gottingen Street is in the process of demolition. I can't remember if there was a named thread for the developmnet for that location.

Here's a new rendering from Geoff Keddy's website (http://www.geoffkeddy.com):

http://www.geoffkeddy.com/Commercial...dProject-6.jpg

The image is called "BedfordProject-6". Not sure where this would be located exactly. It looks pretty nice, and is quite similar to the older waterfront developments like Convoy Quay.

It's actually http://www.geoffkeddy.com. So I thought I would update the link for you. But still - great looking project, works well in the Bedford area. My only hope is that we start seeing Bedford area development start pushing through the 10 storey limit. It seems they come close, but never quite get there. This one is 8 - could use two more floors. :)

Provident (Dockside builders) also have some nice pictures of Bedford:

http://www.providentdevelopments.com...side%20019.JPG
Source

It is a nice spot but I feel like it could be dramatically better if new developments had been laid out in a more coordinated way. Clayton Park suffers from the same problem -- lots of medium density residential buildings but such a poor road network and excessive segregation of uses that the pedestrian environment is not great. It is a "worst of both worlds" type of scenario where most people live in apartments and condos with limited space but do not have the advantages of an urban setting.

I can't be certain but judging by the density and shape of the lot I think it is The Shore Drive Lot. This lot is currently an underused boatyard that was sold within the last year. It's just across a small "bay" from the Waterfront "Phase I" and according to the Waterfront master plan this area was designated for future townhouses. It had to include a walkway along the water (shown in the rendering) and have vehicular access from Waterfront Drive (not shown). The only other possible spot would be in "Phase II" lands or near the yacht club on Shore Drive but either of these spots are very unlikely.

According to an article in the AllNovaScotia tonight there are redevelopment plans for 6100 Younge Street (West-End Halifax). This site is currently owned by the municipality and it houses a strip mall housing, among others, Pizza Hut. The site is 2.5 acres and is part of the former Forum lands. It used to house a horse racing track.

Plans for the site are vague but the article states low-rise residential housing ground-floor commercial with some high-rise residential. Since the site is municipally owned the development would have to be approved by Regional Council along with a purchase agreement. The developer is Webcom Inc. and the architect is Paul Skerry & Associates (Halifax-based). This team is behind the approved building for 249 Windmill Road.

Of course as with any vague development there is a divide among councilors. Being the most vocal of all twenty-three Sloane has stated she is opposed because the land could be used for a future Forum expansion. Interestingly (but not suprising if you know her) Watts has some hesitance but thinks getting more residential in this area is a good idea.

double post

It sounds like the idea would be to put in a lowrise residential component with some towers above.

I've been hoping something like this would happen for a long time. I think it's great. Hopefully the whole site will be reworked so that it is more pedestrian-friendly than the current strip mall.

Looking at the site on Google Maps, it's about 100 m away from the Forum building and there's tons of underused space around the Forum itself. It is ridiculous to hold back a development on the 6100 Young lot because of some hypothetical grand redevelopment of the Forum, particularly when you consider HRM's track record on implementing those sorts of things. Halifax's problem is not that there is a lack of empty government-owned land to build on!

Sloane apparently loves to find reasons why new things shouldn't be built. She seems to have lots of company in the municipal government and bureaucracy. If only that energy could be redirected into constructive work...

I think this is good news; regardless of the debate. The fact its going forward is perfect because this will help with the Hydrostone. This is one of the areas that I've suggested an HbD exercise should be done on. We could easily see the Young Street Superstore redeveloped if there is enough demand for residential in the area. With Danny Chedrawe's towers on the opposite side of Young, good context for tall buildings here. The design will be telling though.

As for the Forum expansion - I think the comments we've made about the stadium possibility here using the DND lands is the best they will get to expand the forum. That or eventually when HRM outgrows the sorting station; I'm sure the government of Canada would dispose of the land in some way. It's only a matter of time before that sorting station will be out grown, as I understand it now they are pretty much to the limit now.

Just to expand on my own post I accidentally stumbled on the website for this proposal. It currently says "Coming Soon" so there is no information but keep your eyes on this especially later in the Fall season.

The Website

In addition to 249 Windmill the developer appears to be behind The Bentley in Mount Royale which is currently under construction and scheduled for completion this Fall.

Does anyone know what is being built on the corner of Lady Hammond Rd. and Kempt Rd.? The building in this Google shot is demolished and it would appear that it is a car dealership or parking lot type development. This is too bad as this entire area from here to Young St. should be reworked into high density residential and quality commercial. The low slung commercial (car dealerships) / light industrial uses may have worked in the 50's but are now using up valuable land on the peninsula.


Corner of Kempt & Lady Hammond
http://maps.google.ca/maps?q=halifax...=12,56.56,,0,0

Top View
http://maps.google.ca/maps?q=halifax...37109&t=h&z=18

Its a new car dealership - Steele Subaru I believe.

Whatever Steele property it is going to be used for, it is moving quick. They barely had the old Dodge dealership demolished before the foundations started getting poured. Surprised the heritage types didn't protest - that Halifax Chrysler Dodge building was the oldest remaining car dealership in the city, going back to at least the '50s. Seemed odd that no enviro remediation was needed - I imagine the site probably had a lot of issues.

Unseeming alacrity is the most potent weapon against excessive and obstructive NIMBYism.... :) :D :haha:

Yes, due to the excessive and accepted number of car dealerships in this area there no nimbys for this type of development. If on the other hand, this was a 15 storey residential complex with unobstructed views of the Bedford Basin the nimbys would swing into action with "there goes the neighbourhood".....in this case that would be a good thing.

Well the car dealerships have to go somewhere...lol.
Typically if the use is the same type (car dealership) I don't believe that environmental remediation would be required. There wouldn't be much point to leave the property sterile to deal with contamination only for more to come along later. While it may seem counter intuitive; it's usually better to just let it go if the same type of use is going back in.

Certainly if this was some change to a mixed use building - definately would need to clean up the site.

I honestly don't mind if Kempt Road is full of car dealerships. They have to go somewhere and having an auto-oriented corridor along there doesn't seem to cause much problems. Where I have a problem with car dealerships is along Robie. The honda and Mazda dealerships in that area really need to be forced out so they can be redeveloped into some high density mixed use and make that area more inviting.

I would love to see high density along there... I can already hear the opponents screaming.

Robie (especially between Almon and Cunard) is perfect for mixed use development.