[Halifax] Nova Centre | 65-58-58 m | 16-15-14 fl | Completed

[Nouvellecosse]

I think I'm going to be kind of sad to see the cladding go up. The warm earth tones of the concrete and steel of the unclad structure really fits in with the mood of the surroundings whereas I worry that I'll find a lot of sleek blue glass to be quite cold and jarring.

Hard to say but in the finished rendering above it really doesn't fit with the urban fabric and sticks out like a sore thumb.

[counterfactual]

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

I think I'm going to be kind of sad to see the cladding go up. The warm earth tones of the concrete and steel of the unclad structure really fits in with the mood of the surroundings whereas I worry that I'll find a lot of sleek blue glass to be quite cold and jarring.

Hard to say but in the finished rendering above it really doesn't fit with the urban fabric and sticks out like a sore thumb.

I disagree. We have so few of these very new "sleek" glass modern buildings downtown, that it will bring a nice contrast to the surroundings. We need a more unique and boldly designed buildings to "stick out" like sore thumbs, and provide some much needed architectural diversity.

I think the Nova Center will join the new Central Library as one of the new modern and iconic buildings in the city.

If the 22 Commerce Square ever gets built (not holding my breath) it, too, will likely be a new, unique, and iconic building.

[Nouvellecosse]

Seems to me that downtown is really a jumble of different styles and the main issue is a lack of coherence.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

Seems to me that downtown is really a jumble of different styles and the main issue is a lack of coherence.

Until recently it was all short, stubby, sawed off red brick Victorians or faux-Victorians. Some diversity is good.

[ILoveHalifax]

We need to get Keith to bring in his wrecking ball to the NFB site and then we can build something new and sleek to compliment the Nova Center, so Nouvelle Escosse will be happy.
There - problem solved

[Ziobrop]

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

I think I'm going to be kind of sad to see the cladding go up. The warm earth tones of the concrete and steel of the unclad structure really fits in with the mood of the surroundings whereas I worry that I'll find a lot of sleek blue glass to be quite cold and jarring.

Hard to say but in the finished rendering above it really doesn't fit with the urban fabric and sticks out like a sore thumb.

the glass looks to be pretty close to the new stuff they put on TD - Has a blue tint, but its not jaring, and mostly see through.

Id include a photo, but it all has that blue kling protector (like screens on electronics have when you unpack them) so it looks really blue.

[Nouvellecosse]

Originally Posted by ILoveHalifax

We need to get Keith to bring in his wrecking ball to the NFB site and then we can build something new and sleek to compliment the Nova Center, so Nouvelle Escosse will be happy.
There - problem solved

I think what bothers me is that for a city of our age, we don't really have any significant sized historic districts. Pretty much every part of downtown is dominated by modern(ish) highrises. I enjoyed the fact that this area wasn't, even though not all the buildings are historic. The downtown Halifax wiki page sort of mentions this:

Unlike other historic Canadian cities such as Quebec[1] and Montreal[2] or comparably size New England cities such as Portland, Maine,[3] Halifax has not preserved any heritage districts and has few intact blocks of historic buildings, although the downtown is known for the historic architecture of some individual landmark buildings. Demolition and urban renewal in the 1960s and 1970s replaced most of the downtown with blocks with office towers.[4] One of the few blocks to have retained its heritage character is Granville Mall, a pedestrian mall formerly part of Granville Street, made up of an array of shops and pubs in a conglomeration of rowed historic buildings built in the 1860s. It is known for the stone facades on each building. Historic Properties, a collection of 19th-century warehouses converted into shops and restaurants, is located nearby. Despite the heritage focus of these remaining blocks of heritage buildings, none are protected as heritage districts.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downtown_Halifax

When one of the NFLD forumers mentioned this a couple years ago I sort of scoffed it off because obviously there are quite a few heritage buildings. But I see where he was coming from now. It was really highlighted to me after visiting QC, Montreal, and even Saint John this summer.

But hey, we'll see how things turn out...

[lawsond]

Fact is that Halifax never had a great stock of brick and stone. We have been chewing up old wooden neighbourhoods for decades...most of which were not particularly desirable. Saint John has brick/stone Trinity Royal which shows how rich that city was in the 1800s. Montreal and QC have a lot more brick and stone. And St. John's seems to value wooden neighbourhoods which is good because they ain't got much other than that. In many ways forunate and unfortunate, Halifax development patterns are a mirror in miniature of Toronto We have the same booms and busts including the office tower booms of the 70's and 80s and a current boom in condos. Cities like Saint John and St. John's don't have the wealth and growth to mirror those booms. Even in micro. Frankly old wooden shacks thrown up to hous the working poor are better off demolished IMO. I think Hali is playing it just right with a mix of old, new and hybrid structures. There are competing forces here that, even though we may find the Preservers annoying at times, produces a livable city in the end.

[someone123]

There's a limited stock of old masonry buildings outside of downtown but the stock downtown is still pretty exceptional. Buildings like the Bank of NS and Province House only have equals in a couple of other cities in Canada. If anything I think the heritage buildings downtown are really underappreciated, which is probably why there has been less preservation than there could have been.

