Development Rumours

[kph06]

It looks like the building beside Eastlink on South Park is being torn down today. This will create the L-shaped lot with the building on Spring Garden destroyed by fire a few years back.

[gm_scott]

Man, I wish Eastlink would sell, or at least buy the site and create one lot. Such a great place for another (nicer) Trillium.

[musicman]

I was at a christmas party a couple of nights ago that was put on by one of the major construction related companies in NS. Out of the corner of my eye i spied a couple of out of place characters in the room. Mainly Mr. Epstein and about half a dozen of his Trust/STV cronies. Found it kind of odd that they would be invited guests to a party for a construction company.

[fenwick16]

Originally Posted by kph06

It looks like the building beside Eastlink on South Park is being torn down today. This will create the L-shaped lot with the building on Spring Garden destroyed by fire a few years back.

Based on your description, it appears to be the green house directly adjacent to Eastlink in the Google Maps link - http://maps.google.ca/maps?q=halifax,+ns...ksm3HuXVfPczrqUF2g&cbp=12,112.52,,0,1.81.

I remember reading about a possible development of the L-shaped lot but I forget the details, such as the owner of the land or possible developer. Based on the HRM_by_Design post-bonus height map (below) the height limit is 49 meters, however, since a 11.5 meter setback from all interior lot lines is required for floors over 33.5 meters, the development will likely not be possible to go this high. It seems as though the Eastlink building is required to build a decent sized building since there will be an eastern and southern interior lot line next to the Eastlink building.

[kph06]

A photo I snapped when driving by:

[someone123]

I hope they plan to start construction soon after the demolition. The hoarding on Spring Garden is really ugly.

I don't actually think it's bad that the Eastlink/DQ building survived. It looks okay and it might be kind of interesting with a taller building in behind.

Another random detail about this block: one website for the former Daily Grind building (Bookmark, PetValu) claims that it was designed to be expanded up to 5 storeys. One of the drawbacks to that would be that there's currently a patio on the roof (we actually had a mini SSP meetup there a number of years ago).

[fenwick16]

Originally Posted by kph06

A photo I snapped when driving by:

I did a search on allnovascotia.com and found a story about this development in the May 20th, 2010 edition. The story, Spring Garden Development Proposed by Andrew MacDonald, states that 1485 South Park Street, which is shown in kph06's picture, and 5688 Spring Garden Road are the site of a 6 - 7 storey proposal with retail on the ground floor, office on the second and apartments on the upper floors. The two lots are owned by Gregory Arab.

Although the allnovascotia.com doesn't state it, I can see from reading the HRM_by_Design document that because of setback requirements it would be impractical to go above 18.5 meters height with so many interior lot lines. The setback requirements are stated in the link to the document on page 31/141 of the pdf file (or print page 27) - https://www.halifax.ca/capitaldistrict/documents/DHLUBandDesignManual.pdf. If they were able to get the Eastlink-leased building then they could go higher, at least to 33.5 meters. Above 33.5 meters to the maximum height of 49 meters they would then need 11.5 meter setbacks from any interior lot lines. If other homes south of 1485 South Park Street, and the East-link building could be obtained then they could probably do a substantial 16 story development. According to the allnovascotia.com story they were trying to increase their land holdings.

I did a screen capture from Bing Maps and outlined the two lots (below).

[someone123]

It sounds to me like they failed to purchase the Eastlink building. Hopefully they're just going to move forward with a 6-7 storey building. I don't think a 49 meter building would work very well on this small site.

[worldlyhaligonian]

I'd rather see it as a landmark corner with all the buildings demoed and a 10-12 story building

[DigitalNinja]

I took some photos of it coming down today:





Just taken with my cell camera so they aren't the best quality.

[Dmajackson]

^It looks like 1477 South Park Street has a heritage plaque but its not listed on the property listings ...

[cormiermax]

Originally Posted by Dmajackson

^It looks like 1477 South Park Street has a heritage plaque but its not listed on the property listings ...

I don't think thats a heritage plaque. Quite a nice building though.

[ILoveHalifax]

Of the 3 remaining houses in that row on South Park two are looking very bad. I would hope they all come down.

[someone123]

I like the light blue one. The grey ones are interesting but unfortunately they look like rentals that have not been properly maintained. I am a little surprised that they weren't sold and incorporated into the Trillium development.

Ideally I'd like to see a restoration of the grey buildings, but failing that it would be nice to see a small replacement building next to the existing light blue house rather than a complete replacement of all of the houses. It is good to maintain some of the diversity of buildings in this area.

[worldlyhaligonian]

Originally Posted by someone123

I like the light blue one. The grey ones are interesting but unfortunately they look like rentals that have not been properly maintained. I am a little surprised that they weren't sold and incorporated into the Trillium development.

Ideally I'd like to see a restoration of the grey buildings, but failing that it would be nice to see a small replacement building next to the existing light blue house rather than a complete replacement of all of the houses. It is good to maintain some of the diversity of buildings in this area.

Yes, there is one nice one... I think its the light blue house. The grey ones were in terrible shape last time I saw them. Hard judgement to make...

[someone123]

The street view of this block is pretty recent: http://goo.gl/maps/xhMgZ

Here's the sort of massing I am imagining. I think the Trillium and the white office building look better with something a little taller on the corner. I also like how built up the Victoria Park area is getting. It used to be a neighbourhood park surrounded by houses, but now it has partly been turned into an urban square and is surrounded by medium-sized buildings.

[teddifax]

Originally Posted by someone123

The street view of this block is pretty recent: http://goo.gl/maps/xhMgZ

Here's the sort of massing I am imagining. I think the Trillium and the white office building look better with something a little taller on the corner. I also like how built up the Victoria Park area is getting. It used to be a neighbourhood park surrounded by houses, but now it has partly been turned into an urban square and is surrounded by medium-sized buildings.

If only Eastlink would agree to go somewhere else (albeit temporarily), to allow a full scale rebuild of this corner, with the guarantee they could go back at that corner. It would make a much better development!

[resetcbu1]

I really don't mind the eastlink building since it has been renovated .... I think it's got cool character and even makes for an interesting design possibly for this new development. Never know might blend very well?

[someone123]

Apparently Joe Ramia now owns the empty lot at Young and Windsor and is considering an office or residential development. This is great news because at one point a Petro Canada was planned for this site. That would have been a step backward for a neighbourhood that should be an important pedestrian-friendly commercial corridor but could still easily go either way.

[teddifax]

Originally Posted by someone123

Apparently Joe Ramia now owns the empty lot at Young and Windsor and is considering an office or residential development. This is great news because at one point a Petro Canada was planned for this site. That would have been a step backward for a neighbourhood that should be an important pedestrian-friendly commercial corridor but could still easily go either way.

There shouldn't be a height limit there at all! Build up!!!