[Dartmouth] Seagate Residences | 56, 54, 21 m | 15, 14, 7 fl | Proposed
 

There has been a fair amount of talk about these lands over the past few weeks and now finally an article with real information about what will be happening. Sounds great to me! And the information meeting for this is Monday the 15th at 7pm in the auditorium at DHS.

Highrises planned in Starr area


By CHRIS LAMBIE Business Editor

A three-building residential de velopment proposed for down town Dartmouth that’s estimated to cost as much as $60 million is about to get a public airing.

Darrell Dixon’s plan includes building a seven-storey complex on Ochterloney Street, beside the former Greenvale School, which

Dexel Developments is tur ning into a complex of 36 loft-style apartments.

Dixon, who didn’t return calls Friday, also wants to build a 14-storey tower on the corner of Queen and Pine streets, and a 22-storey building on a vacant lot behind the former school off the Pine Street Extension.

“We want to get as many people living downtown as we can," said Coun. Gloria McCluskey (Dartmouth Centre).

A public information meeting on the project is slated for 7 p.m. Monday at Dartmouth High School.

Sobeys Land Holdings Ltd . owns the chunks of property where Dixon plans to erect the seven storey and 22-storey buildings.

“They were going to put a gro cery store there," McCluskey said. “They only did it because they thought that Atlantic Super sto re

was going to buy part of the Starr Manufacturing property. And, of course, (the city is) not selling the Starr property, so So beys dropped it."

A numbered Nova Scotia com pany headed by Dixon owns the other nearby property where he wants to build.

“This developer has the Sobeys land under agreement, so he has a purchase-and-sale agreement with them," said Mitch Dickey, a city planner.

Under the current zoning, Dix on could now construct a 24-unit building on each of the four lots. The buildings could be as tall as 21 metres.

But Dixon, a construction man ager who does work for Shannex,

wants to create about 300 units, Dickey said.

The developer hasn’t told the planner whether they’ll be apart ments or condominiums. “That’s something he’ll let the market de­cide," Dickey said.

Dixon is asking the city for an amendment to the municipal planning strategy that would al low the three buildings he’s pro posed.

“What guides us on that is com munity feedback," Dickey said.

A lot of low-rise buildings have gone up in downtown Dartmouth over the past decade, he said.

“Generally the feedback is not good on how they look or what their quality is like," Dickey said. Locals who have already com mented on Dixon’s plan want to make sure the project is attrac tive and of good quality, he said.

“He’s proposing very modern buildings. The renderings are at tractive," Dickey said.

“He’s proposing a more tradi tional design for the Ochterloney Street building — something that would complement Greenvale School with a brick finish on it. And then the other two buildings would be more modern and con temporary."

The downtown plan calls for pe destrian- friendly streets. It aims to ensure new development brings people off the sidewalk right into a business, Dickey said. The plan wants to promote “lively streetscapes . . . with a va riety of architecture," he said.

“At the sidewalk level, build ings should really not exceed three storeys in height. They would have to step back for any level above the third floor, and that’s what (Dixon’s) showing for this proposal."

The city will likely require him to have commercial space in the largest building, which abuts the former Starr Manufacturing site. Besides the former skate facto ry, levelled a decade ago, the site also borders the Shubenacadie Canal.

As part of his proposal, Dixon is offering to fund improvements to the public space called the Canal Greenway, which runs down Prince Albert Road from Sulli vans Pond to Halifax Harbour.

(clambie@herald.ca)

Wow what a boom that would be for the downtown area with Kings wharf already starting and this one that may start. If all goes well i could see downtown Dartmouth having more highrises then the Halifax downtown. I hope too see more projects coming into the Dartmouth side anyways seeing Halifax is just a reject. Lett herrrr flyyyy!

Probaly best to rename this thread since that part of Pine Street is being renamed Irishtown Road fairly soon. ZET

That's silly and makes no sense what so ever.

