General Updates and News

[Dmajackson]

Originally Posted by Arrdeeharharharbour

Picture taken Oct 7/24.


20241007_121823 by A.J. Forsythe, on Flickr

According to AllNovaScotia the former Future Inn on Highfield Park Drive was purchased by the province this summer for unspecified reasons.

There is still a 20-storey building planned for the lot next door so there is still hope for the high density zoning to be put to use along this stretch.

[kph06]

Originally Posted by kph06

Driving by the Fares project behind the Credit Union building on Lady Hammond, I see they have renderings up and a name. I think it’s called Beacondsfield, but that was from a quick glance. Seemed like decent infill, similar to the Joe Howe and Bayers building, not a landmark, but not bad.

I think the crane is going up here today.

[beyeas]

not sure if there is a thread for this, but it looks like a crane base went in this week for the project at the southwest corner of Robie & Jubilee. Only got to glance quickly as I drove by from the hospital last night, but it looked like a crane base poking out.

[Dmajackson]

^1690 ROBIE STREET does have a crane base installed and a few footings poured. This is impressive since the houses were still standing only a couple of months ago. It's 10 floors like a lot of Robie Street projects. This is due to the corridor zone which allows for mid-rises which top out at 10 floors in the Centre Plan.

Three blocks north at #1816 I noticed J2K has some forming underway as well.

[someone123]

Robie seems like a mixed bag. It makes perfect sense as a corridor but there are some nice houses too that ought to be preserved and there doesn't seem to be much of a system in place to do that. Some of the nicest ones a bit farther south do have heritage status but if they end up being all that's left it'll be a big loss.

There should be some full streetscapes preserved, like Coburg to University, which currently has 16 heritage houses uninterrupted in a row. That wouldn't mean no development, it could be additions in behind or thoughtful adaptive reuse. That is part of the benefit of allowing taller projects like Spring Garden West; not everything needs to be redone into towers.

The demos along Coburg Rd are rough. It is almost like they strategically picked character homes to demolish to make the city as much uglier as they could. Young Ave was horrible too.

[Jonovision]

Originally Posted by Dmajackson

^1690 ROBIE STREET does have a crane base installed and a few footings poured. This is impressive since the houses were still standing only a couple of months ago. It's 10 floors like a lot of Robie Street projects. This is due to the corridor zone which allows for mid-rises which top out at 10 floors in the Centre Plan.

Three blocks north at #1816 I noticed J2K has some forming underway as well.

Found some renderings for this one. It is designed by Studio MNA which was formerly Michael Napier Architects.

https://www.studiomna.ca/portfolio/robie-st.-apartments-

[Jonovision]

Also found this rendering from Studio MNA labeled as Barrington St.
The only project that I can think of that would match is the one going up next to Spice.

https://www.studiomna.ca/portfolio/ocean-gate-

[worldlyhaligonian]

Also from that site, the best rendering we've seen of the Windsor/Cunard/Chebucto lot.

Building looks better than expected, especially the interface with the sidewalk.

https://www.studiomna.ca/portfolio/chebucto-





More on that page.

[someone123]

These projects aren't awful but I wish the King's Wharf type detailing were a bit more common. Even just somewhat more detailed brick or some 3 storey wooden facades with a bit of character detailing that somehow relates to local architecture.

That being said, I think infill will improve areas like this that were sort of borderline before as far as walkability and services go, plus of course the housing provides places for people to live. It seems the "urban" part of the peninsula is quickly expanding these days.

[someone123]

Does anyone have any updates on the Grafton lot by Maxwell's Plum? Is it in some developer's queue?

[mleblanc]

Originally Posted by someone123

Does anyone have any updates on the Grafton lot by Maxwell's Plum? Is it in some developer's queue?

Dexel still lists it as an upcoming project on their site, but no news yet. I assume Spring Garden West will take most of their resources next, so this one is a ways out yet.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by mleblanc

Dexel still lists it as an upcoming project on their site, but no news yet. I assume Spring Garden West will take most of their resources next, so this one is a ways out yet.

