General Updates and News

[Ziobrop]

Originally Posted by Jonovision

It appears the old dockyard clock is being rebuilt again.
Strange, I was under the impression the entire structure was to come down and go in storage.

this appears to be a from scratch reproduction. I assume the real clock in in a warehouse somewhere. I Saw them assembling a plywood box in the frame a few weeks ago.

[scooby074]

Originally Posted by Jonovision

It appears the old dockyard clock is being rebuilt again.
Strange, I was under the impression the entire structure was to come down and go in storage.

Nice to see that.

I hope the original clock will be going back in.

[spaustin]

Originally Posted by jslath

If I'm not mistaken, isn't Goodlife moving from Scotia Square to this space (a huge chunk of the first level)?

Goodlife is indeed going in there as are a bunch of federal office workers. Not sure what will be left of the already limited retail when it's all done. Not a big loss as the urban mall concept really hasn't panned out in Halifax. Scotia Square pretty much just caters to the lunch/commuter crowd and there is no real retail of note across the street. Not sure what's in Spring Garden Place, but I don't think it really bustles. About the only urban mall that sort of works is Park Lane and even it has nothing on the 2nd level except Cleves and I bet Cleves wouldn't be there if it weren't for the street frontage on Dresden Row. Lesson learned, you can't out mall the suburbs!

[HalifaxRetales]

Originally Posted by teddifax

I had the same thing happen to me earlier in the summer. I didn't know the entrance had been closed. It is very inconvenient now to get to Scotia Square from that level. I wish it is because of International Place being developed, but I believe it is for Goodlife!

Yup pretty much the entire bottom floor is going to be GoodLife, except where Boston Pizza is and Sams was.

My Understanding was once GoodLife is complete that the entrance off Granville would be reopened

[scooby074]

The end of Blackberry in Bedford.

Blackberry Bedford is closing and putting 315 out of work. http://www.thechronicleherald.ca/busines...osing-bedford-operation-315-to-lose-jobs

Not that this is totally unexpected but yay, another 300+ good paying jobs gone.

[jslath]

Originally Posted by spaustin

Goodlife is indeed going in there as are a bunch of federal office workers. Not sure what will be left of the already limited retail when it's all done. Not a big loss as the urban mall concept really hasn't panned out in Halifax. Scotia Square pretty much just caters to the lunch/commuter crowd and there is no real retail of note across the street. Not sure what's in Spring Garden Place, but I don't think it really bustles. About the only urban mall that sort of works is Park Lane and even it has nothing on the 2nd level except Cleves and I bet Cleves wouldn't be there if it weren't for the street frontage on Dresden Row. Lesson learned, you can't out mall the suburbs!

What downtown needs is a couple of departments stores to act as anchors like they do in malls. I'd love to see Hudson's Bay open a downtown Halifax location. Maybe an urban format Target (or even Wal-Mart) too. Give 'em cheap rent (like they do in malls) and I'm sure other stores would follow (paying fair market rent). Of course, easier said than done.

[ns_kid]

Originally Posted by jslath

What downtown needs is a couple of departments stores to act as anchors like they do in malls.

With the planned redevelopment of 1881-2001 Brunswick Street, to add street level retail to the ground levels of three residential towers, perhaps it's time developers looked for other opportunities to make their streetscapes more open and pedestrian-friendly. The base of the Fortis-owned Maritime Centre at the foot of Spring Garden Road comes immediately to mind. There is an opportunity for thousands of square metres of ground-level retail -- perhaps an ideal site for an urban department store -- in this space now occupied by inaccessible staircases and blank concrete walls.

[ns_kid]

Originally Posted by Dmajackson

It looks like the Brunswick Street towers are getting a ground-level facelift.

Case 18848

From the Chronicle-Herald of Oct. 16:
Retail, restaurant space proposed for base of three apartment buildings

A section of downtown Halifax could have a different look in the future, with plans to add commercial, retail and pedestrian access to three Brunswick Street apartment buildings.

The proposal calls for the addition of retail or restaurant space at the base of the 30-year-old buildings, owned by the British Columbia Investment Management Corp. The work would be in conjunction with an evolving streetscape.