Fairly soon in the case means tomorrow ...

http://www.halifax.ca/planning/docum...ctSheetPIM.pdf

Hey Chris, I'm not making this stuff up. It was originally reported by Bedford DJ. Sounds better than Pine St extension. ZET

That is true. I forgot about the rename. Can a moderator change the name please.

I never said you were. And I don't know one Dartmouth resident who ever refers to this two block section of road as Pine Street Extension - that may be its name on paper, but in normal use it's just Pine Street - which sounds a hell of a lot better than Irishtown Road.

:koko:

People in that area would know the difference. With the name change it might not make it so hard to get a pizza delivered correctly. Irishtown Road, sounded a bit odd to me at first, but when i read up on the Irish history in that area (particularly the whiskey distillery) it seems to fit.
http://www.halifaxnewsnet.ca/index.c...=317955&sc=608

Of course they know the difference. My point was that nobody actually calls that Pine Street extension - it's just Pine Street. The street signs never said Pine Street extension, they all said Pine Street.

Did anyone go to the public open house for this proposal tonight?

Just seen it on the news tonight..a lot of people were concerned about the height of the 22 story building. Of cross they probably only interviewed the people against it.

I attended, most people supported the nine stories for Ochterloney, and so-so for the 14 story bldg., but only one person supported 23 stories.
For me 23 stories butting up against the canal greenway (it will take the whole footprint) is not a good fit. There is a spot on Devonshire, 1/2 block away (accross from my front door), where 23 stories could fit in. The other issue is that it was described as a slender bldg. , but it is not. The Kings Wharf Tower is a slender bldg. Something like that could mabey fit in that spot. I also feel bad for greenvale, since it will be surrounded by height.
It was a meeting to look at a variance, so he may come back with plan B. JET

I was also there and the whole development is being referred to as The Seagate Residence. It's quite an ambitious plan. And I too think the 23 stories is pushing it a little. But I have a feeling the developer is presenting his biggest plan now full well knowing that he will build something smaller. But that is just speculation on my part.

I do like the look of the buildings. Nice glass curtain wall and full of balconies. No dead walls. And the plan for the Canal Greenway looks amazing as well.

I have a hard time imagining a 23 storey building in Dartmouth. There are no comparable heights on that side of the harbour to get a scale for the project.

That being said if it is of high quality and has setbacks then the buildings might look great in the background of Dartmouth's ever expanding skyline.

I guess two questions I have for whoever attended the meeting is will most of the lots be covered by a base for the taller buildings? and if I'm not mistaken these lots are at a bottom of a steep hill so how much of the taller building would be hidden from the local streets/waterfront?

There is Queen Square which is a 18 story office building. Since office buildings have higher storey heights (usually about 13-15 feet per story for an office building versus about 10 feet per storey for an apartment building) this would be equivalent to about a 24 storey apartment building.

I just hope that new developments in Dartmouth will be built a bit more aesthetically pleasing than the Queen Square.

It looked like the nine story building would cover most of the lot on Ochterloney (not such a great thing, if true), the 23 story building would have a base that would cover the entire lot of the old bowling alley, with maybe shops on the main floor facing the canal grreenway. The builing looked fairly wide east-to-west. The laundromat/parking lot (14 story building looked to fill the entire lot. Some one mentioned mentioned that the top of the tall builing was the same height as the top of brightwood. The main floor of the tall bulding is probably the same level as the surface at the kings wharf lands, and some ppalces would have a good view of it; if it doesn't get reduced in height. My main cocern was the crowding on Greenvale; a bit tight and looming. JET

Agreed, Greenvale would be squished... that's a huge shame, I'm seriously considering this building...

As jonovision mentioned, the pictures for the three buildings were only preliminary. He probably shot for big expecting they would need to be pared down. Greenvale and the canal area are a primary focus of any proposals being considered. I noted that some of the lofts at greenvale will have patios on the east side facing Cobb park. JET

is there any photos or visualations..? how this project will look like :)