[OldDartmouthMark]

Understood. But this is the Barrington Street Heritage Conservation District, and the original Zellers building, of which only the cladding remains, was one of the more identifiable landmarks of that district. The original cladding is part of the heritage of that street, and many (including myself) feel that the contrast of a new gleaming tower and the remains of the original building materials is a character-adding feature, and not a negative.

And honestly I don't think we want a repeat of the Roy Building. In that case, trying to mimic originality with new, similar materials, but without the benefit of craftsmanship of the early twentieth century ended in a less desirable result, where the re-imagined new brick facade is much less attractive than the original that it replaced. An architectural failure in my opinion. Not to mention that there was nothing even close to "heritage conservation" involved, other than the name of the building.

If you want to see completely new, gleaming structures you only have to go a street or two up or down to see them, so I don't see an issue with trying to maintain the heritage elements of one prominent street in the downtown.