Development Rumours

[Hadrian Laing]

Hi All, sorry for the radio silence! I'm going to be jumping on a little more modeling practice after falling off the horse a year back.

Anyone have a finger on the pulse of potential Killam Development on at 5880 Spring Garden Road or any updates on Dexel's Spring Garden West?

[Empire]

Originally Posted by Saul Goode

I think BIO is not a good location for an aquarium. It's really only accessible by car and, for the vast majority of its potential users, quite out of the way. The Halifax waterfront is far and away the best location.

And who says BIO would want it there anyway?

Where would you put it? Perhaps current property owners on the waterfront wouldn't want it there occupying prime real estate?

[IanWatson]

Originally Posted by Empire

Where would you put it? Perhaps current property owners on the waterfront wouldn't want it there occupying prime real estate?

Cunard Centre?

[Arrdeeharharharbour]

Mill Cove? It might make that fast ferry location less of a failure.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by Arrdeeharharharbour

Mill Cove? It might make that fast ferry location less of a failure.

I was thinking that as well, as a transit hub it would be accessible to people without cars.

For the Halifax waterfront, perhaps one of the yet undeveloped surface parking lots, like around the Waterfront Warehouse, or perhaps included in the arts complex?

I'd also have no problem with getting rid of the casino and building one there. The casino does nothing for the waterfront IMHO.

[Empire]

New landfill area adjacent Africville Park?


Ref: google maps - Africville Park - landfill site [Suggested Aquarium location]

https://www.google.com/maps/@44.6749851,...uqgcAqzA4yeiawjVe3sxQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

https://www.google.com/maps/@44.6726164,-63.6197286,785m/data=!3m1!1e3

[someone123]

Originally Posted by Hadrian Laing

Hi All, sorry for the radio silence! I'm going to be jumping on a little more modeling practice after falling off the horse a year back.

Anyone have a finger on the pulse of potential Killam Development on at 5880 Spring Garden Road or any updates on Dexel's Spring Garden West?

Did 5880 SGR become https://marcogroup.ca/projects/aurora-and-eventide/?

Spring Garden West has changed considerably from the first renderings. The most recent plans I know of are here: https://www.halifax.ca/business/planning...spring-garden-road-robie-carlton-streets

Elevations: https://cdn.halifax.ca/sites/default/fil...ications/20218%20Building%20Drawings.pdf

I find the heights are usually a bit confusing. It references a "90 m" maximum height but then if you look at the drawings the line for that appears to be below the top floor and then there's more above that. It's not the roof height. Sometimes you see things like "X storeys plus penthouse" and they don't just mean mechanical.

[bartekci]

Originally Posted by Empire

New landfill area adjacent Africville Park?


Ref: google maps - Africville Park - landfill site [Suggested Aquarium location]

https://www.google.com/maps/@44.6749851,...uqgcAqzA4yeiawjVe3sxQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

https://www.google.com/maps/@44.6726164,-63.6197286,785m/data=!3m1!1e3

Looks like possibly a boardwalk/park. At the least, community-focused.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/infilled-land-africville-park-1.5925712

[Empire]

Originally Posted by fatscat

Looks like possibly a boardwalk/park. At the least, community-focused.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/infilled-land-africville-park-1.5925712

Great location for an aquarium....

[Keith P.]

Aquariums are now considered politically incorrect. Excessive cruelty, rights of the sea creatures being violated, etc. HRM the Good would never allow such a travesty to occur here.

[Drybrain]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Aquariums are now considered politically incorrect. Excessive cruelty, rights of the sea creatures being violated, etc. HRM the Good would never allow such a travesty to occur here.

I think you're thinking of something like Marineland or Seaworld, which indeed have very sketchy reputations nowadays, given that they keep intelligent marine mammals like dolphins and whales--which range over thousands of kilometres in the open ocean--in unnatural captivity to perform shows for audiences.

I think the aquariums we're talking about here (or at least what I'm talking about) is more like the New England Aquarium or Monterey Bay.

[someone123]

I went to the Seattle aquarium not long ago and thought it was great. Vancouver has a nice one too. The Seattle aquarium is built over a wharf and draws in sea water which they can use fairly directly for their local species which make up most of the exhibits. It is mostly about showcasing the marine ecosystems of the area, and a similar aquarium in Halifax would be unique. These places have fewer and fewer large marine mammals over time and the ones they do have are rescues that generally would die in the wild.

I think this is one of those no-brainers which Halifax should have, though there is only so much bandwidth for these things and the AGNS is probably soaking up donations right now. Downtown is the logical place for it, since that is where the attendance would be highest and where it would contribute to a critical mass of attractions. I think it's unusual how strong the impetus is there to put regional amenities in random places (Bedford, Bayers Lake, Dartmouth, etc.) and that approach doesn't work very well in a smaller city. I don't really see the same push in other metro areas (we must put one museum in Vancouver, one in Burnaby, one in Surrey, etc.), even much larger ones. I wonder if it is partly just a maturity or acceptance thing in NS to realize that it makes sense to concentrate amenities somewhere rather than trying to dole them out geographically.

