To me the easiest fix would be to put a big entrance from Dresden Row somewhere opposite Pete's so that people would find it interesting to walk thru to SGR.
I doubt their history would attract a major store.

Park Lane could be a nice mall and it's in a perfect location. It just needs a serious investment to bring it out of the sad 1990s.... the way HSC was invested in, upgraded, and given a major renovation. Now, it attracts top end retailers.

Park Lane could do this, but unfortunately, Crombie REIT have let it run down and actually been trying to sell.

A few medium-scale stores that I think would work well in Park Lane or Scotia Square would be Staples (or something similar - electronics and office supplies), Winners (or another larger-scale clothing store; H&M would also work), Giant Tiger (or another small department store), Jysk (or another larger-scale furniture store) and Canadian Tire (or something similar).

Totally. I think these retailers would absolutely turn that place around. It would be a major shopping destination downtown.

Cool proposal for the area. It's interesting how the massing makes it seem more like a midrise than a "tower" at 17 stories. HRMbD encourages buildings divided vertically into 3 sections - does that apply for this site, or does this design somehow meet that criteria anyway?

It would also relate well to the back of the Trillium, which right now looks a bit awkward IMO.

If it was next to the library, it would block the library's only decent view. :koko:

^ That view is completely ruined for me because of the horrible surface parking lot. I'd find a view of this beautiful proposal much more appealing. ;)

Besides, if the wide side was against Queen with the narrow side facing the back of the library, you'd still be able to see past it and beyond to the harbour.

Agreed to all of those. But the store I've really got a craving for a downtown location is Bulk Barn! Although maybe if they made a new Staples, the site on Gottingen could be redeveloped.

The choice view from the library is toward the harbour. Breathtaking. This, alone, should get Keith to eventually love the place. :)

Definitely think these big box need to start thinking of urban formats because Amazon will eventually put them out of business.

Staples would be great to have in Park Lane.

A new downtown Apple store would be an incredibly anchor tenant to turn Park Lane around; but the mall needs a significant renovation.

It's not bad, but it feels too Sad 1990s Mall in there right now.

If there is enough population growth around Spring Garden Road then medium-sized stores will start to become viable. This will only happen if higher density developments like this proposal are built. The old building stock isn't nearly adequate now because it takes a lot more people today to support the same amount of brick-and-mortar retail than it did in 1950, all else being equal.

I agree. Who the heck would think what is there now is a pleasant view :koko:

Totally!

I walked by this area tonight, and realized that this proposal will fit into the odd space in beyond the Trillium perfectly. There's a parking lot and two or three wood buildings, but this will really help build/inject even more density, as somebody123 points out.

I don't even think the Schmidtville NIMBYs will go too crazy, as it's essentially right across from Park Vic, which itself is a bit of a land/property bank between the SGR high density development and the smaller residential further towards the South End in this area.

^The local NIMBY's will still go crazy but this project falls under the Downtown plan so the appeal process is limited.

I personally like this proposal. It's different than we're used to but it should fit in well and the density will be great for the area.

That is good to hear, I like the looks of this one.

You're probably right. Never underestimate the selfish rage of the NIMBYs.

Thank G-d for HRMxD.

I agree with JET that those buildings will be a loss, although admittedly that area is a bit of a mish-mash now. The new building should clean up the area somewhat, and offer much better land usage for the area. Would be nice if the wooden buildings could be moved to another location, but I realize it probably won't happen due to economics.

While many of you laud this building as beautiful, I'm afraid I'm not seeing the beauty so much. To me, it looks more like a kid's Lego build, with disjointed blocks haphazardly put here and there. Then there's that black rectangle on the side that looks like it stuck there after somebody threw it.

Is this considered good architecture these days? :shrug:

Misery loves company. :)

I think the difference is that I don't see anything random or haphazard. If you look closely, the building has near perfect symmetry, with only enough subtle variation as to give it some warmth. The black square toward the top is exactly in the middle of the Brenton St. façade (although it's hard to see it from the angle of the rendering). And the proportions are bang on as well as someone already mentioned. It's tall (for the area), but the setbacks take the edge off making it seem more sensitive to it's surroundings.

Even the colours are harmonious with the tan/grey, charcoal and gold contrasting enough to give some variation but not enough to be jarring. And the pattern created by the common balcony floors and the private balcony floors is consistent. They also strike the perfect balance in terms of materials, with enough glass to make it seem open and modern, but not so much glass as to see unimaginative or lacking in visual weight. The only thing I can possibly think to change would be to perhaps use cooler rather than warmer colours. But that's just a personal preference really.