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

[Jstaleness]

Sorry to stay off topic but this is great for us. One of my kids has a brain disorder and if this machine is ever required than I'll surely be glad not to have to go to Montreal for the testing. To add I do love the City of Montreal though!
Back to topic. I was downtown today. Guess what? There is still a big damn hole in the ground.

[fenwick16]

Originally Posted by Jstaleness

Back to topic. I was downtown today. Guess what? There is still a big damn hole in the ground.

ok, I am curious. Have they started excavating? Or is it still the same vacant lots?

[Jstaleness]

No Excavation. It's just the left over basements from the old buildings.

[Jonovision]

I'm glad the Herald took it upon itself to give the real facts and dispel all the misinformation circulating.



Keddy seems to soften position on convention centre funding

MP backs off on warning that cash may come from other projects


By STEPHEN MAHER

Ottawa Bureau

OTTAWA — Gerald Keddy ap­peared to acknowledge Tuesday that Ottawa would not have to take money from other infra­structure projects to fund a new Halifax convention centre, as he had said in media interviews on Monday and earlier Tuesday.

Keddy, the Conservative MP for South Shore-St. Margarets, gave interviews to CBC-TV on Monday and News 95.7 in Halifax on Tuesday saying the provincial NDP government was seeking to take federal money already allo­cated to other infrastructure pro­jects and funnel it into the con­vention centre.

Spokespeople for Defence Min­­ister Peter MacKay and Transport Minister Chuck Strahl both said Tuesday that no money will be reallocated.

Keddy later appeared to back away from his stance.

“My understanding of the issue is very clear," he said Tuesday afternoon. “If someone else has a different opinion, I’m OK with that opinion, so long as no exist­ing infrastructure dollars in Nova Scotia get reallocated."

Earlier, on The Rick Howe Show on News 95.7, he said the province’s position was threat­ening other projects. “Quite frankly, I’m concerned with every project that we have in Nova Scotia," Keddy said. “I think that you know it’s time for the premier and (Transportation) Minister (Bill) Estabrooks to come clean with Nova Scotians and clearly say to Nova Scotians what they’re willing to jeopar­dize."

But a spokeswoman for Strahl said reallocation has never been considered, as two federal sources of cash — the Building Canada Fund and provincial base funding — still have about $79 million available for Nova Scotia projects. “The money for any potential convention centre will not come from funding committed to any previously announced project," said communications director Nina Chiarelli.

Jay Paxton, a spokesman for MacKay, said the same thing.

“The funds being looked at as part of the request for a new con­vention centre are all uncommit­ted funds," he said.

“This government is doing its due diligence in evaluating the convention centre proposal."

Halifax MP Megan Leslie said Tuesday that Keddy has been confusing Nova Scotians for no good reason.

“It seems odd to me that he would go to the media with such an ill-informed public comment instead of checking it out first with his own government," the New Democrat said.

Leslie herself is on the fence about the convention centre, saying she wants to see more public input into the design.

The government is expected to announce soon whether it will contribute the requested $47 million to the $159-million con­vention centre project.

(smaher@herald.ca)



TRADE CENTRE FUNDING

Not robbing the roads
BEFORE anyone arraigns Bill Estabrooks for highway robbery, consider this: Exhibit A: Ottawa has a $33-billion infrastructure program, the Building Canada Fund, to help provinces and municipalities make “strategic investments" in economic development, a clean environment and com­munities. The fund has a tourism category directed exclusively to one type of investment: “construction or improvement of convention centres or exhibition hall-type facilities."

Qualifying projects are supposed to increase the number, length and quality of visits and promote national and international visitors.

Exhibit B: Nova Scotia and HRM have agreed to cost-share a $159-million convention centre to replace the obsolete one in downtown Hali­fax. This will spur a $500-million private in­vestment in a hotel, retail shops and offices.

Ottawa is being asked for a third of the conven­tion centre capital cost, $47 million.

The new facility will enable the city to host more national and international conventions.

The private component aims to create 2,000 new jobs in international financial services.

Now, considering the above, is it surprising Mr. Estabrooks, the province’s infrastructure minister, has asked Ottawa to cost-share the convention cen­tre through Building Canada?

Building Cana­da has money for convention cen­tres. Nova Scotia wants to build one with federal help. Mr. Es­tabrooks would be remarkably obtuse not to put this A and B together. He’d be negligent not to use funding that Ottawa, Fredericton and Charlottetown have tapped for their convention centres.

Yet, having gone this route, Mr. Estabrooks is suddenly under fire for allegedly robbing the province of funds for roads and bridges. Some of his critics have always damned the conven­tion centre as a blight on the Citadel Hill view and a declining business. But they also strange­ly include South Shore-St. Margaret’s MP Ger­ald Keddy, who has handed out plenty of feder­al cheques for projects that weren’t roads and bridges, including $10.35 million for a recre­ation and meeting centre in Bridgewater.

