[St. John's] The Official Project Thread

[jeddy1989]

Ok this will probably call for it's own thread eventually


Ok I found a bit more on the site conceptual development that was previously posted

from Ekistics Planning and Developing:

Project Summary:
Ekistics was hired by a private developer to prepare a conceptual development plan and preliminary pro-forma for a new development in St. John's NFLD.

http://www.ekistics.net/work/CE/5.html

[codyLawrenceDylan14]

This looks great, although I think it would look much better with 2-4 stories added on to the condo , hotel , and office.

[jeddy1989]

Originally Posted by codyLawrenceDylan14

This looks great, although I think it would look much better with 2-4 stories added on to the condo , hotel , and office.

I think you would need to be careful in this location height and scale wise because you do not want it to look like towers or upstage the whole signal hill thing and cabot tower, unless there was some amazing kickass landmark design that complimented it

[Architype]

Originally Posted by jeddy1989

Ok this will probably call for it's own thread eventually

If there is a new proposal and it gets approved, otherwise it's just speculation of course. The rendering is just a concept to show what could be developed; maybe someone knows for sure if the same regulations still apply to the site as they did in 2010.

BTW, it's ok to ask for people's sources, but they also have the right to keep it undisclosed if they so wish, which then makes it just a rumour.

[Townie709]

But was it bought by the same people that created that concept? I hope it is, because it brings a hotel, condos AND apartments all on the same site. Apartments is something the downtown is really lacking in. Another reason why I support a cluster of taller buildings on that site is because it's high up and visible from many places in the city. Right now it looks like we have no downtown from most vantage points in the city. I would love to look from the outer ring road at night and see some sign of urbanity downtown xD

As long as it doesn't look like this than I'm fine with it xD

[christopher_chafe]

Originally Posted by jeddy1989

Ok this will probably call for it's own thread eventually


Ok I found a bit more on the site conceptual development that was previously posted

from Ekistics Planning and Developing:







http://www.ekistics.net/work/CE/5.html

Absolutely Friggen Beautiful. In any other area of DT I'd like to see an extra 4-6 storey's on the condo, but there is no way that would fly where the battery was, and as one poster said this is PRIME LAND. But on a much happier note this ugly monstrosity is soon gonna be gone!!

[Townie709]

Almost forgot to mention this, but I was downtown this evening and it looked like they were getting ready to tear down buildings on New Gower street to make way for the convention center expansion.

I'm not 100% sure (it was getting dark) but the excavator was at the back of the building digging away at the foundation of one of the old ramshackle buildings due for demolition.

[Marty_Mcfly]

Originally Posted by Townie709

Almost forgot to mention this, but I was downtown this evening and it looked like they were getting ready to tear down buildings on New Gower street to make way for the convention center expansion.

I'm not 100% sure (it was getting dark) but the excavator was at the back of the building digging away at the foundation of one of the old ramshackle buildings due for demolition.

I can confirm this, I drove past there a few days ago and things were looking like they were about to demolish. There was also work being done on the street in front of the buildings.

[SignalHillHiker]

Guh, the light was sssooo beautiful this morning but I didn't have time to go out and take any pictures. I'll be back on the job this evening, though, promise, ha!

[J_Murphy]

Originally Posted by Townie709

Almost forgot to mention this, but I was downtown this evening and it looked like they were getting ready to tear down buildings on New Gower street to make way for the convention center expansion.

I'm not 100% sure (it was getting dark) but the excavator was at the back of the building digging away at the foundation of one of the old ramshackle buildings due for demolition.

I work for a company that did some work for those buildings before they could be torn down. I'm surprised they aren't down already to be honest, I would suspect we will see them gone in the very short term. I noticed the power has been cut to them when I walked by last night.

[Copes]

Great news about the Battery, but the selfish part of me is sad.

Great news for the city, I can't wait to see what's done with that site, but almost anything will be better than what's there.

Sad for myself. The company I work for had begun having initial talks about putting in a bid for the site. I was dying to do that project. Definitely my dream project here in the city, and to think that I work for a company that was thinking about buying it...

Anyway, great for St. John's, I'm just jealous of the lucky bunch that gets to put something there!

[SignalHillHiker]

And the CBC now has PoscStudent's VOCM scoop:

Battery Hotel has been SOLD!

[jeddy1989]

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

And the CBC now has PoscStudent's VOCM scoop:

Battery Hotel has been SOLD!

here's the article

Employees at the iconic Battery Hotel in St. John's received layoff notices yesterday because the property has been sold.