The buildings, bounded by Brunswick, Duke, Cogswell and Albemarle streets, are next to the Metro Centre and across from the $60-million redevelopment by SilverBirch Hotels and Resorts of Vancouver, which is building a 15-storey Homewood Suites and 15-storey Hampton Inn at 1960 Brunswick St., along with a 17-storey apartment building.

“The proposed retail additions are part of a larger vision for improvements to Brunswick Street that proposes boulevard street trees, a mid-block crosswalk and longer-term maintenance work on the apartment towers,” Michele Walkau of GWL Realty Advisors Inc., the Toronto company that manages the three apartment buildings, said in an email.

GWL will also own the 17-storey, 153-unit apartment building now being built across the street.

Plans for the renovation call for the creation of 11,000 square feet of new retail space.

That includes three retail shops at grade at the MacKeen building at 2001 Brunswick St., two retail shops and accessible pedestrian access in the Scotia Tower at 1991 Brunswick, and two retail shops and a restaurant with outdoor patio in the Plaza Tower at 1881 Brunswick.

“(The goal) is to improve the overall streetscape and experience along this section of Brunswick Street and provide amenities for the existing residents as well as the future residents and hotel guests from the new developments across the street,” Walkau said.

“The proposed renovation is expected to result in major improvements for the pedestrian experience along Brunswick Street.”

What sort of tenants will ultimately find their way there is unknown at this point, she said.

“The 1,200 residents in the apartment towers were surveyed about their preferences for amenities to the buildings,” she said. “The results from these surveys included coffee shops, restaurants, grab-and-go food, a grocery store, etc.”

Materials such as glass, panels and green roofs will be used throughout the project, which counts HOK as lead architect. HOK, a global design firm headquartered in St. Louis, Mo., has four Canadian offices and will work in collaboration with local companies like Outside! Planning & Design Studio of Halifax.

An initial proposal was submitted to the municipal design review committee last week. From there, Walkau said, the proponents hope to enter the public consultation phase this year, with work potentially beginning late in 2014 or beyond.

“The design complies with HRM’s design guidelines for this type of improvement, and feedback received from the (design review committee) will be reviewed prior to finalizing the design expected later this fall,” she said.

[teddifax]

Originally Posted by ns_kid

With the planned redevelopment of 1881-2001 Brunswick Street, to add street level retail to the ground levels of three residential towers, perhaps it's time developers looked for other opportunities to make their streetscapes more open and pedestrian-friendly. The base of the Fortis-owned Maritime Centre at the foot of Spring Garden Road comes immediately to mind. There is an opportunity for thousands of square metres of ground-level retail -- perhaps an ideal site for an urban department store -- in this space now occupied by inaccessible staircases and blank concrete walls.

I would LOVE to see this done! This has always been an eyesore and a lot of wasted, improperly planned space.

[fenwick16]

Originally Posted by ns_kid

...
The base of the Fortis-owned Maritime Centre at the foot of Spring Garden Road comes immediately to mind. There is an opportunity for thousands of square metres of ground-level retail -- perhaps an ideal site for an urban department store -- in this space now occupied by inaccessible staircases and blank concrete walls.

I think this is an architecturally impressive building at street level.

When this building opened it had a couple levels of retail and a food court at the lowest level. It had impressive escalators leading down to the lower retail levels. I haven't been in it for over 30 years so don't know what it is currently like inside, however I found the following link to interior retail and food stores - http://www.yelp.ca/list/maritime-centre-shops-and-services-halifax

[Hali87]

There is still a food court and some retail in the lower levels, but it's completely disconnected from the streets. The only business with any real street interaction is Niche, which is in a, well, niche just to the right of where that photo stops. Even something as simple as having vendors/kiosks or casual performance spaces on the plateau area by the main entrance would be kind of nice.

[ns_kid]

I work in Maritime Centre. The main entrance, as in the photos, is up 13 stairs to the third floor of the structure. It does have a bright and expansive lobby with lots of natural light. The ground and second floors were once full of retail including Coles Books, Lawtons Drugs and several chain clothing stores including, I believe, Tip Top, plus a bank. A few small shops and medical offices remain, along with convention space for the adjoining hotel. In addition to a modest food court, the Pacifico dance bar is in the basement and the Niche restaurant/bar is on the second floor. In short there is a lot of underutilized space on the first three floors.

