[Halifax] St. Pat's Crossing (6067 Quinpool) | ? m | 4x28 fl | U/C

[OldDartmouthMark]

Though a hospital helipad seems like the most reasonable cause for height restrictions, unlike the random restrictions placed on the entire rest of the city by the Centre Plan, ramparts requirements, etc.

[new2halifax]

Overall I like it. The way they play with the shape of the balconies on the corner tower reminds me of One 77. Also the slight rotation/displacement of the floors is well done.

Agree with the sentiment about the retail area being plain bad. I guess they are going for a mini mall with many vendors inside hence the blank wall? Still there are ways around it if that's the case.

[Drybrain]

Originally Posted by terrynorthend

Right. This is what we get because HAF gave them a bump in density, but they had to stay at 90m max because of the hospital helipad. 4x28 squished together on a small lot.
I'm all for height, but add in Parkland on the Commons and this is going to create its own tabletop clump.

It's not really the lack of height but the tower design I don't love. (I'm really not loving the recent trend locally towards sharp angles, LED accent lighting, and mish-mashes of cladding materials.)

[terrynorthend]

Oh agree 💯. I just wished they left the density as was on this plot- we would still have the original proposal then
BANC is the last developer the city should be doing favours for.

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

Though a hospital helipad seems like the most reasonable cause for height restrictions, unlike the random restrictions placed on the entire rest of the city by the Centre Plan, ramparts requirements, etc.

[AnotherNorthender]

There was an excavator on site doing soil testing this past weekend. I was speaking with the workers are they claimed foundation excavation should start in early fall.

[terrynorthend]

This one's header should be switched from (29-29-11-9) to (4x 28 floors), no?

[Dartguard]

Originally Posted by new2halifax

Overall I like it. The way they play with the shape of the balconies on the corner tower reminds me of One 77. Also the slight rotation/displacement of the floors is well done.

Agree with the sentiment about the retail area being plain bad. I guess they are going for a mini mall with many vendors inside hence the blank wall? Still there are ways around it if that's the case.

The architect of the former design is a friend of mine and he was under the distinct impression that the Quinpool Canadian Tire was to move and be the streetfront Retail anchor. At least it was in his design.

[Musicman Halifax]

Originally Posted by Dartguard

The architect of the former design is a friend of mine and he was under the distinct impression that the Quinpool Canadian Tire was to move and be the streetfront Retail anchor. At least it was in his design.

I’ve also heard the same thing from a couple employees. Saying that the stockroom above the store is actually much bigger than the store. It would have to be a massive space to fit everything in. I was told last year that the Canadian tire would be moving within 5 years. That would put it on point with the construction timeline.

[terrynorthend]

I wonder if this foreshadows a redevelopment of Quinpool Centre?

Originally Posted by Musicman Halifax

I’ve also heard the same thing from a couple employees. Saying that the stockroom above the store is actually much bigger than the store. It would have to be a massive space to fit everything in. I was told last year that the Canadian tire would be moving within 5 years. That would put it on point with the construction timeline.

[Musicman Halifax]

Originally Posted by terrynorthend

I wonder if this foreshadows a redevelopment of Quinpool Centre?

I would think so. That whole block is such a massive waste of space.

[Insigne]

Originally Posted by Musicman Halifax

I’ve also heard the same thing from a couple employees. Saying that the stockroom above the store is actually much bigger than the store. It would have to be a massive space to fit everything in. I was told last year that the Canadian tire would be moving within 5 years. That would put it on point with the construction timeline.

It does appear that the Windsor Street corner is configured for a major retailer with tractor trailer loading bays and a dedicated elevator to parking. However the GFA is not much larger than either the current Superstore or Canadian Tire (not including the Cdn Tire second floor warehousing).

I would think it would be more likely that the Superstore would relocate here. Otherwise Canadian Tire would have to forego their auto repair although not unheard of. Speculation is fun. Remember when Rona was moving into Richmond Yards?