In fact, roads have been doing pretty well.

The province has committed $219 million of Building Canada funds to them and has a five­year plan to do more. Another $134 million has gone to recreation centres, libraries, broadband and municipal waste and water systems.

Colchester County and the Town of Truro have used $10 million of Building Canada funds, plus $10 million from the province, for the $48-million Central Nova Scotia Civic Cen­tre. It will host trade shows and conventions as well as recreation and sporting events. These communities clearly don’t see conventions as a dying business or facilities to attract them as a drain on rural Nova Scotia.

Neither does Scott Armstrong, the Cumber­land- Colchester-Musquodoboit MP who lob­bied for the Central Nova Scotia Civic Centre and who also represents a large piece of rural Halifax Regional Municipality.

Many of his constituents, in and outside HRM, depend on the Halifax economic driver, he told our editorial board recently, so he takes a keen interest in HRM growth.

He thinks the convention centre business plan “looks great," offers “huge potential" and is likely to trigger more private investment. If a federal review confirms the plan, he says, Otta­wa “should definitely consider supporting" the project. Yes (take note, Mr. Keddy) it should.

Building Canada was intended to fund con­vention centres. It is funding them. And it won’t be highway robbery if it funds Halifax’s.

(edits@herald.ca)

[halifaxboyns]

Coalition: Not enough demand for centre
Convention market not increasing as Trade Centre suggests, group says
By AARON BESWICK Staff Reporter
Wed, Feb 2 - 4:55 AM

Coalition member Allan Robertson: “It’s a house of cards — it’s really corporate welfare is what it is.” (Peter Parsons / Staff)

A coalition opposed to Halifax’s proposed new convention centre is accusing Trade Centre Ltd. of exaggerating demand for the facility.

The Coalition to Save the View argued at a news conference Tuesday that $159 million in public money earmarked for the centre is being poured into a facility that will compete in a global market glutted with too many conference centres and too few conferences.

"It’s a house of cards — it’s really corporate welfare is what it is," said coalition member Allan Robertson.

The president and chief executive officer of Trade Centre Ltd. disagrees.

"You need to understand the business before you go out and start talking about it, and frankly, I don’t believe that they do," Scott Ferguson said in a telephone interview of the coalition’s claim that the centre would be a drain on the municipal and provincial coffers for decades to come.

Tuesday’s broadsides are the latest salvos fired between Trade Centre Ltd., the Crown corporation that runs the existing World Trade and Convention Centre, and the coalition, originally formed to protect the view of Citadel Hill from the highrise towers that would be part of the $500-million convention centre complex.

Halifax developer Rank Inc.’s proposal includes a hotel and retail, condo and office space in addition to the convention centre. All but the convention centre would be built with private-sector funding.

The three levels of government would put up the $159-million cost of the convention centre. The provincial and municipal governments have agreed to contribute $56 million each while the federal government has been asked to pony up the other $47 million from the Building Canada Fund. Ottawa has not yet made a final decision on funding.

The facility, scheduled to open in 2015 on Argyle Street on the site of the old Halifax Herald building, doesn’t violate provincial regulations protecting the view of Citadel Hill.

Coalition member Phil Pacey disagreed Tuesday with figures used in a Trade Centre Ltd. internal staff report that said the centre would be a draw for large, multi-day conferences bringing delegates from all over the world. The report predicts a new centre would host seven international conferences in its first year, 11 in its second, 13 in its third, and up to 29 by its 10th year of operation.

Pacey said those numbers are based on wrongheaded interpretations of figures from the International Congress and Convention Association, based in the Netherlands, and that Trade Centre Ltd. is using the numbers to make it appear that the international conference market is growing.

Pacey argued that the association’s figures, along with those for national conferences, actually show a market in decline.

"All conclusions that flow from the TCL internal staff report cannot be accurate or be relied upon," he said. "However, the provincial government relied on this report to explain its decision to the public."

Ferguson responded that the existing convention centre already has seven international conferences booked for next year, making it not unreasonable to expect a new, expanded facility could attract as many in its first year and grow its market share.

"These are very realistic and achievable numbers," Ferguson said, adding that international conferences only amount to a small portion of the business plan, which calls for 630 other events in the facility’s first year.

"They’re looking at small pieces of a massive amount of work."

Cathy MacIsaac, a spokeswoman for the Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal Department, denied that the province relied upon incorrect statistics in making its decision to support the convention centre.

"The business case for the convention centre is well-documented and there have been a number of reports done looking at everything from the needs of the centre, to market potential and economic impact," she said.

"Taken together, those various reports and research really highlight the need for the centre and the related broader economic benefits it will bring to the province."

