General Updates and News

[Ziobrop]

I suspect glacial till while easy to dig is not easy to tunnel in. Ottawas let tunnel is going through granite. Halifax is mostly piyritic shale which breaks easily and is probably easier to tunnel

[Ziobrop]

Back to the Khyber,
The HTNS released a Press release (and posted it to their website for the second time since 2010) stating their mandate.

Item 3 reads:

Acquire, preserve and protect buildings and sites which are recognized as historical sites by the Department of Canadian Heritage, Parks Canada or an appropriate provincial or municipal authority;

SO it would be part of their mandate to Buy the khyber and restore it.
I might even chip in a few bucks if they did.

[Drybrain]

Originally Posted by Ziobrop

Back to the Khyber,
The HTNS released a Press release (and posted it to their website for the second time since 2010) stating their mandate.

Item 3 reads:


SO it would be part of their mandate to Buy the khyber and restore it.
I might even chip in a few bucks if they did.

Hell, so might I.

I also wonder where the city's arts patrons are on this, actually—if the Fountain family can donate $3 million to NSCAD, I'm wondering if there are any other prominent/wealthy arts supporters who might chip in a few hundred thousand here and there for the Khyber.

Not that we should rely on charity to provide arts funding, or save our great buildings. But given the situation, if I had the resources, I'd certainly be thinking about it.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by Drybrain

Hell, so might I.

I also wonder where the city's arts patrons are on this, actually—if the Fountain family can donate $3 million to NSCAD, I'm wondering if there are any other prominent/wealthy arts supporters who might chip in a few hundred thousand here and there for the Khyber.

Not that we should rely on charity to provide arts funding, or save our great buildings. But given the situation, if I had the resources, I'd certainly be thinking about it.

I believe that the silence of the literati on this reflects the vastly overstated importance of the Khyber and the KAS to the artsy types in the city. As I mentioned in an earlier post, they are perceived as a closed club, not doing much for anyone but themselves, that somehow managed to finagle the city into giving them a free clubhouse. They are not a cornerstone of the arts community in Halifax as some would have you believe.

[ILoveHalifax]

Just bring in the bulldozers.
23 years with NFB looking like a bomb hit it and we get an apartment behind a façade.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by ILoveHalifax

Just bring in the bulldozers.
23 years with NFB looking like a bomb hit it and we get an apartment behind a façade.

No question that the remains of the NFB should have been taken down immediately after the fire. To have it in the state it has been for a generation is unacceptable, and to now keep that ugly facade is adding insult to injury.

[coolmillion]

I don't know if this has been mentioned elsewhere but I noticed a "commercial space for lease coming soon" sign at the corner of Hennessey and Isleville. The rendering shows a low-rise faux-tudoresque design, similar to the Mother's Pizza building. See here: http://cwatlantic.com/properties/3138-isleville-street/
The address is 3132 Isleville and the only current tenant I am aware of is Sweetleaf smoke shop and hydroponics.

[Dmajackson]

^This was initially brought up a few months ago in this thread. The plan is to start construction this year. The demolition permit has been issued for the existing building.

Personally I would rather see retail expand its footprint along Young/Kaye and south on Gottingen before taking over the side streets, however, other than the imperfect location this looks a great infill project. Visually I cannot see this being worse than the yellow, blank fall the smokeshop has along Hennessey.

[coolmillion]

Thanks Dma! Yeah, it looks like a decent project and I imagine that it won't be too challenging to find tenants with all the interest and new and upcoming residential developments in this area.

[Dmajackson]

Might as well add 3138 Isleville to the Halifax Developments Blog. Any photos I take will be available via the link below;

Halifax Developments Blog - 3138 Isleville

[curnhalio]

Hah, some old friends of mine used to live in the upstairs apartment years ago. I was unaware this was up for development, but awesome none the less.

Think of it as an extension of existing retail on Isleville. In addition to the new building for Willmans, it also gives the other business sites on the street incentive to come up with their own new designs.

[Keith P.]

Ugly building IMO though I see what they are trying to do with it as a homage to the Hydrostones. Of course anything will be better than the existing supplier to the drug trade.

[Drybrain]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Ugly building IMO though I see what they are trying to do with it as a homage to the Hydrostones. Of course anything will be better than the existing supplier to the drug trade.

If they keep this up it won't take long before there are more faux Hydrostone commercial buildings than real ones. I hope this is the last of the faux variety, and the rest of the neighbourhood fills out with some contemporary buildings. This and the Mothers building are okay, but I don't really understand why they've taken this approach.

[counterfactual]

Originally Posted by Drybrain

If they keep this up it won't take long before there are more faux Hydrostone commercial buildings than real ones. I hope this is the last of the faux variety, and the rest of the neighbourhood fills out with some contemporary buildings. This and the Mothers building are okay, but I don't really understand why they've taken this approach.

Hey Dry, The Coast is looking awfully thin these days.

I'm not sure I like the new format; missing a lot of the stuff I found it helpful-- local entertainment/culture/events listings, quick reference movie reviews for locally playing shows.

Is everything OK over there, financially? Worried when newspapers get cut down so thin; not a great sign. Would suck for the city if The Coast went under...

[Drybrain]

Originally Posted by counterfactual

Hey Dry, The Coast is looking awfully thin these days.

I'm not sure I like the new format; missing a lot of the stuff I found it helpful-- local entertainment/culture/events listings, quick reference movie reviews for locally playing shows.

Is everything OK over there, financially? Worried when newspapers get cut down so thin; not a great sign. Would suck for the city if The Coast went under...

Oh, I dunno—I've just done a few freelance pieces, so I'm not on staff or anything. Not sure what the finances are like.

Your concern is well-founded, though. The similar magazine I worked for in Toronto went out of business a few months ago, taking out or at least slowing down some really great careers. Times are desperately hard in the magazine business.

Could also just be a lack of ad content in late summer though. Weeklies tend to get thinner in late summer and January/February, 'cause that's when ad dollars are at their least. They get fatter in fall and spring (approaching Christmas and summer).

[pblaauw]

On the other hand, Tim Bousquet left.... Was that the beginning of the slow demise?

[Colin May]

Originally Posted by pblaauw

On the other hand, Tim Bousquet left.... Was that the beginning of the slow demise?

It has been a wet noodle since he left.
It was a must read when he was editor, didn't matter if you didn't like some of the leftie nonsense but it broke stories no other outlet would touch.
The CBC is just a bunch of ambulance chasers.

[Jonovision]

Dal has started work on their new Wallace McCain Learning Commons. No renderings or elevations. Just this floor plan.



Construction as of today.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by pblaauw

On the other hand, Tim Bousquet left.... Was that the beginning of the slow demise?

Addition by subtraction.

[counterfactual]

Originally Posted by Drybrain

Oh, I dunno—I've just done a few freelance pieces, so I'm not on staff or anything. Not sure what the finances are like.

Your concern is well-founded, though. The similar magazine I worked for in Toronto went out of business a few months ago, taking out or at least slowing down some really great careers. Times are desperately hard in the magazine business.

Could also just be a lack of ad content in late summer though. Weeklies tend to get thinner in late summer and January/February, 'cause that's when ad dollars are at their least. They get fatter in fall and spring (approaching Christmas and summer).

Yeah, you should compare The Coast to The Now. The used to be very similar in style and content (and both were poor Canadian man's Village Voice, of course), but The Coast is seeming a lot thinner to me these days.

Worried, because it's a true staple out here.

I kinda wish Metronews went away. A useless free daily, that has a lot of celebrity garbage in it and usually front page is sensational crime stories. Blah.