General Updates and News

[someone123]

A 2008 report filed by city staff suggested that the Halifax region isn’t big enough to get a return on a light rail investment, suggesting a population of one million or more would be necessary to make commuter rail viable.

Arg! Light rail and commuter rail are *not* equivalent! This situation where the city considers one particular outdated proposal once every 5 years is just horrendous. I have very little hope that Halifax is going to have a good transit system anytime soon. Nobody is even talking about the right stuff, let alone implementing it.

The point about downtown residential is of course a good one, although it is already happening to some degree. I wish these articles would be a bit more precise. Really the problem is "CBD" residential -- the old office core needs residents because it will not be getting office towers anytime soon. Nearby areas are already experiencing lots of residential infill.

[worldlyhaligonian]

Wrong thread.

[Pete Crawford]

Has anyone seen any images or renderings for the Portland Street commercial development going up on the site of the former Mazda and Subaru dealerships?

They seem to be moving quickly, was just wondering if the new buildings will be at all attractive.

[kph06]

South end diner is burning.

[Jstaleness]

I hope it's put out. I love that couple. I have stopped there for lunch quite a few times.

[kph06]

It appeared to start in the old building attached to it on Barrington, I don't think anyone lived in it, I only saw pigeons coming and going when I would go by. By the end the firefighters were coming and going form both buildings and smashed out most the windows in the upper floors of the diner building. The old couple who use to own the building sold it about a year ago to a few younger guys. The building beside the diner is definitely a write-off, and I can't imagine the diner is salvageable either.

[coolmillion]

The North End Diner burned down a few years ago and now this? I've actually never eaten at the South End Diner but I like the idea of it. Old school diners are a dying breed in this city.

[halifaxboyns]

HRM to look at tax holidays on brownfield properties

Tax holidays may spur the redevelopment of brownfield sites in Halifax, says a regional councillor.

“It’s very complicated,” Jennifer Watts (Quinpool-Connaught) said Wednesday in an interview.

Watts has asked staff at Halifax Regional Municipality to investigate the potential of offering tax holidays on old commercial and industrial properties, including former gas stations sites, to encourage their redevelopment. Such locations are called brownfield sites.

“We’re having staff look at the situation,” she said.

There are three former gas station locations in Watts’ riding.

Stations at Quinpool and Harvard streets and at Bayers Road and Oxford Street were demolished years ago and the properties have remained undeveloped.

An Ultramar station on Chebucto Road was torn down earlier this year.

The Chebucto Road property, owned by Ultramar Canada of Montreal, is undergoing an environmental assessment and is slated to be sold sometime next year when that process is completed.

Watts said a tax holiday may encourage developers who may be reluctant to take on environmental remediation costs often associated with brownfield sites such as old gas stations.

“We want to understand the implications,” she said, suggesting that any municipal revenues lost from a tax holiday would be recouped when the properties were redeveloped.

Andy Fillmore, the municipality’s urban design project manager, said tax holidays are a popular tool used in many jurisdictions across Canada and around the world to spur brownfield redevelopment.

“It’s been used broadly,” Fillmore said in an interview.

He called brownfield site development a beautiful opportunity to transform urban communities.

“It’s very affordable, as opposed to a greenfield (site),” since brownfields are already connected to existing municipal infrastructure such as waterlines and sewers, Fillmore said.

Environmental remediation costs associated with old gas station or industrial properties can be expensive, which often results in them lying dormant for years, he said.

“It’s in the municipality’s best interest to put in place incentives that tip the business case to remediate those sites.”

Fillmore said it typically takes five years for municipalities to recoup incentives such as tax holidays on brownfield properties through subsequent redevelopment and new tax revenues.

[someone123]

Nice to see that get some attention. There are lots of cases where a development is not economical from the perspective of a developer but is economical when you include servicing costs over the lifetime of the building. Remediation is expensive but so is the extension and provisal of services in low-density areas, plus there is the major downside of having empty lots on streets like Quinpool.

I would like to see the city play more of a "facilitator" role when it comes to new development. An good example that already happened was the Clyde Street lots vs. the United Gulf/TexPark sale. The city took a more active role with Clyde Street and I think the results will be much better. The whole process was smoother because it was simpler and there was a clearer vision of what should be built on that land. Similarly the municipality could take an active role with key brownfields by implementing incentives tied to the desired type of development and lobbying property owners.

There's a bit of an issue of fairness when the city goes down the road of subsidizing some developments but from my non-legal perspective at least it seems like it's not so bad when you can articulate a social benefit. I also don't think it's a zero-sum game. If the city helps develop a brownfield lot on Quinpool then the properties nearby will actually become more valuable. It is a very positive type of situation.

[halifaxboyns]

More news on the Downtown...

Starfish proud of design
Open house tonight to discuss plans for former Tip Top building

IF ALL GOES according to plan, work on redeveloping a Barrington Street building into tip-top shape will begin in the spring.

