The difference is that the Green Lantern was in a heritage district, and the Dexel-owned buildings on Barrington are registered heritage. The Doyle Block has neither of those protections, meagee though they may be. Westwood is also ready to demolish; I wouldn't be surprised to see the site close off for demolition any day now.
Regarding the Dexel buildings on Spring Garden Road: Does anyone else think Dexel's behaviour (using a threat of demolition to kickstart the discussion on the development) is pretty shitty?
It looks to me like some kind of brinksmanship: Instead of starting the process by proposing a reasonable redevelopment that preserves the heritage buildings, they apply to demolish outright as a scare tactic. I bet the city will be a lot more likely to entertain some hacky facadism now, simply because it isn't a full demolition. It's an extremely shitty way to behave and I'm disappointed that Herald story is so sympathetic to Lawen.
The story is also packed with statements like, "Although Halifax will never be like New York and Toronto, where highrises shorter than 50 storeys are rare..." (the vast majority of tall buildings constructed in Toronto come in well under 50 storeys).
Taylor's reporting always gives off a vibe like he's chumming it up with the business community and desperate not to endanger his access to new developments. That kind of sycophantic coverage is AllNovaScotia's territory now, though, so it'd be nice if the Herald could hire a real reporter to write about development issues.
Sorry, am I complaining a bit?