Committee fears wind-tunnel effect
City to examine $18m downtown project today
By CHRIS LAMBIE Business Editor
Tue. Mar 9 - 4:53 AM
A five-storey addition proposed for City Centre Atlantic could create a wind tunnel and looks like "a blank wall" from Spring Garden Road, says the head of a committee that looked at the project.
"Both of those were kind of the major concerns from the committee members as to why we recommended rejecting the proposal," Heather Ternoway, with the downtown Halifax planning advisory committee, said Monday.
Today, Halifax regional council will examine the $18-million project, proposed by Dexel Developments Ltd. of Halifax. The addition, designed to house nearly 100 apartments, is slated to be built over Pete’s Frootique on Dresden Row.
The project could increase wind for pedestrians on Brenton Place and Birmingham Street, Ternoway said.
"But I think the big concern is the public space in between the proposed addition and the Heritage Way condominiums that’s there," she said.
The condominiums are part of City Centre Atlantic, fronting on Artillery Place, said Ternoway, a planner with Dalhousie University’s cities and environment unit. The condos lie to the north of where the apartments would be built.
"The proposed addition would leave some space at the current roof level of City Centre Atlantic and then put the addition on, so there’s this little tunnel of public space that would probably have pretty windy conditions," she said.
In a report to council, her committee complained about the "non-independence of the wind impact statement" that project architect Michael Napier prepared.
"The wind study was not complete," Ternoway said. "They never did a wind tunnel test on this building to look on the effects on the street or on the adjacent building or the public space between that building and Heritage Way."
Napier doubts the 18-metre-wide space between the proposed addition and the condominiums will be affected drastically by addition wind.
"I don’t think it’s going to make it any windier," he said Monday. "But to cover our bases . . . the developer is actually getting another opinion, so that (concern about impartiality) will disappear, I think."
City Centre Atlantic is controlled by Pyxis Real Estate Equities Inc. of Toronto, but the planned apartment complex would be owned by Dexel, which designed and plans to build the addition.
The planning advisory committee was critical of the addition’s south-facing facade.
"It just wouldn’t do anything, that’s the problem," Ternoway said. "Having a wall with absolutely no windows or openings or balconies doesn’t increase any liveliness on the street or any people that are going to be inhabiting that building having a view of the street."
Her committee’s report notes balconies and some glass has been added to the design, but there’s "still a significant portion of blank wall."
Spring Garden Road is "such an important street in the city, it really seems like a missed opportunity," Ternoway said.
"It’s not right at street level, but you would still see basically a blank wall if you were walking down Spring Garden Road looking across (and up) at the building."
Napier said the wall is blank because it’s on the property line.
"Someone could build up against there and cover the whole thing up anyway," he said.
But "compared to what we started with when it was much blanker, most people wouldn’t, I don’t think, consider it a blank wall," Napier said.
The proposed project faces Spring Garden Road, but it is set back about 20 metres from the street, he said.
"If you were walking on the north side of Spring Garden, you wouldn’t even be able to see the building," Napier said. "You’d have a hard enough time on the south side of Spring Garden seeing it."
City staffers are recommending council approve the development agreement for the project.
"If they want to consider adopting the proposal, they need to schedule a public hearing," said Richard Harvey, a senior municipal planner.
A public hearing could be held at the end of this month, he said.
"That’s what’s anticipated," Harvey said.
(
clambie@herald.ca)