Neither Mayor Peter Kelly nor Rank Inc. spokesman Joe Ramia could be reached for comment Tuesday.

( abeswick@herald.ca)

[DigitalNinja]

Lol I like how they made Save the View look like idiots, saying that the height doesn't interfere with the view planes.

[someone123]

Save the View made themselves look like idiots when they scrambled to find other excuses once it was clear that the height complaints weren't going to cut it.

[sdm]

Baillie pokes fun at himself and gets a jab in at Dexter

By DAVID JACKSON Provincial Reporter | The Howe Room
Sun, Feb 6 - 4:54 AM
Party leader Jamie Baillie warmed up Friday night’s Tory convention crowd with a little self-deprecating humour about his career change, and a not-so-subtle jab at Premier Darrell Dexter.

He recounted a meeting with Tara Erskine, who introduced Baillie and was just named the party’s election chairwoman, when an "emergency call" came from the Institute of Chartered Accountants.

"At first I thought, ‘I’m sure I paid my professional fees.’ And I do pay my own. . ." he said, as the crowd enjoyed the reference to last year’s controversy over taxpayers picking up Dexter’s bar society fees.

(The premier has switched to the lower, non-practising fee and now pays out of his own pocket.)

Baillie went on to say the institute told him he was being named a fellow of the institute. He said he was a bit puzzled because he hadn’t worked in the field for a while, and was told the designation is also given to those who bring honour to the profession.

His reply: "You do know that I’m a politician now, don’t you?"


Someone sure likes Baillie’s material.

Lunch with the leader was one of the items in the party’s silent auction fundraiser and the bidding by late Saturday afternoon stood at $225.

That was well ahead of the chance for meals with other Tories, including party president Rob Batherson (lunch at the Halifax club), Inverness MLA Allan MacMaster, and Bluenose Tories working in Ottawa Drew Campbell and Adam Church.

Food, and a bit of drink, dominated the auction items. Lobster from Argyle, shrimp and crab legs from Cape Breton, Cumberland County maple products, Valentine’s baskets and offerings of wine were all up for bids.


With Defence Minister Peter MacKay, the province’s federal political minister, at the convention, there was bound to be a question about the proposed new convention centre for Halifax.

MacKay said there’s nothing new to report and the federal government continues its due diligence in examining the business case for the project. The province is asking Ottawa to contribute $47 million.

The minister said it’s possible a federal election could hold up the process. The developer has locked in the project’s price until mid-April and there’s speculation an election could be called before then.

"It would depend on the timing," said MacKay. "If there’s an election called within the next 90 days, or in that range, then I suspect that it could jeopardize the timing of an announcement, at least.

"A lot of projects will go, I don’t want to say by the wayside, but a lot of projects may be delayed depending on the timing of an election."

A former NDP candidate has joined the Dexter government’s political staff.

Clair Rankin, who ran in Richmond in 2003 and 2009, is Education Minister Ramona Jennex’s new executive assistant.

The former municipal councillor and real estate agent will make $63,000.

[fenwick16]

Luckily no election is planned for the next 90 days. It would only occur if there is no support for the coming budget from either the Bloc or NDP (the Conservatives don't need the support of the Liberals to stay in power). The Conservatives only need the support of either the Bloc or NDP to stay in power since they are only 11 seats short of a majority - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/41st_Ca...deral_election .

It seems like most Canadians don't want another election; and what would be the point - it would likely result in similar results to the last minority election. As long as the Bloc keeps winning the majority of federal seats in Quebec, there likely won't be another majority federal government.

(source: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/...371/story.html )

Canadians don't want or need an election now

It's perhaps not surprising that even as election speculation is approaching a fever pitch in the nation's capital, the rest of the country is markedly cool to the notion of a vote sooner than later.

The Gazette February 1, 2011

Although, this may seem off-topic, it is in response to the post by sdm above regarding the Nova Centre.

[halifaxboyns]

What I don't understand about the liberals (in this situation) is that they approved the tax cuts they area freaking out about last year! It was two years of corporate tax cuts and they are going ahead with the 2nd round this year. If the time had been to defeat the budget; it was a year ago not now. Add to that; there are still a number of projects that need to get dealt with (including Nova Centre) through other programs.

I think they are all being childish - pass the budget and continue rebuilding the economy. Argue later.

[halifaxboyns]

So I was watching the broadcast of the City of Calgary's public hearing/combined agenda for today (it was so long, they ran into today from yesterday).

One of the last items was a notice of motion to extend the free fare zone to cover one of the stampede stations next to the roundup centre (on the Stampede ground) - which is one of the two main conference centres here in Calgary (the other of course being the Telus Convention centre).

