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

[curnhalio]

Originally Posted by Ziobrop

FWIW, though i havent posted much on here - i am still providing regular updates at http://novacenter.builthalifax.ca/

Thank you for your work. The interior shots are really cool.

[teddifax]

http://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/scott-ferguso...-centre-ceo-accepts-job-in-nyc-1.2914548

This just in, Scott Ferguson is leaving TCL for New York.

[eastcoastal]

Hope the lighting in the covered portion of Grafton is good. It's looking pretty cave-like.

[Hali87]

Shared street concepts for Argyle and Grafton:

• Video Link

[Dmajackson]

^Lol to the cop car sitting outside of the Toothy Moose.

But seriously it looks good and I'm excited to see the results!

[someone123]

I used to think of streetscaping as a kind of window dressing but after seeing a bunch of similar streets with good or bad streetscaping I think it's a very important factor in establishing vibrant pedestrian-oriented districts, and an area where Halifax has fallen far behind other cities, particularly European cities.

The Barrington and Spring Garden streetscapes have been debated for at least a decade or more, so it's nice to see something happening here.

Traffic issues are often brought up but I think they are a red herring on these busy commercial streets. It does not make sense to try to push tons of traffic through an area with lots of pedestrians and crossings. Higher speeds along a 1 km stretch of Barrington also make very little difference for vehicle travel times. Delivery vehicles and access are important but that is a different concern from making sure there are lots of wide lanes for cars, and it looks like they've made allowances for those uses in the Argyle plans.

Parking's another one where saving a few meters here and there isn't worth the trouble. The bread and butter for parking is the garages. Businesses that rely on people being able to drive up to them quickly, park, walk in, and leave, probably shouldn't be located in the bowels of downtown.

This is all tied to wider questions about transportation though that the city has failed to answer. How are the trucks going to be removed from downtown streets? How is transit going to be improved so that the urban core can get by with less reliance on private vehicles?

[scryer]

Originally Posted by someone123

Parking's another one where saving a few meters here and there isn't worth the trouble. The bread and butter for parking is the garages. Businesses that rely on people being able to drive up to them quickly, park, walk in, and leave, probably shouldn't be located in the bowels of downtown.

This is all tied to wider questions about transportation though that the city has failed to answer. How are the trucks going to be removed from downtown streets? How is transit going to be improved so that the urban core can get by with less reliance on private vehicles?

Well that's urban revitalization for ya! As your downtown develops, residents and businesses are going to demand stronger infrastructure to support it. Afterall a symptom of bad urban planning is more traffic and roads. I think that this streetscaping project will be a healthy push for a more transit-oriented Halifax, if that's what you're going for.

[terrynorthend]

Originally Posted by Dmajackson

^Lol to the cop car sitting outside of the Toothy Moose.

But seriously it looks good and I'm excited to see the results!

That's a neat model of Halifax.

I'd like to see more of the overhead light strings.

[terrynorthend]

Originally Posted by someone123

I used to think of streetscaping as a kind of window dressing but after seeing a bunch of similar streets with good or bad streetscaping I think it's a very important factor in establishing vibrant pedestrian-oriented districts, and an area where Halifax has fallen far behind other cities, particularly European cities.
Delivery vehicles and access are important but that is a different concern from making sure there are lots of wide lanes for cars, and it looks like they've made allowances for those uses in the Argyle plans.

These streets could work very much like the waterfront docks and wharves. Pedestrian priority, but authorized vehicles are allowed. They just drive slowly and carefully and yield the ROW.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Reflections of the old in the new:



Impressions after spending some time on Argyle Street:

- When the construction fence is removed, the street seems like it will be pretty wide compared to my initial impressions of it. The remake of the street should result in a nice space overall.

- Can't remember what it was like when the Chronicle Herald building was there, but the entire strip of Argyle is now shaded from the mid to late afternoon sun. Kind of a downer for sun worshippers who enjoyed the outdoor patios - on the plus side, it will be better for those who prefer to limit their UV exposure.

- I am a little worried that the Nova Centre side might create a bit of a dead zone if it's mostly occupied by BMO. I can't help but think what a nice street it would be if it had similar entertainment/restaurant venues on both sides of that stretch of road.

Oh well, we're fully committed now, so it will be what it will be...

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

Impressions after spending some time on Argyle Street:

- When the construction fence is removed, the street seems like it will be pretty wide compared to my initial impressions of it. The remake of the street should result in a nice space overall.