[Empire]

Originally Posted by someone123

I went to the Seattle aquarium not long ago and thought it was great. Vancouver has a nice one too. The Seattle aquarium is built over a wharf and draws in sea water which they can use fairly directly for their local species which make up most of the exhibits. It is mostly about showcasing the marine ecosystems of the area, and a similar aquarium in Halifax would be unique. These places have fewer and fewer large marine mammals over time and the ones they do have are rescues that generally would die in the wild.

I think this is one of those no-brainers which Halifax should have, though there is only so much bandwidth for these things and the AGNS is probably soaking up donations right now. Downtown is the logical place for it, since that is where the attendance would be highest and where it would contribute to a critical mass of attractions. I think it's unusual how strong the impetus is there to put regional amenities in random places (Bedford, Bayers Lake, Dartmouth, etc.) and that approach doesn't work very well in a smaller city. I don't really see the same push in other metro areas (we must put one museum in Vancouver, one in Burnaby, one in Surrey, etc.), even much larger ones. I wonder if it is partly just a maturity or acceptance thing in NS to realize that it makes sense to concentrate amenities somewhere rather than trying to dole them out geographically.

My original suggestion to locate at BIO is to de-Disney the endeavor. I don't think it has to be a major tourist attraction on the waterfront. It could possibly be on the waterfront at BIO and concentrate on research, school groups, local enthusiasts and tourists that appreciate marine life and the connection we have with the ocean. Bring in some Fed $$ as they are the last to recognize the new wave occurring here.

[Arrdeeharharharbour]

It's not like you have to pack a lunch to make your way to any one location on the harbour/basin vs. another. PARKING parking PARKING parking or excellent public transportation, which remains a pipedream in this city, would be make or break. Placing it near a ferry route would seem to make sense. As was suggested before, the casino site would be good. It's both ferry adjacent and has an existing parkade.

[Hadrian Laing]

Originally Posted by someone123

Did 5880 SGR become https://marcogroup.ca/projects/aurora-and-eventide/?

Spring Garden West has changed considerably from the first renderings. The most recent plans I know of are here: https://www.halifax.ca/business/planning...spring-garden-road-robie-carlton-streets

Elevations: https://cdn.halifax.ca/sites/default/fil...ications/20218%20Building%20Drawings.pdf

I find the heights are usually a bit confusing. It references a "90 m" maximum height but then if you look at the drawings the line for that appears to be below the top floor and then there's more above that. It's not the roof height. Sometimes you see things like "X storeys plus penthouse" and they don't just mean mechanical.

Thanks Someone! really appreciate that. I think I have those in the model properly now, but I'm looking to see if anyone knows about the other side of Spring Garden and Carleton. The short brick building that Centruy Computer is in. I think something is being planned there (whispers and hearsay only right now).

[someone123]

Originally Posted by Hadrian Laing

The short brick building that Centruy Computer is in. I think something is being planned there (whispers and hearsay only right now).

I have heard something is planned there for years but I don't think I've ever seen anything concrete.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by Empire

My original suggestion to locate at BIO is to de-Disney the endeavor. I don't think it has to be a major tourist attraction on the waterfront. It could possibly be on the waterfront at BIO and concentrate on research, school groups, local enthusiasts and tourists that appreciate marine life and the connection we have with the ocean. Bring in some Fed $$ as they are the last to recognize the new wave occurring here.

I like the concept, but IMHO for the money it would take to run a world-class aquarium focusing on local sea life, you would want it to be a major tourist attraction, and located in a prominent location if possible. Having in in Bedford or wherever would be option B (IMHO) but I agree that it would be OK if supported by great transit, or at least make it easy for people to go there (i.e. parking, and good advertisement).

The reason I balked at BIO is that I think opening part of a research facility up to the public could distract from the important work being done there. I worked in a (non-government) research facility for many years and can give my opinion that if there had been public tours going through there all the time, it would most likely have compromised the work that was being done.

[bartekci]

Three houses off of Joe Howe (between Scott and Bayers) have been fenced off and look like they are being prepared for demolition. Not a large lot like the other developments so I'm going to guess this is potentially a small cluster of town homes or duplexes going up?

[kph06]

Originally Posted by fatscat

Three houses off of Joe Howe (between Scott and Bayers) have been fenced off and look like they are being prepared for demolition. Not a large lot like the other developments so I'm going to guess this is potentially a small cluster of town homes or duplexes going up?

I noticed that too, I assumed it was land banking for now.

[eastcoastal]

I read in AllNS today that there are rumours that Winners is in talks to open a new store in Scotia Square, with exterior signage and a dedicated entrance on Duke St.