Quote:
Originally Posted by Siriusb
👍 that's for sure!! Wait until the population grows even more and with students that can't find a place to stay, we'll see more taller buildings in the area of UPEI and beyond.
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PEI should be a tantalizing opportunity for high rise developers. I wax poetic enough about the opportunity for high rise development in Saint John, because of the ocean views... but PEI has an even bigger opportunity for ocean views by building up.
The comment about maybe Charlottetown needing to build a second downtown where high rises are allowed reminded me of something...
La Défence, Paris's "second downtown" as seen from the Eiffel Tower.
...When my neighbour here in Saint John informed me a few years back about strict height restrictions here in SJ, Paris immediately came to mind, which i mentioned and we both agreed it was ridiculous that our city enforces height limits, as if to protect the skyline like it we were Paris trying to preserve people's view of the Eiffel tower. Yet, Saint John still doesn't have a single building taller than its highest church steeple. Tall smokestacks? No problem... but a taller building? Uptown NIMBYs and heritage conservationists will fight it.
I don't think Saint John is quite as well set up for a second downtown like Charlottetown is, but I still think we have amazing opportunities all around the more coastal parts of the city to put up high rises with ocean views... oceanfront views are supposed to = $$$ in real estate, yet other than Uptown, basically all of Saint John's high rises are built away from the ocean. Building some 10-15 storey apartment towers or condos on the West Side could create hundreds, if not thousands, of new, ocean view housing units. There's many people on the West Side who live near the ocean, but not many people actually have views of the ocean from their homes. Even 6 storeys is enough to unlock some pretty spectacular ocean views in many of Saint John's costal neighbourhoods.
I assume this the same case, or much more so for Charlottetown or basically anywhere in PEI for that matter. Unlike Saint John and New Brunswick, Charlottetown and PEI have a much more positive and well known reputation for the scenery and coastal environment that makes Charlottetown such an attractive and world famous tourist destination. I think PEI should have even easier time than NB getting developers from outside the province to come and build build 10-20+ storey builds that unlock thousands of new homes with coastal views.
I think living in a high rise condo or apartment anywhere on PEI would be amazing. If the city of Charlottetown is too full of NIMBYs that oppose taller developments in the core of the city, maybe the best bet is to focus on developments outside the city... they will come around eventually.
Would Charlottetown's NIMBY's even oppose buildings like this?
I posted this collection of early "skyscrapers" in the Saint John thread regarding a similar discussion that was brought in response to a proposal for a 30 storey tower Portland, ME. Since Saint John has our own fair share of NIMBYs, heritage conservationists, and small time landlords that will oppose large high rise projects in the Uptown Core, perhaps the projects need to be undeniably aesthetically pleasing to make their arguments seem illogical, or even get them to come around and embrace some taller buildings... if they are simple, elegant, or even beautiful.
I haven't been to Charlottetown for more than a decade now, but I remember it was my favourite city between Saint John, Fredericton, Moncton, and Charlottetown, the cities that I visited when i came to the maritimes for a month to visit with my grandparents back in 2008. I remember Charlottetown reminded me a lot of Saint John, especially in the city centre, except it was much tidier, and felt like more of a tourist destination. I really have to go back sometime. I've since been to Halifax and even Sydney, so I've seen all the maritime's "main" cities...and even though it was so long ago... I still think Charlottetown had the best "vibe" of any city in the Maritimes that I've visited.
Here's hoping some of you here on SSP can be part of Charlottetown, and PEI in general, get over its "height aversion"
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