The building's diagonal orientation and elevated main entrance result in two unfortunate effects. For anyone with mobility issues this is a most inhospitable building. The only accessible door is on the north (left) end of the building. It requires the person to go a few metres down the Salter Street grade, then cross a bricked courtyard to an angled bank of doors where a single door on the far right is automatic. The door leads to the second floor so going anywhere else in the building requires the person to cross to the opposite end of the floor, take an elevator to the main (third) floor, get off, then take another elevator to the tower floors.

The other effect is well known to anyone who walks along Barrington Street. The building's orientation creates a spectacular wind tunnel, producing gale force winds on even moderately breezy days.

Replacing and enclosing the stairs and unused exterior spaces with inviting ground-level retail or public space could mitigate both of these issues and make for a much more human and welcoming streetscape.

[counterfactual]

Originally Posted by ns_kid

With the planned redevelopment of 1881-2001 Brunswick Street, to add street level retail to the ground levels of three residential towers, perhaps it's time developers looked for other opportunities to make their streetscapes more open and pedestrian-friendly. The base of the Fortis-owned Maritime Centre at the foot of Spring Garden Road comes immediately to mind. There is an opportunity for thousands of square metres of ground-level retail -- perhaps an ideal site for an urban department store -- in this space now occupied by inaccessible staircases and blank concrete walls.

I wouldn't mind it so much, if not for the fact that the stairs are narrow, and are bordered by that ugly ass concrete wall with pathetic plants that borders the sidewalk. Would be much better if that concrete wall is knocked down, and that space opened up, so you'd have stairs running all along the sidewalk. then you'd at least have a public space like feeling to it, for food carts, street merchants, whatever.

[coolmillion]

Nocturne Art at Night is happening tonight from 6pm to midnight in and around downtown Halifax and Dartmouth. This event shows the city at its best. The streets will be packed and there will be lots of interesting art, performances and music to see. Ever wanted to listen to samba music on the ferry? It's happening around 7pm!

[worldlyhaligonian]

Originally Posted by ns_kid

I work in Maritime Centre. The main entrance, as in the photos, is up 13 stairs to the third floor of the structure. It does have a bright and expansive lobby with lots of natural light. The ground and second floors were once full of retail including Coles Books, Lawtons Drugs and several chain clothing stores including, I believe, Tip Top, plus a bank. A few small shops and medical offices remain, along with convention space for the adjoining hotel. In addition to a modest food court, the Pacifico dance bar is in the basement and the Niche restaurant/bar is on the second floor. In short there is a lot of underutilized space on the first three floors.

The building's diagonal orientation and elevated main entrance result in two unfortunate effects. For anyone with mobility issues this is a most inhospitable building. The only accessible door is on the north (left) end of the building. It requires the person to go a few metres down the Salter Street grade, then cross a bricked courtyard to an angled bank of doors where a single door on the far right is automatic. The door leads to the second floor so going anywhere else in the building requires the person to cross to the opposite end of the floor, take an elevator to the main (third) floor, get off, then take another elevator to the tower floors.

The other effect is well known to anyone who walks along Barrington Street. The building's orientation creates a spectacular wind tunnel, producing gale force winds on even moderately breezy days.

Replacing and enclosing the stairs and unused exterior spaces with inviting ground-level retail or public space could mitigate both of these issues and make for a much more human and welcoming streetscape.

Thank-you, that is very informative. The groundfloor of the MC is certainly a challenge to improve.

[Grav]

Originally Posted by jslath

What downtown needs is a couple of departments stores to act as anchors like they do in malls. I'd love to see Hudson's Bay open a downtown Halifax location. Maybe an urban format Target (or even Wal-Mart) too. Give 'em cheap rent (like they do in malls) and I'm sure other stores would follow (paying fair market rent). Of course, easier said than done.

I agree 100% Any indoor shopping mall needs major draws for it to thrive as an actual shopping destination. Scotia Square in its current form stays afloat by being interconnected with much of the downtown working crowd. There is no reason for anyone to go out of their way to shop there unless they live right downtown and need to go to the dollarama for something (like I do sometimes). If the space that was once woolco was restored as a Target or other big box retail store the mall would become a major downtown destination again. Most planners hate the mall but its one of the cities greatest assets as it can fit big box retail easy on its second level where Bell Aliant is now. Street front for those in a hurry and connected to the mall for convenience.