Halifax does have historic districts by the way. Barrington is one. Schmidtville is going to be one. The Falkland area could be another one, along with the Hydrostone, Jubilee Road, etc.

The Saint John comparison is interesting. The stock of commercial buildings isn't greater than what you find in Halifax but because there are more highrises, Halifax is arguably less immersive. That's just a trade-off. The cities are different. I'm not sure downtown Halifax could have the vibrancy it has without higher density modern buildings so it's not very upsetting to me, although it is sad that there are a few cases where great old buildings were torn down for parking lots.

[Nouvellecosse]

Sometimes visiting other cities can of course result in one's own grass seeming less green upon return. I'm sure it'll ware off in time.

[Jonovision]

Originally Posted by Ziobrop

the glass looks to be pretty close to the new stuff they put on TD - Has a blue tint, but its not jaring, and mostly see through.

Id include a photo, but it all has that blue kling protector (like screens on electronics have when you unpack them) so it looks really blue.

Has any of it been installed yet? I walked by today and didn't notice any of it up.

[counterfactual]

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

I think what bothers me is that for a city of our age, we don't really have any significant sized historic districts. Pretty much every part of downtown is dominated by modern(ish) highrises. I enjoyed the fact that this area wasn't, even though not all the buildings are historic. The downtown Halifax wiki page sort of mentions this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downtown_Halifax

When one of the NFLD forumers mentioned this a couple years ago I sort of scoffed it off because obviously there are quite a few heritage buildings. But I see where he was coming from now. It was really highlighted to me after visiting QC, Montreal, and even Saint John this summer.

But hey, we'll see how things turn out...

I agree that it would be nice to have a distinct area that is heritage preserved; it could be sold as a specific destination ("let's go the Distillery district.. or Gastown", etc.

But perhaps we should actually protect the Granville Mall and the surrounding "historic properties" as a heritage district now. In ways, we sort of already treat it that way -- I've often told visitors to check out "heritage properties" along the waterfront there, and then up along Granville Mall.

The problem, of course, is that this area is very dead, mostly killed by the idiotic Cogswell Exchange. Perhaps a big, modern, residential development to replace the Cogswell space-- while also preserving Granville mall and surrounding as a heritage district-- might be a very nice way to promote this area. I think Granville could eventually be a beautiful shopping area for high end shops (like Barrington), if we actually reconnected it to the city by gutting the stupid Cogswell and the big triangular parking spot nearby and infusing much needed residential via new developments nearby.

[Keith P.]

Downtown residential is still a very small target market - basically singles, empty nesters, and young couples without children. Any kids living downtown would need to go to school somewhere, but I have no idea where they would go.

[curnhalio]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Downtown residential is still a very small target market - basically singles, empty nesters, and young couples without children. Any kids living downtown would need to go to school somewhere, but I have no idea where they would go.

I think there is anticipation that these markets will grow in the not-too-distant future. There are plenty of young adults not at all interested in having children - now or at any point. Empty nesters/seniors are certainly a growing demographic, and there are already some seniors living in downtown condos or apartments. Whether these demographics can consistently afford high end luxury units to the point of filling several large new builds remains to be seen.

[ns_kid]

To the surprise of virtually no one, the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal has ruled that the province did not break any rules when it allowed construction of the Nova Centre to proceed by way of a Statement of Provincial Interest before a final development agreement was in place with Halifax.

This is the second time the courts have ruled against the Thiel Family. The Thiel's next and final avenue would be to seek leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada though it seems unlikely the SCC would find this a compelling case.

In the decision released today, Justice Michael MacDonald ruled that the province did indeed have a valid interest in seeing the project proceed and was completely within its rights to issue the planning area order.

Costs were awarded to the province.

Of course the decision has little material impact since the Thiels were not seeking to stop construction or a damage award.

[Nouvellecosse]

Originally Posted by curnhalio

I think there is anticipation that these markets will grow in the not-too-distant future. There are plenty of young adults not at all interested in having children - now or at any point. Empty nesters/seniors are certainly a growing demographic, and there are already some seniors living in downtown condos or apartments. Whether these demographics can consistently afford high end luxury units to the point of filling several large new builds remains to be seen.

That, and there are several schools just outside downtown like Saint Mary's Elementary on Morris street and of course the new highschool on Bell rd. But it's kind of a moot point because even if there were schools right downtown, if you saw major population growth of young families in the area you need to either build more or expand the existing ones. But that can be said for most areas.

[Hali87]

There are also several schools outside downtown that have closed over the last 10 years or are underutilized (and probably some that are overcrowded as a result) - St Pat's-Alexandra, Beaufort, and another one near SMU (I forget the name) all closed and there are a number of inconspicuous elementary and jr. high schools scattered across the peninsula and every couple years a few of them are under threat of being closed. There are also actually quite a few private schools on and around the peninsula and I think they tend to be forgotten about most of the time.

[Jonovision]

Still no glass but it keeps getting taller and the box of the ballroom is continuing to take shape along Argyle.

[Jonovision]

[stevencourchene]

so can anyone tell me/us how Meany floors to go until complete?