Group fights for view
Convention centre plans worry heritage coalition
By BILL POWER Staff Reporter
Sun. Sep 20 - 4:45 AM
One of the best views in Nova Scotia — the vista of the harbour and Georges Island from the main entrance to the Halifax Citadel — will be lost forever if highrise towers are included in the new World Trade and Convention Centre slated for Argyle Street, a heritage group charged Saturday.
"Try to imagine the number of people who have taken in that view during visits to our city. It is certainly a view worth preserving," said Beverly Miller, a spokeswoman for a group called The Coalition to Save the View from Citadel Hill.
"We’re trying to draw public attention to the fact that highrise construction above the proposed convention centre will take away something that is a special part of our city."
The coalition put out a press release Saturday with images it said showed how the view of the harbour from the main entrance to the historic Citadel will be affected if a 14-storey office building and an 18-storey hotel are included in the convention centre project.
One of the images shows a view of Georges Island almost blocked entirely when looking from the fortress main entrance toward the harbour.
The coalition, which Ms. Miller said is comprised of numerous organizations and individuals with heritage concerns, said it wants federal and provincial decision makers to consider the impact the project’s highrise components will have before approving financial support for the new convention centre.
"We are certainly not opposed to the convention centre, which would be perhaps three stories. Our issue is with the towers that would rise up and block this wonderful view from the Citadel," said Ms. Miller.
The press release from the coalition states "it would be unconscionable to use tax dollars to assist a private developer to block the view of Halifax Harbour from historic Citadel Hill."
Ms. Miller said the Halifax by Design strategy that became entrenched in law over the summer months allows the highrise towers to be built at the Argyle site that is occupied by the former Halifax Herald Limited building and the former home of the Midtown Tavern.
"Under the old planning strategy this view was protected and this construction could not have been approved," said Ms. Miller.
The coalition has established a web site at
www.halifaxcommon.ca/citadelview to draw attention to the pending loss of the harbour view.
"It’s just not smart business to exchange cultural and historic assets that attract thousands of tourists for a commercial development providing a financial windfall to one developer," said coalition member Peter Delefes, president of the Heritage Trust of Nova Scotia.
"In this way the public would actually foot the bill to block the view," he said in the press release.
Speculation about the new World Trade and Convention Centre became feverish around much of the city after Premier Darrell Dexter said on Sept. 4 that news about the project can be expected soon.
Former premier Rodney MacDonald announced the new centre, which he dubbed Nova Centre, just hours before his minority government was defeated in May.
A price tax of about $300 million has been attached to the centre, which is supposed to be open for business in 2013.
Rank Inc. led by Joseph Ramia won a competition to develop the convention centre and its highrise hotel and office building. Mr. Ramia’s company owns the Argyle Street site. He was unavailable for comment.
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