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by Insigne

I would think it would be more likely that the Superstore would relocate here. Otherwise Canadian Tire would have to forego their auto repair although not unheard of. Speculation is fun. Remember when Rona was moving into Richmond Yards?

Both CTC and Rona outlets are very undersized for the markets they serve, which is a shame. While it is nice to not have to pack a lunch like when you go into their new and much bigger stores, I do not like having to traverse such a huge area looking for something. These smaller and usually older (though not Rona in the latter instance) are a much more comfortable scale, but of course have an inferior assortment and selection because of space limitations. I never understood Rona's thinking here; building a mega store in BLIP only to abandon it after a couple of years in favor of their phone-booth store on Almon. But in both instances it is a boon having stores like CTC and Rona available to residents of the city center.

[Dartguard]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Both CTC and Rona outlets are very undersized for the markets they serve, which is a shame. While it is nice to not have to pack a lunch like when you go into their new and much bigger stores, I do not like having to traverse such a huge area looking for something. These smaller and usually older (though not Rona in the latter instance) are a much more comfortable scale, but of course have an inferior assortment and selection because of space limitations. I never understood Rona's thinking here; building a mega store in BLIP only to abandon it after a couple of years in favor of their phone-booth store on Almon. But in both instances it is a boon having stores like CTC and Rona available to residents of the city center.

The Rona store in Bayers Lake was scouted -by helicopter- by a very rookie Montreal based manager. As soon as the big boys in Montreal looked at her scouting AND construction contracts She was fired. So the store was stressed to begin with and it was the only English language store in its "region" of 26 other Rona Stores. I used to have the service management responsibilities for that location and it was always interesting having meetings with the Store manager to see if we received all the English emails we were supposed to get.

The Rona on Almon does very well as a pickup location for internet sales as does the Home Hardware in Burnside. Big dollars going out the door.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by Dartguard

The Rona store in Bayers Lake was scouted -by helicopter- by a very rookie Montreal based manager. As soon as the big boys in Montreal looked at her scouting AND construction contracts She was fired. So the store was stressed to begin with and it was the only English language store in its "region" of 26 other Rona Stores. I used to have the service management responsibilities for that location and it was always interesting having meetings with the Store manager to see if we received all the English emails we were supposed to get.

The Rona on Almon does very well as a pickup location for internet sales as does the Home Hardware in Burnside. Big dollars going out the door.

Interesting. I had some visibility to the construction of that Rona BLIP store. The location was situated poorly within the park and was very much out of the way, so mistake #1. The actual construction required an incredible amount of blasting because the site was all rock about 6”-12” below grade that went on for months and must have been hugely expensive. The siting may have been assigned to a rookie manager but her superiors must share a big part of the blame for not questioning the choice and buying a few cheap plane tickets from Montreal to come here and see the site themselves. Would have saved them a lot of money. The company has never seemed well-managed in any event. Shutting down the Bedford store was another mystery. I loved that store. Thought it was the perfect size.

I find the mention of internet sales interesting. I have done that with the Almon St Rona store and it always worked very well. Home Hardware being mentioned shocked me however. Their website never seemed to show the Payzant stores at all, and didn’t seem to have stock availability or even pricing either, which astounded me in these times. I will have to try them again to see what’s changed. I liked in-person shopping at their Sackville store but found both the Burnside and Cole Harbour outlets really frustrating with very poor assortments and bad customer service.

[Musicman Halifax]

Originally Posted by Insigne

It does appear that the Windsor Street corner is configured for a major retailer with tractor trailer loading bays and a dedicated elevator to parking. However the GFA is not much larger than either the current Superstore or Canadian Tire (not including the Cdn Tire second floor warehousing).

I would think it would be more likely that the Superstore would relocate here. Otherwise Canadian Tire would have to forego their auto repair although not unheard of. Speculation is fun. Remember when Rona was moving into Richmond Yards?

I never heard Rona moving to Richmond yards, however I did hear at one point shoppers was going to move in. I don’t know if the restrictive height covenant extent to the shoppers lot but that may have something to do with that idea being quashed.

