Skyline Pics of Halifax

[someone123]

Hollis stands out in that it now has two pretty decent stretches, but with that big hole in the middle where Skye and Meridian are being built. In the end if they turn out even semi-okay, the effect will be a much improved and expanded pedestrian experience.

Barrington is effectively "growing" with the new construction and Cogswell. With just a few additions it could be consistently interesting and built up from Inglis to Cogswell, the equivalent of 17 blocks or so (which historically transitioned to Gottingen as part of the same commercial corridor, while the South End part was more residential).

In general the urban core seems to be growing a lot with the new bounds being more like Inglis/Robie/Young.

[worldlyhaligonian]

Originally Posted by someone123

Hollis stands out in that it now has two pretty decent stretches, but with that big hole in the middle where Skye and Meridian are being built. In the end if they turn out even semi-okay, the effect will be a much improved and expanded pedestrian experience.

Barrington is effectively "growing" with the new construction and Cogswell. With just a few additions it could be consistently interesting and built up from Inglis to Cogswell, the equivalent of 17 blocks or so (which historically transitioned to Gottingen as part of the same commercial corridor, while the South End part was more residential).

In general the urban core seems to be growing a lot with the new bounds being more like Inglis/Robie/Young.

Exactly what I was thinking. I'm not sure how 'districts' actually work in Halifax or whether its something technically formal or not, but council would be smart to push the borders of downtown west out to Robie or even Connaught and north and then set clear parameters of where the heritage 'preservation' will occur (their newspeak for areas where heritage structures are both retained, hopefully restored, and no tall/out of character buildings) versus the areas where they can have maximum heights.

It would seem like the Cogswell lands are perfect for our tallest cluster (up to 50 stories or so) and the south end lands should be sorted out for grand home preservation (no vinyl allowed) with shorter new builds in brick and local materials. We can't rely on the 'heritage' crowd to do this... they're often too cheap or not resourceful people. We need a new incentive structure and young heritage carpenters.

[teddifax]

Too bad this isn't a current shot though.

[someone123]

The latest height zoning seems actually quite reasonable. It's not blanket highrise everywhere but there's a lot of zoned space including to Robie. I'd tweak it to be more heritage-oriented (rather than single-family-dwelling-oriented) in downtown-adjacent areas like around Jubilee Rd our south of Inglis. I would preserve areas like the brick housing on Jubilee, but I wouldn't prevent a developer from tearing down small 60's-80's apartments or townhouses to put up narrow/small midrise or highrise buildings. Yes, there is a question of housing for vulnerable residents, but that's handled through tenancy regulations, not trying to stop development.

I think Cogswell is a good point. I dunno about 50 floors or what developers would propose but it seems like a waste to have the ramparts max there. It's just not a very good trade-off and the ideal promoted was always compromised (it's just from some positions, some buildings already were visible, etc.). The view planes actually make sense to protect specific views like George's Island. Cogswell would not be blocking one of those views. I also think that city hall should be trying to create at least 1 landmark building there and 1 public building.