[Halifax] Citadel Halifax Redevelopment | 3X49 m | 18-16-16 fl | Completed

[Aya_Akai]

Originally Posted by fenwick16

Thanks for posting. This is a perspective that we haven't seen many pictures of.

It is good to see the apartment building starting to rise.

I had time to kill, my bus seemingly didn't want to stop for me on Cogswell across from the police station/citadel hotel site, so I took a lap around the block, and looked in and around every nook and cranny to see what things were looking like..... it doesn't look like they're going to have a whole lot of room for a parking structure back there

[halifaxboyns]

An updated timelapse video.

[kph06]

Some new renderings:





Source 1 & 2, Source 3

[someone123]

The aerial really shows how most street frontage this has and how much of an impact it will have on the area. It's also clear that there's a lot of work that would have to be done around Cogswell to re-integrate it with the rest of the city; redeveloping the remaining parking lots would be a good start.

[Empire]

Massing is great. The entrance to the hotel is cheap.......

[haligonia]

It's probably just a pipe dream, but the retail space in the apartment building would be ideal for an urban format grocery store.

[Dmajackson]

Originally Posted by haligonia

It's probably just a pipe dream, but the retail space in the apartment building would be ideal for an urban format grocery store.

The rendering appears to show that space as a grocery store.

A urban-style gocery store could do wonders there. It's one of the missing pieces of puzzle needed to revitalize Gottingen back to its old glory.

The space could also be a new home for Staples (their site is up for revelopment I believe). A proper furniture store could also be successful there.

[Nifta]

Grocery store would be awesome for people living in all of the the apartment blocks. I don't know what the equivalent in Canada would be, but Tesco Metro in the UK is what I'm envisaging.

[Jstaleness]

I vote Sobeys Express or small format Loblaws

[someone123]

The idea of a grocery store for this location isn't a pipe dream. Sleep Country is moving into the former TD building on SGR. Maybe not a super exciting chain, but it is an example of a larger chain store moving into what is arguably a growing, under-served market. Stores like these are what's missing downtown; they are necessary to make it a full-service shopping destination and a convenient neighbourhood. Some people worry that these stores will squeeze out the boutique style retail but I think they are actually complementary.

[Nifta]

Yeah, it's not a great chain, but you're right. A story I sometimes tell is how a friend of mine moved here fron England, moved to downtown, and was incredulous that there was nowhere she could buy bed linen without having to travel out of town to Bayer's Lake, or wherever.

I guess that story is dead now

[Drybrain]

Originally Posted by Nifta

Yeah, it's not a great chain, but you're right. A story I sometimes tell is how a friend of mine moved here fron England, moved to downtown, and was incredulous that there was nowhere she could buy bed linen without having to travel out of town to Bayer's Lake, or wherever.

I guess that story is dead now

A lot of people want to keep these kinds of stores out of downtown, but I agree--with the smaller shops that defined Barrington in the past increasingly moving to places like the North End, downtown should be home to a mix of indie businesses and larger chains. Some people might not like it, but urban-format Gaps and the kind of thing are probably what we'll see if Barrington continues its upward trajectory, making it a sort of extension of SGR. The North End and Dartmouth will be home to smaller, riskier, more interesting businesses. I don't see any problem with that.

[OUIR@random]

Who knows maybe a Whole Foods!
That place would be an instant success!

[haligonia]

Originally Posted by OUIR@random

Who knows maybe a Whole Foods!
That place would be an instant success!

They would have stiff competition from Pete's though, and buyers on the Peninsula seem to favour local independents over chains (even though the option isn't always there ).

[eastcoastal]

Originally Posted by someone123

...Sleep Country is moving into the former TD building on SGR. ...

Yeah, I read that on AllNovaScotia. Along with an opinion that it would bring "buzz" and "foot traffic" to Spring Garden Rd. LOL. Is this really the best kind of "big box" store to go downtown? I know people have got to buy their mattresses somewhere, but on SGR? The location doesn't seem to match the offerings in my opinion. I'd think that something like an urban format RONA, Winners, or Canadian Tire would do better. Are people going to carry mattresses home on their heads?

I suppose the store could/should offer free delivery. But still, it doesn't seem like the type of place people would want to walk to, leading me to be skeptical of "foot traffic." I don't think it's going to do well, and then people will point to it as an example of why big box can't work downtown... conveniently ignoring all of the places where it does work well... and we'll go on expanding our business "parks," filling them with cheap goods at low prices, surrounded by acres of "free" parking.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by eastcoastal

I suppose the store could/should offer free delivery.

Yes, they arrange delivery and put it together for you. I bought a mattress there when I moved to Vancouver (actually I picked it out in Toronto and the Vancouver store shipped it to my apartment a few weeks later). It works well in an urban area where many people don't have cars. I have a car now and I'd still pay for delivery just to avoid the hassle.

I think paying for delivery actually makes sense for most people, but there's some strange psychological effect at play; they freak out over incremental fees like $50 for delivery but they'll drop $5,000 extra on a vehicle so they can carry more stuff in it. People do the same thing with taxis. They will pay a recurring $100 insurance bill every month but they won't pay for a $15 taxi trip when it's convenient. No wonder so many businesses love subscription-based pricing.

[someone123]

Source


Source

[Aya_Akai]

Originally Posted by someone123

Source

That blank wall doesn't look that bad- in fact it looks like it stops where the brick stops now, has a couple of corners, and it looks like it's going to have some windows!

[RyeJay]

Originally Posted by HaliStreaks

That blank wall doesn't look that bad- in fact it looks like it stops where the brick stops now, has a couple of corners, and it looks like it's going to have some windows!

I would agree that it doesn't look as bad as I originally conceived. The middle grey strip, along with windows on the upper floors, is going to help with the 'blank' bottom portion.

In any event, I would consider this development worthy of a celebration. This corner of the downtown is leading in density. With more developments on the way behind these three new towers, the urbanity of this part of the downtown will continue evolving.

[bluenoser]

From a cloudy day last week. This project is really filling out the skyline in the North West.

(photo by me)