[terrynorthend]

What is the covenant? I see Shoppers lot on Almon is Cen-2 with a FAR of 10.

Originally Posted by Musicman Halifax

I never heard Rona moving to Richmond yards, however I did hear at one point shoppers was going to move in. I don’t know if the restrictive height covenant extent to the shoppers lot but that may have something to do with that idea being quashed.

[Dartguard]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

I find the mention of internet sales interesting. I have done that with the Almon St Rona store and it always worked very well. Home Hardware being mentioned shocked me however. Their website never seemed to show the Payzant stores at all, and didn’t seem to have stock availability or even pricing either, which astounded me in these times. I will have to try them again to see what’s changed. I liked in-person shopping at their Sackville store but found both the Burnside and Cole Harbour outlets really frustrating with very poor assortments and bad customer service.

Home Hardware can and does pivot to local customer needs quicker than National chains as the guy that can make things happen is usually standing in front of you. Burnside does huge business as employee's in the Park will pick things up there mid day as opposed to going to their local store. HH has 1200 all Canadian Family owned stores that have become in most locations the General store. NONE are alike in assortment, layout or business practice.
The three stores you mentioned are all owned by the Payzant Family and they do know their business but people are people.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by Dartguard

Home Hardware can and does pivot to local customer needs quicker than National chains as the guy that can make things happen is usually standing in front of you. Burnside does huge business as employee's in the Park will pick things up there mid day as opposed to going to their local store. HH has 1200 all Canadian Family owned stores that have become in most locations the General store. NONE are alike in assortment, layout or business practice.
The three stores you mentioned are all owned by the Payzant Family and they do know their business but people are people.

As a brand and sometimes as a national chain, I also like HH very much and would prefer to support them over the orange box or the NB green box. But man alive, they make it hard. Having their only local store of any size in Sackville is strike one as that is a long haul for me to get to. The Burnside or Cole Harbour ones are closer, but Burnside is more of a lumberyard than a retail outlet - they have a limited selection in the store itself and finding things is a real challenge assuming they even have it - and CH is a real mystery. They did a nice reno there a few years back when they moved in, but I cannot find anything on the shelves much of the time and staff know nothing. You get directed to their order desk at the back of the store who then generally tell you to go see so-and-so somewhere else who might know, only for that person to be not there or — chit-chatting with someone. I have never been in a more frustrating retailer where I had to invest so much time and energy trying to just buy something. I still need to try online buying with them but I do not have high expectations. After dealing with all three of the firms mentioned in this post, by far the easiest, least expensive and best service came from HD.

Semi on-topic, last year I tried them as a buy/install supplier during a major reno, and while they guy who came to measure and prepare the quote was quite personable, the quote was ridiculously high and subsequent research into the quality of their subcontracted work was the clincher, as people had few good things to say about them.

[Musicman Halifax]

Originally Posted by terrynorthend

What is the covenant? I see Shoppers lot on Almon is Cen-2 with a FAR of 10.

I never looked at the map before but there are very restrictive covenants (restrictions on what can be built on a site such as height, type of store ect). Across from CTV that has severe height limits due to the need for them to use their satellite dishes. It affects all the land across the street with the exception of the shoppers land (now that I looked at it) and the young tower property and anything behind it. Now I know that the dishes are not used to the extent they were in the past, however they are still in use occasionally.

[IanWatson]

Originally Posted by Musicman Halifax

I never looked at the map before but there are very restrictive covenants (restrictions on what can be built on a site such as height, type of store ect). Across from CTV that has severe height limits due to the need for them to use their satellite dishes. It affects all the land across the street with the exception of the shoppers land (now that I looked at it) and the young tower property and anything behind it. Now I know that the dishes are not used to the extent they were in the past, however they are still in use occasionally.

Pretty much all that land is owned by the Bragg group, so if they ever want to develop presumably they can remove the covenants. I.e. they are self-imposed restrictions.