That would be great for the area! I wonder how big it is? I'll try and go by the site sometime over the weekend and see what that sign looks like.
From today's Herald.
Expert urges downtown facelift
By CHRIS LAMBIE Business Editor
An internationally renowned ur ban design expert took a swipe at Halifax on Thursday for its blank walls and unfriendly walking areas.
Carol Coletta, president of CEOs for Cities in Chicago, wad ed into the debate about down town Barrington Street’s ghost town-like appearance while speaking to several hundred peo ple at a luncheon organized by the Greater Halifax Partnership.
“I want to point out blank walls are not so good for vibrant down towns," Coletta said.
“You want to make sure that the central city is radiating energy to the rest of the region."
She said she sees “too many blank walls" in Halifax.
That includes “not just empty lots, but also those buildings that seem to be occupied but are just not very friendly, at a first-floor level, to walkers," Coletta said.
“They’re not very interesting or (they don’t) add vibrancy."
She had a brief chance to check out the city before her talk.
“I did see some fairly formida ble walking areas — areas that would not attract many people to walk beside them.
“If you’re trying to increase vi brancy in a downtown, one of the things you must have is a walk able downtown."
By blank walls, Coun. Peter Lund (Hammonds Plains-St. Mar garets) said he assumed Coletta was talking about “all those emp ty lots in downtown Halifax."
When a building comes down and a developer wins approval for a new project to proceed, “the lots tend to sit there for many, many years before they get developed upon,mainlybased on economic" conditions, Lund said.
He asked Coletta to suggest al ternatives to empty parking lots, which Lund referred to as “a bit of an eyesore."
“Should we be considering greening them in, in the mean time, to create places where peo ple can stop, park benches or something to make it more attrac tive?"
he said. Coletta pointed out that Port land, Ore., “has done a fabulous job in (it’s) downtown with food carts."
“They have a number of park ing lots in downtown Portland that are lined with food carts, with food mobiles. So they pop up in certain hours of the day and then they go away or they’re closed. It’s a great way for entre preneurs to get into business at a low cost."
Coletta also took issue with the Halifax Regional Municipality, or HRM, label after she was ques tioned about how the city could improve its brand. The city’s working name has been hotly de bated at city hall.
A city’s brand should focus on what makes the place distinct, Co letta said.
“HRM — I don’t know what that means," she said.
“I think regionalism makes so much sense because economies are regional and environments are regional. It makes sense to think regionally. But I also think that, in thinking regionally, what we need to understand is things like HRM, to the rest of the world, mean nothing."
She garnered applause and laughter for that comment.
After the talk, Mayor Peter Kelly said the city has approved more than $3 million in spending to help rejuvenate Barrington Street.
“It is the businesses that need to open the doors and open up that space and make it welcoming."
A proposed convention centre that is still waiting for govern ment funding will help rejuve nate the downtown area, he said.
“There are over nine develop ments approved for the down town. It is the development com munity unto themselves that will decide, based upon their econom ic risk, on which to move for ward."
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