The approximately 1.8 hectare property sits on the lower portion of Signal Hill and overlooks St. John's harbour.

Carol Furlong, president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees, represents many of the 70 workers at the hotel. Furlong says they will all be laid off in early January.

A worker at the hotel confirms that the property was sold by American developer Rick Butler who also owns the Hotel California. The property has been for sale since 2010 -- at the time it was listed for $15 million dollars.

Furlong said workers do not know who has purchased the hotel or what the future holds for the property.

"It's a little unsettling right at this moment. They don't know what's going to happen," she said.

However if the buyer does maintain the business as is, she added, the union employees would still have their collective agreement in place.

When Butler bought the Battery complex back in 2005, he later submitted a proposal to demolish the existing hotel. He envisioned a 10-storey complex of hotel rooms and condominiums. The plan was halted after local residents campaigned against it.

[jeddy1989]

Yay for us

N.L. business owners most optimistic in country: report

For the fifth straight month, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business’s “business barometer” reports that optimism among small business owners in the province has risen. The federation released today the results of its monthly index, which asks business owners whether they expect their business's performance to be stronger or weaker over the next 12 months. A score above 50 on the index indicates more business owners expect better performance than weaker performance, and a score under 50 indicates the reverse.
Newfoundland and Labrador’s index for the October survey was 76.7, more than a point and a half above September’s score of 75, and more than 11 points above the national average (65.6). Newfoundland and Labrador’s score is the highest in the country.
The survey also found that 68 per cent of business owners in the province say the current state of their business is good, a two-point rise over last month; 27 per cent of them say it’s satisfactory, down a point from last month; and five per cent say it’s bad, a decline of one percentage point from September.

http://www.thetelegram.com/News/Local/20...ptimistic-in-country%3A%E2%80%88report/1

I can clearlt see this when I attend Board of trade and NOIA conventions

[SignalHillHiker]

More fantastic news. It's so exciting!

[christopher_chafe]

Originally Posted by jeddy1989

here's the article

The non vocal majority should become vocal now and start demanding this be developed into an iconic structure, as well as convincing the bleeding hearts to warm up to a casino.

[statbass]

Yet another interesting story, this one is on rent control in the province.

VOCM Nov 7, 2012

The Minister of Service NL says government will be looking seriously at the issue of rent control as it sifts through information gathered as part of a 45 day consultation process on possible changes to the Residential Tenancies Act. A series of public consultation sessions wrapped up last week and one of the main the issues raised was rent control. Minister Nick McGrath says while he's not sure if it's something government can do anything about, they will consider the matter.

http://www.vocm.com/newsarticle.asp?mn=2&id=28146&latest=1

[Townie709]

Originally Posted by christopher_chafe

The non vocal majority should become vocal now and start demanding this be developed into an iconic structure, as well as convincing the bleeding hearts to warm up to a casino.

I always wondered why we don't have a casino. What a great location that would be! Hotel, apartments, condo, casino. There are so many possibilities for this site! I hope something iconic and taller than 5 stories goes there. Nothing annoys me more than when the vocal, pessimistic, past-dwelling minority get there way.

The good thing is that much of this vocal minority will be dead in 10 years or so

[jeddy1989]

Originally Posted by Townie709

I always wondered why we don't have a casino. What a great location that would be! Hotel, apartments, condo, casino. There are so many possibilities for this site! I hope something iconic and taller than 5 stories goes there. Nothing annoys me more than when the vocal, pessimistic, past-dwelling minority get there way.

The good thing is that much of this vocal minority will be dead in 10 years or so

casino will be impossible.. It's not a municipal issue its actually a provincial ban. and when they talked about this a coupel of years ago the province says it will not entertain the idea of a casino anywhere in the province

[jeddy1989]

And so it begins

City Reacts to Sale of the Battery

The tentative sale of the iconic Battery Hotel on Signal Hill is generating a great deal of reaction in the capital city. As of now, there's no word on who the new owners will be, but word is they're not in the hotel business. VOCM News learned of the sale yesterday after workers at the hotel received their notice.
If all goes well, the hotel is expected to change hands in Janaury. The chair of the city's development committee, Tom Hann, is urging people not to panic. He says right now, the city does not know who has bought the property or what their plans for it are, but he assures that whatever it is, the city will take the area's sensitive historic and scenic qualities into account

http://www.vocm.com/newsarticle.asp?mn=2&id=28147&latest=1



This is going to get VERY interesting and seems like they wanna shut it down fast! ... only 2 months away!

This is going to need a THREAD haha for the site as a whole

What ever goes here will have to be iconic