Ex-Herald site chosen for convention centre
Rank Group’s property in downtown Halifax selected over Cogswell bid
By CLARE MELLOR Business Reporter
Wed. Feb 4 - 4:46 AM
The former Halifax Herald site in downtown Halifax. (Eric Wynne / Staff)
The former Halifax Herald site on Argyle Street has been chosen as the location for a new downtown Halifax convention centre.
A selection committee from the province and the Halifax Regional Municipality announced Tuesday they have chosen the Rank Group, which proposed the Herald site, over another candidate, The Hardman Group, which had proposed the Cogswell Interchange as the site for the new convention centre.
"We are very happy to qualify and move to the next step," said Joe Ramia, one of the principals of the Rank Group, a group of investors led by the Ramia family. The Herald site is owned by Mr. Ramia’s Argyle Developments.
"We hope that it would make an improvement (to the) downtown for sure, especially in the heart of downtown," said Mr. Ramia, who said the selection committee informed him about the choice Tuesday morning.
A panel of provincial and municipal appointees narrowed the short list to two firms this fall from the original six firms who responded to a call last spring for a new convention centre.
Since then, HRM determined that the Cogswell Street site, proposed by the Hardman Group, would "not be made available for a convention centre, based on the principles outlined in HRM by Design," said a release issued Tuesday by Premier Rodney MacDonald’s office.
However, the Hardman Group called Tuesday’s decision premature and that it should have been given a better opportunity to argue its case. It has posted the proposal for the Cogswell Interchange site on a website (
www.reclaimtheinterchange) and is inviting the public to weigh in on the subject.
"The next step was to invite the finalists to submit a proposal explaining in more detail how their project would work, how it would fit financial models. . . . What they are saying, basically, is that even though we qualified, they are not going to enable us to go to that step because they don’t want to consider the Cogswell Interchange lands as an available site," said executive vice-president Colin Whitcomb.
"We don’t really know why," he said.
The province and the city would benefit from an open and competitive request for proposals for the new convention centre, Mr. Whitcomb said.
Right now, it is not known if or when the convention centre will be a reality.
The next step is for the province and Halifax Regional Municipality to work on a detailed project plan for the convention centre with cost estimates and financing options.
"Our existing convention centre has served us well over the years, resulting in millions of dollars annually in direct and indirect economic impacts for the community," Halifax Mayor Peter Kelly said Tuesday in a release.
"HRM is interested in examining in more detail ways in which a larger facility could contribute to the continued growth of our economy, while contributing to our community’s reputation as leaders in . . . hosting of world-class events."
While Rank has submitted a preliminary proposal for the convention centre, Mr. Ramia said it will work with government to determine exact requirements for the new centre.
"We are the only ones who have qualified, so now the process becomes do they want to do it and how do we do it?""
He could not reveal a timeline for the project.
"That’s a decision that the city and the province will have to make. We are totally dependent on how quickly they are able and want to move."
The convention centre is just one part of Rank’s proposal for the Herald site.
"This will be a multi-use development, which could have a hotel, residential, retail, offices. It is not just a convention centre. It is a major project. The convention centre is just part of that proposal," Mr. Ramia said.
Argyle Developments bought the Herald property in 2007 from the estate of the late cable TV mogul Charles Keating. It was listed for $15 million. In 2002, Mr. Keating bought the property from the Dennis family, which owns The Halifax Herald Ltd.
(
cmellor@herald.ca)
’This will be a multi-use development, which could have a hotel, residential, retail, offices. It is not just a convention centre. It is a major project.’
joe ramiaRank Group