- Can't remember what it was like when the Chronicle Herald building was there, but the entire strip of Argyle is now shaded from the mid to late afternoon sun. Kind of a downer for sun worshippers who enjoyed the outdoor patios - on the plus side, it will be better for those who prefer to limit their UV exposure.

The patios were always shaded from mid to late afternoon onwards even before.

- I am a little worried that the Nova Centre side might create a bit of a dead zone if it's mostly occupied by BMO. I can't help but think what a nice street it would be if it had similar entertainment/restaurant venues on both sides of that stretch of road.

Oh well, we're fully committed now, so it will be what it will be...

The Herald building was a virtual dead zone except for the reporters who would go across the street to drink. There was zero commercial traffic on that side and there was a garage entrance there as well that was used for trucks when the printing was still done there. It was a dismal block on the west side of the street. This cannot be any worse.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

The patios were always shaded from mid to late afternoon onwards even before.

Thanks!

The Herald building was a virtual dead zone except for the reporters who would go across the street to drink. There was zero commercial traffic on that side and there was a garage entrance there as well that was used for trucks when the printing was still done there. It was a dismal block on the west side of the street. This cannot be any worse.

I agree with your last sentence, but ask the question: "shouldn't we be striving to be better?".

That said, it will likely be better, but for such a substantial investment my expectations would be to knock it out of the park. Plus... substantial portions of the east-west streets appear that they will have little curb-appeal, or at least that's my impression from seeing it firsthand.

[teddifax]

I thought that the bar/restaurant area of Argyle St. would be expanded with the Nova Centre and that there would be bars at the base of this as well.... Is this not to be the case?

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by teddifax

I thought that the bar/restaurant area of Argyle St. would be expanded with the Nova Centre and that there would be bars at the base of this as well.... Is this not to be the case?

I'm hoping it to be the case. I didn't think it obvious when looking at the rendering used for the BMO announcement, but its purpose is to be highlighting the BMO aspects rather than how it relates at street level. So maybe not the best picture to go by.



http://www.metronews.ca/news/halifax/201...ifax-announces-bmo-as-anchor-tenant.html

However, looking at the video posted by Hali87 above there appears to be a number of generic-looking shop fronts which likely will be personalized when occupied. Probably much ado about nothing on my part, just verbalizing the thoughts that were going through my mind as I was recently sipping a drink on Argyle pondering the future of the street...

[teddifax]

Is there any rendering showing what the Grafton Streetscape of the Nova Centre will look like? I have seen a picture or two, but it would've been nice to see this included in the video released a few days ago, showing Grafton and Argyle streets being redone.

[someone123]

Here are some floor plans: http://www.halifaxconventioncentre.com/facility

The Argyle Street level has two large retail spaces. The site also mentions that there will be retail/restaurant space fronting onto the covered part of Grafton Street, which is probably needed to keep it feeling lively.

The Herald building really wasn't great and I have a hard time imagining the Nova Centre being anything but an enormous improvement. Most of the Argyle Street frontage of the Herald was a blank concrete wall. The employees did frequent nearby businesses but there are going to be a lot more people in the Nova Centre.

I think the Nova Centre will have a transformative effect on the area similar to the library. There's just going to be a lot more people around and there will be a lot more stuff to see and do in this part of town. The Grafton-Argyle area was already pretty decent, with the exception of the giant pit for the convention centre. It's one of the nicer entertainment type districts I've seen outside of a large city or tourist town.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by someone123

The Grafton-Argyle area was already pretty decent, with the exception of the giant pit for the convention centre. It's one of the nicer entertainment type districts I've seen outside of a large city or tourist town.

Heh-heh... your avatar is proof of your feelings!

I think you're right in your assertions, however I thought that I had read somewhere that the north section of the NC on Argyle was going to be taken up by a BMO branch, but perhaps I was mistaken.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

I think you're right in your assertions, however I thought that I had read somewhere that the north section of the NC on Argyle was going to be taken up by a BMO branch, but perhaps I was mistaken.

I was figured that was one of the two retail spots. I could see the second one going to a Cactus Club type place. Not sure if one or both of those spaces will have Grafton entrances.

It looks like Market doesn't have anything but I'm not sure that's a huge loss.

[teddifax]

There still hasn't been any mention of connection to the Downtown pedway system. I feel this is extremely important to have this done. Is there anything being done on this?

[worldlyhaligonian]

I feel like there is a selective memory about the time when it was the Herald building on this site.

To confirm: It was absolutely terrible... and all the patios were in the shade. It was like the pit before the Nova Centre... except an eyesore and completely dead zone.

Furthermore, the western site was like the current "twisted sisters" site.

Its probably the ideal situation for both lots.