Starfish Properties has applied for a development permit to build a six-storey retail and office building at 1592 Barrington St., the former Tip Top Tailors building.

As part of that process, the developer will grant public access to the existing building tonight for an open house from 7 to 9 p.m. Comments and suggestions from interested parties are welcomed.

"All of that information, together with our application, goes to the design review committee," said Starfish Properties owner Louis Reznick.

The proposed 22-metre-high, 15,000-square-foot development will feature retail space on the ground floor, with five floors of office space. However, Reznick didn’t rule out the final design including more than one floor of retail space.

"With the activity on Barrington Street, it could all be retail, but most likely it’ll be a couple of floors of retail and a couple of floors of offices," he said.

The building, designed by Lydon Lynch Architects Ltd., will be sandwiched by the Tramway building, at the corner of Sackville Street and Barrington, and the Khyber building.

The facade will feature black anodized aluminum panels between floors, clear anodized aluminum panels, aluminum-framed curtain walls with silicone glazing, light green glass and a small strip on the left side will be red brick.

"It’s very contemporary, but we’ve stolen some details and designs from neighbouring buildings," Reznick aid, adding that the design puts the building in "context with our heritage district and our heritage building neighbours," which is a prerequisite of the municipality’s design review committee.

"We think we’ve done that, we think we’ve done it well and we love it, actually. It’s a great use for that particular lot."

A rooftop terrace will include a green area with tall ornamental grasses and a planter box with hedge.

"We try and build to green standards. Our renovated buildings all have included some green," Reznick said. "Anything we improve, we try to improve to the best standards we can. They’re renovated buildings, so it’s not like building from scratch."

The rest of the story is here.

[someone123]

My only worry is that this might run afoul of Barrington Street historic district/HbD guidelines, but I am not sure what the exact requirements are. Hopefully the regulations focus on important things like street-level interaction but do not demand particular faux heritage styles or building materials.

When it comes to heritage there seems to be an unfortunate trend toward density restrictions and superficial design restrictions for new buildings. The focus should be on the old buildings -- ensuring that their most important assets are kept in top condition and ensuring that they are part of an economically healthy neighbourhood. Barrington's success depends on attracting money and then directing some of it toward restoration efforts.

[-Harlington-]

The former bay location :

[cormiermax]

That looks HORRIBLE! Is it me or do those windows look like there from 3 decades ago?

[RyeJay]

Originally Posted by cormiermax

That looks HORRIBLE! Is it me or do those windows look like there from 3 decades ago?

I see what you're talking about. I agree.

Maybe they're pushing an 80's kind of theme?...

[someone123]

ANS had an article tonight about Chedrawe's upcoming development of the Spring Garden/Queen/Brunswick block. Looks like we might hear some more details and maybe see some renderings over the next few months. Construction is anticipated for 2013.

The development is being modeled somewhat off of the Hazelton Hotel in Yorkville (Toronto):


Source

The idea is to put million-dollar condos on the top floors (6 and 7).

It sounds nice but as I've said before my opinion of the development will hinge on how much effort goes into preserving and reusing the buildings that already exist on that block. It would be awful to lose stone bank buildings and brick rowhouses. Even if the plan is to replace those buildings on that block, it would be possible to reuse parts of the buildings elsewhere -- and when we're talking about $1M+ condos the expense is justified.

[beyeas]

Originally Posted by someone123

ANS had an article tonight about Chedrawe's upcoming development of the Spring Garden/Queen/Brunswick block. Looks like we might hear some more details and maybe see some renderings over the next few months. Construction is anticipated for 2013.

The development is being modeled somewhat off of the Hazelton Hotel in Yorkville (Toronto):


Source

The idea is to put million-dollar condos on the top floors (6 and 7).

It sounds nice but as I've said before my opinion of the development will hinge on how much effort goes into preserving and reusing the buildings that already exist on that block. It would be awful to lose stone bank buildings and brick rowhouses. Even if the plan is to replace those buildings on that block, it would be possible to reuse parts of the buildings elsewhere -- and when we're talking about $1M+ condos the expense is justified.

Yeah for me a significant part of whether I will judge this as a success is whether they find a way to keep the BMO facade in particular (in addition to obvious overall street-interface etc). That stone facade is well worth saving, and to me would be a wonderful entrance for the hotel portion.

[RyeJay]

If they don't keep the stone facade, I won't be pleased either.

[sdm]

Originally Posted by cormiermax

That looks HORRIBLE! Is it me or do those windows look like there from 3 decades ago?

Agreed. Cheap looking.

[spaustin]

I too won't be thrilled if the BMO building is lost. The stone front on it is definitely worth saving. You just don't get something of that quality anymore. I wouldn't be upset to lose the brick rowhouses further down the block if they were going to make way for an interesting design that adds more density to the block.

[Keith P.]

This is the last rendering I could find for SGR and Queen. This is from Queen St, looking down Doyle, with the Port of Wines store at the far left: