General Updates and News

[Empire]

Originally Posted by spaustin

Me too. A real break from the architectural sameness that characterizes so many modern buildings.

I wonder what the siding will be?

[HalifaxRetales]

Originally Posted by ns_kid

Halifax Retales reported this week there is chatter about a possible Five Guys opening in Dartmouth Crossing later this year. It wouldn't be the first time such rumours have circulated, but apparently calls to Five Guys head office produced the kinds of non-committal responses one might expect if the story had legs. And Five Guys said a few years ago that franchise rights for Halifax were sewed up. Not sure by whom.

For anyone not familiar with the chain, they are one of the granddaddies of the gourmet burger/fresh cut fries biz and pretty well regarded so a DC opening could be very bad for the waistline. They source locally and declare their suppliers. A Yonge Street FG touted their PEI potato supplier during a recent visit. The first FG opened in Virginia in 1986 and they started franchising in 2003. There are 67 Canadian locations but none east of Montreal.

yeah I got vague answers from them again
I have 3 different folks telling me and it seems very plausible
but there are confirmations I like I don't have any of them

[IanWatson]

Originally Posted by Empire

I wonder what the siding will be?

The renderings appear to be the existing brick on the base with black corrugated metal on the addition, plus wood accents. This would be pretty in line with Abbott Brown's style.

[Duff]

This came out about 7 months ago so it may be old news, but here is an ambitious 3 billion dollar project in Tampa to redevelop 9 million square feet (836,000 sq m) of their downtown.

• Video Link

[Querce]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/saint-marys-university-new-arena-1.4593743

Saint Mary's University is tearing down its 53-year-old arena and will build a new one on the same site.

The Halifax university announced Monday that the existing rink will close at the end of March and fencing will go up immediately.

The new arena is expected to be ready for the fall of 2019.

The facility will feature a NHL-sized ice surface, with seating for 800 people and standing room for another 200.

"There will actually be seats; right now, we don't have seats," said Scott Gray, SMU's director of athletics and recreation. "It'll be a better, more modern, more convenient setting."

Saint Mary's had been discussing the idea of a shared facility with Dalhousie University, which has land located across from the IWK Health Centre designated for a rink project.

Margaret Murphy, SMU's associate vice-president of external affairs, said the decision to build a rink on campus does not preclude other possibilities in the future.

"The partnership with Dalhousie and others in the community related to facilities is an ongoing and open conversation," she said.

[ns_kid]

Holy...

Will wonders never cease. The province handed over $1.5 million for this project...in 2004!

Province Gives $1.5 Million for New Arena

[Corker]

I see Canada Lands Company is starting a community consultation process for redevelopment of the former RCMP property at 3151/3139 Oxford Street. Two properties total approximately 4.5 acres. A session is happening on Wednesday evening, March 28.

http://en.clc.ca/property/576

This is across the Oxford/Bayers Road intersection from the 3090 Oxford proposal.

[IanWatson]

Council's agenda today has a staff report regarding secondary dwelling units. The staff recommendation is to enable them and make them easier to do in all low-density residential zones, HRM-wide. Staff also suggests considering back yard dwellings (i.e. in a separate building).

This is pretty exciting! It would be a pretty huge step forward for housing affordability and for densifying "established" residential neighbourhoods with minimal impacts.

[Jonovision]

A new crane went up on the Stadaconna base today where the old Barracks had been torn down.

[ns_kid]

The province announced today that it is looking to build a new "cultural hub" on the Halifax waterfront. The location and the cost is still unknown, but the new facility would house both NSCAD University (to vacate its Historic Properties buildings) and the Art Gallery (to leave the former Customs House). Also no hints as to what is likely to happen to the historic former buildings. The premier is counting on federal money and significant private investment.

Source: CBC

[Drybrain]

Originally Posted by ns_kid

Also no hints as to what is likely to happen to the historic former buildings.
Source: CBC

All it says about the current NSCAD's current buildings is that the school would sell them. Honestly, and I think NSCAD is a wonderful thing for the city overall, but those buildings have been left in disprepair long enough under the institution's watch. No buyer in their right mind would ever tear them down so I'm sure they're safe, and this may be better for them.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by Drybrain

All it says about the current NSCAD's current buildings is that the school would sell them. Honestly, and I think NSCAD is a wonderful thing for the city overall, but those buildings have been left in disprepair long enough under the institution's watch. No buyer in their right mind would ever tear them down so I'm sure they're safe, and this may be better for them.

Are they merely protected by the usual 3 or 5 year delay before demolition?

They are one of the nicest sets of commercial buildings in the whole country. Maybe the nicest block from the mid-Victorian period. And they are a national historic site (Halifax is full of poorly maintained sites of national historic significance). There should be more public support of buildings like these and historic buildings around Province House. These buildings should be kept preserved in their state in perpetuity. They should not be left to the private market so a developer can let them slip into "crisis mode" in order to demand concessions to increase profitability. I don't think there is a high risk that these buildings would be fully demolished, but I can easily imagine them getting the Waterside Centre treatment unless there are rules in place to prevent that outcome.

[kph06]

I thought Armour Group negotiated a deal a couple years ago that they would purchase the NSCAD buildings and lease the space back to them?

[Drybrain]

Originally Posted by someone123

Are they merely protected by the usual 3 or 5 year delay before demolition?

They are one of the nicest sets of commercial buildings in the whole country. Maybe the nicest block from the mid-Victorian period. And they are a national historic site (Halifax is full of poorly maintained sites of national historic significance). There should be more public support of buildings like these and historic buildings around Province House. These buildings should be kept preserved in their state in perpetuity. They should not be left to the private market so a developer can let them slip into "crisis mode" in order to demand concessions to increase profitability. I don't think there is a high risk that these buildings would be fully demolished, but I can easily imagine them getting the Waterside Centre treatment unless there are rules in place to prevent that outcome.

The Granville mall is municipally registered, but also a national historic site. I think any developer seeking to demolish it would have a long and expensive uphill battle (and would opposed by the large majority of Haligonians). I can't really see it happening, but facadism might be a possibility. I don't know if the national registry actually imposes serious restrictions or if it's just a nice-to-have kind of thing.

If the AGNS buildings were torn down I would be completely amazed.

[Jonovision]

A few updates on Bell Lofts.

20180328_124506_HDR by Jonovision23, on Flickr

20180328_124423_HDR by Jonovision23, on Flickr

20180328_124305_HDR by Jonovision23, on Flickr

[Jonovision]

The new crane visible at Stadaccona.

20180328_130514 by Jonovision23, on Flickr

[Jonovision]

The scaffolding has come down on the Johnston Building and has started to come down on the St Pauls Buildings.

20180328_131428 by Jonovision23, on Flickr

20180328_131455 by Jonovision23, on Flickr

[mleblanc]

Beautiful. Downtown's crawling back to life it seems.

[beyeas]

Originally Posted by Jonovision

20180328_124305_HDR by Jonovision23, on Flickr

From some angles it reminds me of a red brick version of The Rooms.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by mleblanc

Beautiful. Downtown's crawling back to life it seems.

It reminds me of that Bill Gates quote about how people overestimate how much change will happen in 2 years but underestimate how much will happen in 10. This big round of construction is still not done yet (Green Latern, Discovery Centre, NFB, Roy; so many buildings are still not ready for tenants) and it will take a year or two after these projects complete for the dust to settle and new tenants to get established.

There has been a lot of turnover on Barrington in recent years but I think it is the more healthy turnover of construction and new higher-end businesses moving in. I liked a lot of those old businesses but the fact that the city's traditional main street was full of used bookstores, pool halls, etc. occupying spaces previously occupied by major retailers was a sign of its decline.

It will be interesting to see where the street ends up. Is it going to be more or less like it is today, with moderate foot traffic and a mix of mostly smaller stores, or is it going to end up closer to some of the major shopping streets in bigger cities, with major chains and big crowds? There are some reasons to believe that it will change significantly. Buildings like the Maple and Roy will bring in a lot of new residents, and some of the new storefronts will be a lot nicer than anything that was available on the street a few years ago. Unfortunately one of the nicest retail spots, in the Johnston Building, is still being used for office space.