I heard a rumor that the new expansion on Barrington will include McDonalds on the second level connected to the food court. There may be stairs from the street going up to it as well. This on itself will be a major draw to the mall at all hours. Personally id rather something local or at least better for you like a Panera bread franchise

Dont get me started on the expansion design. Uninspiring all glass and tacky stone chunk attached to the side of the building. Not to mention all the new street frontage will take away from the currently internal activities of the complex and the whole core area for that matter. You cant have an interconnected internal pedestrian network AND street oriented shops at the same time. Eventually one will get overtaken by the other and fail.

http://www.halifaxdevelopments.com/images/ss-hrm-report.pdf

Id have preferred some of the complexes pre-existing elements be carried over to the expansion rather than completely contrasting materials. Or at least something true to the era the mall was built if HRM by design is so scared of textured concrete. Maybe an abstract 1960's style facade that the HSC Eatons once featured with brick accents at the street level.

[Grav]

Originally Posted by ns_kid

I work in Maritime Centre. The main entrance, as in the photos, is up 13 stairs to the third floor of the structure. It does have a bright and expansive lobby with lots of natural light. The ground and second floors were once full of retail including Coles Books, Lawtons Drugs and several chain clothing stores including, I believe, Tip Top, plus a bank. A few small shops and medical offices remain, along with convention space for the adjoining hotel. In addition to a modest food court, the Pacifico dance bar is in the basement and the Niche restaurant/bar is on the second floor. In short there is a lot of underutilized space on the first three floors.

The building's diagonal orientation and elevated main entrance result in two unfortunate effects. For anyone with mobility issues this is a most inhospitable building. The only accessible door is on the north (left) end of the building. It requires the person to go a few metres down the Salter Street grade, then cross a bricked courtyard to an angled bank of doors where a single door on the far right is automatic. The door leads to the second floor so going anywhere else in the building requires the person to cross to the opposite end of the floor, take an elevator to the main (third) floor, get off, then take another elevator to the tower floors.

The other effect is well known to anyone who walks along Barrington Street. The building's orientation creates a spectacular wind tunnel, producing gale force winds on even moderately breezy days.

Replacing and enclosing the stairs and unused exterior spaces with inviting ground-level retail or public space could mitigate both of these issues and make for a much more human and welcoming streetscape.

I have been trying for so long to find information on the original tenants and design of the Maritime Mall. How has it changed visually? I suspect there used to be brown tiles in the concourse similar to some of the shops down there but thats about it. The used bookstore currently down there is great. Me and my friends found ourselves lost in there for an hour flipping through pages.

[alps]

Agreed, that used bookstore is fantastic and not very well known. Nice staff too. Been going there since I was in high school.

[Dmajackson]

Halifax condos set to start
October 22, 2013 - 6:13pm BY REMO ZACCAGNA BUSINESS REPORTER


Atlantic Developments Inc. will begin construction early next year of Harris East, a four-storey, 56-unit condominium at the corner of Harris and Maynard streets in Halifax. (CONTRIBUTED)

The developer behind the Theatre Lofts condominiums on Gottingen Street will break ground on a new north-end project early next year.

With a development permit in hand, David Graham, head of Atlantic Developments Inc., will build Harris East, a $10-million, four-storey, 56-unit condominium on an empty lot at the corner of Harris and Maynard streets.

A building of this type would work well in the rapidly changing north end, Graham said Tuesday.

“It’s a little out of the downtown core in an area off Agricola that’s really coming alive. And I think Agricola is an interesting area; it’s an eclectic neighbourhood,” he said in a telephone interview ahead of Wednesday night’s VivaCity event, an annual urban development forum where the public has a chance to view where future development is headed for metro Halifax.

...

READ MORE: THECHRONICLEHERALD.CA

[mcmcclassic]

Originally Posted by Dmajackson

[I]Halifax condos set to start
October 22, 2013 - 6:13pm BY REMO ZACCAGNA BUSINESS REPORTER


Atlantic Developments Inc. will begin construction early next year of Harris East, a four-storey, 56-unit condominium at the corner of Harris and Maynard streets in Halifax. (CONTRIBUTED)



READ MORE: THECHRONICLEHERALD.CA

This looks a million times better than what is currently there. Looking forward to seeing this one start.