General Updates and News

[JET]

some sort of structure on Prince Albert rd in Dartmouth, next to the Robins donuts/convenience store, gas bar?

[someone123]

Looks like the addition to Gerrard Lodge, 1234 Barrington, is back on the table. Here's the website: http://designprojects.ca/1234barrington/

There was a similar proposal in 2007. Nothing major but hopefully this will involve some restoration work for the front of the building. Little changes like this can really improve neighbourhoods over time.

[Drybrain]

Originally Posted by someone123

Looks like the addition to Gerrard Lodge, 1234 Barrington, is back on the table. Here's the website: http://designprojects.ca/1234barrington/

There was a similar proposal in 2007. Nothing major but hopefully this will involve some restoration work for the front of the building. Little changes like this can really improve neighbourhoods over time.

Cool. Normally that'd be the kind of design that gets panned (by me as well) as faux heritage, but whatever--it looks good in this case. All the more surprising since that architecture firm's projects have been more miss than hit.

[Hali87]

Looks like this will be good for the area. It looks a lot like the "Brickyard" townhouses that went up a few years ago around the old Marquee, which aside from some apparent problems with the paint/exterior worked pretty well.

[someone123]

Neighbourhoods are a lot nicer when they're consistently built up. Something like this 1234 Barrington addition would have to be pretty hideous to be worse than an empty lot jammed with cars, rubble, and weeds. In Halifax the height restrictions and old buildings also make it more important to use every bit of land if possible. I don't think you can have neighbourhoods that "work" if they're a mix of low-density heritage buildings, medium-sized infill, and parking lots. In a vibrant neighbourhood one of those things has to give.

I think the Brickyard is okay but actually it was scaled back from an earlier more mixed-use proposal that called for loft apartments or condos in the 4-6 storey range.

The recent fate of that area has been determined more by politics than market forces. There are a lot of cases where people have wanted to invest but couldn't for one reason or another.

[someone123]

The new waterfront Discovery Centre is going to be a $20M project involving Moriyama & Teshima Architects and the local firm Barrie & Langille. Not sure when renderings will be released, but it sounds like this one has a lot of potential.

[cormiermax]

Is it still taking up part of the Emera building?

[someone123]

Yes, this will be in the part of the NSP building that used to house Electropolis.

[teddifax]

What timeframes are we looking at for this now?

[Dmajackson]

Dal, SMU look to province for help in building rink
February 5, 2013 - 3:33pm BY DAVID JACKSON STAFF REPORTER

Dalhousie and Saint Mary’s universities are looking to the province for some south-end Halifax land and cash for a new arena with two ice surfaces.

The schools are shooting for property adjacent to the Atlantic Provinces Special Education Authority on South Street. They have also asked the province for $1 million to help cover design work, part of a $10-million request in total for a project expected to cost up to $30 million.

Ken Burt, Dalhousie’s vice-president of finance and administration, said the project, which would also include Halifax Regional Municipality, is still in its early stages.

Burt said the two-pad arena makes more sense than seeing Dalhousie and Saint Mary’s each build their own rinks.

...

([email protected])

Read More: thechronicleherald.ca

[cormiermax]

They should not need provincial funding with how much money they both generate.

[scooby074]

Originally Posted by cormiermax

They should not need provincial funding with how much money they both generate.

This x10.

[JET]

Dal had a perfectly fine rink, and demolished it because of concerns about snow loads from the new residence that they were building adjacent. asinine

[bluenoser]

Here is an article about Waye Mason calling on Council to make good on its plan to spend $50m upgrading the downtown core

http://thechronicleherald.ca/metro/648675-mason-calls-for-action-on-plan-for-downtown

I got a kick out of this comment:

Well folks there you have it. For years council in conjunction with our fake Heritage Trust(which is not a trust at all), and the Eco-fanatics have stymied hundreds of millions of private development dollars that, for the most part, would have accomplished what they now want to spend 50 million in taxpayer's money to do. On top of that the city has forgone God knows how many 10's of millions in property taxes which could have been used for this and other purposes. As someone else pointed out. This plan better not include anything taller than an outhouse or the "cave people"(Citizens Against Virtually Everything), will be out in force.

[fenwick16]

Originally Posted by Dmajackson

[I]Dal, SMU look to province for help in building rink
February 5, 2013 - 3:33pm BY DAVID JACKSON STAFF REPORTER



([email protected])

Read More: thechronicleherald.ca

It sounds like an excellent plan. Based on the article, Dalhousie and SMU rent out a lot of excess capacity and only really need one arena between the two universities. One arena pad with 1,500 - 2,000 seats would probably be built which could also be used by the local community for tournaments.

It seems like a win-win situation for both universities and the local community.

[someone123]

The Dal arena thing always struck me as a huge fiasco. The one they just demolished was completed in 1982 and was quite expensive at the time. It's really disturbing that a building like that would only last for 30 years.

LEED certification is sexy now but few seem to notice that it's often a lot more environmentally-friendly not to tear down and replace buildings in the first place.

[Dmajackson]

The Design Review Committee is being introduced to the Scotia Square additions on Thursday.

Barrington Street Addition

Westhill on Duke

[someone123]

The Barrington Tower addition isn't too bad. It has a bunch of street-level entrances and nice big windows on the upper levels. As I've said before, I could imagine this area actually being pretty good with a couple of new buildings and a revamped transit terminal.

Westhill on Duke is okay but not terribly exciting. It's better than the corner that's there now but I'm not sure it will change much. Albermarle is pretty much one long stretch of parking garages.

[Drybrain]

Originally Posted by someone123

The Barrington Tower addition isn't too bad. It has a bunch of street-level entrances and nice big windows on the upper levels. As I've said before, I could imagine this area actually being pretty good with a couple of new buildings and a revamped transit terminal.

Westhill on Duke is okay but not terribly exciting. It's better than the corner that's there now but I'm not sure it will change much. Albermarle is pretty much one long stretch of parking garages.

Dittto. Westhill will LOOK a lot better than what's there now, but won't do much to re-urbanize. Ah well. Baby steps.

[worldlyhaligonian]

Could they not go taller with a second addition along that street where the pedestrian entrance to SS is?

Isn't there a pub and corner store across from the Westhill site? Other than that, its a urban wasteland north of there.