Thanks. I was a bit confused about that since Google Maps puts 1585 on the other side of the street and the odd street numbers are there, but that must be it.

I feel like that area could go either way. Some nice renos of a few historic buildings around there like on Blowers St and the Tramway Building along with something good on the Grafton lot would do wonders. Dexel has been pretty successful with previous projects so that makes me optimistic.

I wonder if the small holes around there will ever fill in, like the lot by the Wooden Monkey. It seems the most common outcome is either for gaps to stick around or for some larger land assembly to happen. The best outcome for downtown is to preserve those finer-grained areas at this point.

[Arrdeeharharharbour]

I took note of the small lot next to the Wooden Monkey just last week on a walk-by. I stopped to look for a bit; sad to see its current condition. It's such a perfect sheltered spot with it being closed-in on three sides. With a little imagination and know how, that lot could be a calling card for the restaurant. In its current state of broken up uneven pavement, a parked vw, garbage bins, stained and dirty and the broken down page wire gate that saw its best years many years ago makes one just want to keep on walking. It could easily be a three season quasi outdoor dining area done-up in historic fashion.

[someone123]

It is a bit odd. You would think that the property taxes would be significant. In BC I believe it is often highest and best use, so an empty lot downtown is charged as though it were sensibly developed. I think that is appropriate for high value properties.

In Vancouver it's also not a guarantee the city would allow a curb cut or parking use, although I think just about everywhere did in past decades and these would be grandfathered in.

[worldlyhaligonian]

Originally Posted by mleblanc

Dexel still lists it as an upcoming project on their site, but no news yet. I assume Spring Garden West will take most of their resources next, so this one is a ways out yet.

Glad to hear they are prioritizing the SGR project. That stretch will be transformative, effectively stretching the border of downtown to Robie.

[alonesaucer71]

Is it likely that the Dalhousie Sexton campus parking lot gets redeveloped at some point?

[terrynorthend]

Yes. There's actually two lots here. The lot on the corner of Morris and South, and the bigger lot to the north behind the Central Library. The latter was supposed to be the 3rd of the 3 Sisters, not sure whatever became of that. Both are probably part of Dalhousie's multi-year master plan I suppose.

Originally Posted by alonesaucer71

Is it likely that the Dalhousie Sexton campus parking lot gets redeveloped at some point?

[kzt79]

I really like the overall MNA design aesthetic. I just wish developers would include at least a few slightly larger (like 1000-1250 sq ft+) units instead of all tiny honeycombs like NRTH.

[Dmajackson]

Originally Posted by Dmajackson

2138 Robie Street (Williams-Compton Block) - 9 Floors - 16 Units

This might be getting larger. Two adjoining lots now have demolition permits submitted;

6027 Williams Street
6024 Compton Avenue

[Insigne]

Originally Posted by someone123

Robie seems like a mixed bag. It makes perfect sense as a corridor but there are some nice houses too that ought to be preserved and there doesn't seem to be much of a system in place to do that. Some of the nicest ones a bit farther south do have heritage status but if they end up being all that's left it'll be a big loss.

There should be some full streetscapes preserved, like Coburg to University, which currently has 16 heritage houses uninterrupted in a row. That wouldn't mean no development, it could be additions in behind or thoughtful adaptive reuse. That is part of the benefit of allowing taller projects like Spring Garden West; not everything needs to be redone into towers.

The demos along Coburg Rd are rough. It is almost like they strategically picked character homes to demolish to make the city as much uglier as they could. Young Ave was horrible too.

Coburg to University isn't zoned COR (with the exception of the church and church hall) and has a 11M height restriction. The church property is zoned for 7 stories.


(Corrected to read Coburg to University not Coburg to Robie)

There was a proposal to have the block declared a heritage streetscape. The Heritage Review Board requested a staff report back in November of 2022 but I haven't seen anything since. .....I see an update is now on their September agenda some 3 years later.