This is an old article from January, 2010
Quote:
Originally Posted by sdm
Armour project proving 'very difficult'
By ROGER TAYLOR Business Editor
Wed. Jan 6, 2010 - 4:46 AM
ARMOUR CONSTRUCTION has started working on the controversial Waterside Centre development in downtown Halifax, but it will be a while longer before actual construction begins.
The project calls for the facades of six historic buildings on a block bounded by Hollis, Duke and Upper Water streets to be maintained while a new nine-storey metal and glass structure is built on the inside.
"Technically this is a very, very difficult project," says veteran Halifax developer Ben McCrea, chairman of Armour Group.
"Part of what makes it so difficult is trying to put a level of underground parking underneath of it all.
"We’ve got water problems, then we’ve got soil problems and we’ve got (wooden) piles."
McCrea said trying to deal with all those issues makes it even more difficult to contend with retaining the facades of all those buildings.
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The windows in the buildings are currently boarded over in an effort to prohibit vandalism.
"I can’t afford to have a fire down there. Somebody would accuse me of lighting my pipe," he joked.
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McCrea said he cannot afford to hold off on construction until 2011. It would be nice to have some of the building pre-leased but he doesn’t have the luxury of sitting on the buildings until market conditions improve.
"We have an obligation . . . to get along with this sooner rather than later."
Construction will likely begin in the second half of this year.
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Some of the delay in this project might be because of the complexity as indicated in this January 2010 article. It sounds to me as though Ben McCrea really is doing all he can to save these buildings.
The more that I read about Ben McCrea the more admiration that I have for all that he has done for heritage preservation in Halifax.