Being right for the wrong reasons
By ROGER TAYLOR
Sat. Jul 5 - 5:31 AM
PART OF THE hype behind the creation of HRM by Design — the new plan for development of downtown Halifax — has always been the suggestion that it will create certainty about what is allowed and therefore will spur construction.
Well, it seems those who were promoting HRM by Design as a catalyst for development are right, but for all the wrong reasons.
Developers are lining up to get their projects going before HRM by Design is accepted by city council, which should prompt councillors to question some of the rhetoric coming from the supporters of the design plan.
No matter what the reason, the palpable excitement created about the future development of the downtown is an important, positive step for Halifax.
It was no secret that the plans were coming from the development community, although they took a little longer than expected. It seems a happy coincidence that the provincial government failed to pass legislation that would have allowed implementation of the HRM by Design plan before the spring sitting of the legislature ended. That gave developers time to hone their proposals before making them public.
Developers are now lining up to put their projects in the hopper, thus bypassing the possible height restrictions and potentially more intrusive design criteria associated with HRM by Design. The fact remains, however, that economics will play the most important role in determining whether all the projects on the books will go ahead as planned.
In addition to concerns about future rents, developers must also be concerned about what all this simultaneous building will do to construction costs. If all the projects got going at once it would most probably push up demand for the construction trades and materials.
Mind you, based on past experience, most of these projects won’t get going immediately.
For example, the 27-storey Twisted Sisters project on the site of the old Tex-Park at the corner of Hollis and Sackville streets received the go-ahead last year, but work hasn’t started. The developer, United Gulf, has until the fall of 2011 to get construction going.
In another high-profile case, developer Ralph Medjuck’s Centennial Properties proposal for a waterfront hotel and condo development took three years to get through the planning process with the city, and still construction has not started. Despite having a development agreement with the city, Centennial has been faced with new demands from the province’s Waterfront Development Corp., which owns the land, and it is believed to be in negotiations with the Crown agency to settle outstanding issues.
Goodness knows when all the other projects approved by city council will start construction.
More recently, city council approved W. M. Fares’ 19-storey residential development for the corner of Brenton and South Park streets. And then council gave its OK to Halkirk Properties Ltd., which will build a 21-storey condo complex on the south side of its Brewery Market property, which is bounded by Hollis, Salter and Lower Water streets.
Another Halifax developer, Louis Lawen, through his company Dexel Developments Ltd., is preparing to build a 10-storey commercial/residential building on the site of the old Victoria Suites apartment building at the corner of Hollis and Morris streets.
Armour Group Ltd., headed by developer Ben McCrea, wants to redevelop several of its properties across the street from its Historic Properties retail/office development. The Armour Group plan would maintain the facade of the old buildings while putting up a nine-storey retail and office structure from within and incorporating underground parking.
Downtown property owner Louis Resnick has said he wants to redevelop his Roy Building on Barrington Street. The plan would see a 16-storey retail/office building erected on the site while maintaining the facade of the older structure.
Nova Scotia Power Inc. announced plans this week to build a new "green" corporate headquarters on the site of the former power station on the Halifax waterfront. By the time construction is completed in 2011, the cost of construction is expected to be at least $50 million.
Also this week, ECL Developments, a subsidiary of Empire Co. Ltd., released plans for a 22-storey office tower at the north end of the Granville Mall downtown. International Place would provide retail, office and hotel space.
It is believed ECL would be bidding to have the building become the new financial centre that the provincial government has been talking about. The province has said financial services companies contemplating a move to Halifax are interested in locating in the downtown core.
But there are others interested in attracting the financial services sector to their building.
For example, Argyle Developments, a new company controlled by developer/businessman Joe Ramia, is planning a massive development on two blocks of prime real estate, including the current Chronicle Herald building, fronting on Argyle Street.
Although the plan has not been made public, Ramia recently acquired the Midtown Tavern on Grafton Street, which clears the way for a convention centre, office tower and hotel to be called Nova Centre, Global Trade and Finance.
Earlier this year, the province called for proposals for a new convention centre, which would have at least 150,000 square feet of floor space — almost triple the size of the current centre. Argyle’s plans could change if another company’s project is selected for the convention centre contract.
Others interested in developing a new convention centre include the Halifax Port Authority, Bird/Rideau Construction of Bedford, EastPen Inc. of Halifax, Anwyll Fogo Architects of Halifax and the Hardman Group of Halifax, which earlier revealed a plan to redevelop the controversial Cogswell Interchange lands with the convention centre as a focal point.
It isn’t known what will happen to all these projects, but one thing is certain: People haven’t had this much simultaneous development to talk about in many years, if ever.
There is little doubt this is an important phase in the continued growth of Halifax as the primary financial and business centre in Atlantic Canada.
Roger Taylor’s column appears Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. (
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I seriously hope we start seeing some cranes popping up soon.
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