There has been a huge discussion about how our convention centres (both) are not big enough (even when combined) to attract bigger events. I found that interesting, considering the Nova Centre discussion.

[halifaxboyns]

So I was going through the feasability study Vol 1 to look at the road layout they had in the maps. There was a section I found interesting, which I didn't realize affected the ability to attract conferences from the US:

9.3 Americans with Disabilities Act Implications
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a United States Federal act legislating required accessible design standards in that country. It is direct relevance to the MCII is limited but as with the WTCC, would be applicable to American organizations using the MCII as a potential conference venue. If the MCII does not meet ADA, it is not eligible for that American business.
The project team has experience with ADA and Canadian accessibility standards, and as a general rule, the standards are comparable with minor variations on the similar theme of ensuring universally accessible design. With early consideration of accessibility requirements in further stages of design the cost implications of ADA will be minimal for what will be a new building.

[Empire]

"Yet, I’m hearing of grumbling even among other developers and hoteliers who will feel the competition of a publicly supported hotel and office tower in a situation in which both sectors are already overstored."

Is Ralph very misinformed or is he just being a sly old dog by implying that the hotel and office tower will get taxpayer money?

Convention centre: logic weak, politics weaker. Is it dead?

By RALPH SURETTE
Sat, Feb 19 - 7:28 AM



The federal Conservatives are in turmoil over, among other things, what public infrastructure to fund across the country — a problem closely linked to the next election. The Quebec City arena, which got too hot and scared them off, is the big example. But there are others. The Halifax convention centre is one of those, and well it should be.

The immediate problem is that the public is largely against it, correctly sniffing out that in times of high austerity, public funding for a private project with a rationale that is weak at best and deceptive at worst raises a huge red flag.

Defence Minister and Atlantic political godfather Peter MacKay admitted as much in Antigonish a few weeks ago. "There is no desire outside of Halifax for this project, or very little from what I have heard," he said. By all appearances, there’s minimal desire within Halifax as well. No big poll has dared ask the question, but a series of smaller ones from various sources, the incidence of letters to the editor to this newspaper and other taps of public opinion indicate city public opinion running from two-thirds to 85 per cent against it.

A key motive — perhaps the only motive — for the Tories to announce their $47-million share of the $160-million public part of the public-private project would be to advance the fortunes of Conservative candidates in metro. It may sink them instead, and do no good to the rural ones either, who have grumbled publicly, as funding for the convention centre implies less for other things elsewhere.

The bigger problem is the actual economics. They don’t add up, and the harder the proponents of the project try to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear, the more obvious it becomes. There’s a glut of money-losing convention centres, some brand new, throughout North America as business has been declining for 15 years, and is likely to keep doing so. In trying to torque this into the notion that business is booming (or, if not, that Halifax is immune from the general trend), the argument has slipped into misrepresentation.

At issue is the presentation Trade Centre Ltd. made to Halifax Regional Municipality on Nov. 9, which led HRM to buy into the project. TCL’s slides showed an impressive increase in convention business in Canada from 2005 to 2008.

The opposition Save the View group has been doing the math, and found that this information came from "private and proprietary" studies by Convention Centres of Canada of Vancouver, an industry promotion group. Figures from public sources, including the Conference Board of Canada, showed the reverse — a decline in convention business across the board in that period. Furthermore, charges the group, TCL had "more reliable information they didn’t divulge." Does this matter — or were councillors prepared to swallow anything anyway, as long as it got a crane up in downtown Halifax?

The argument for it is that no matter what the cost in taxpayer funds, it will all come back in economic spinoffs. The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives did an analysis and said that "prudent and conservative numbers from the centre itself" — that is, even the optimistic scenario — "indicate that it will lose in excess of $200 million over 25 years." Those of you who usually email me to say the CCPA is an "NDP front" can spare me this time. The main promoter of the convention centre is the NDP government.

What is disappointing here is the lack of vision shown by the developers, supported in that failure both by the provincial government and city hall. We have a clunker that hardly anybody wants — with the fabled convention centre in the basement yet, calculated to serve lucratively as the foundation for the private hotel and office tower. The developers have said take it or leave it, and the province and the city took it. The idea seems to be that anything that provides a short-term burst of jobs, and that fills that empty space at midtown Halifax, must be a good thing, regardless of the long-term cost, which will in fact be $374 million over 25 years to the public.

Yet, I’m hearing of grumbling even among other developers and hoteliers who will feel the competition of a publicly supported hotel and office tower in a situation in which both sectors are already overstored. Parks Canada has complained too: Although Rank Inc.’s 14- to 18-storey towers will be within the letter of the viewplanes laws, the spirit will be violated, diminishing the Citadel as a national tourist-drawing icon.

Any real small-c conservative out there must be gagging at this shoddy use of public funds. So, Peter MacKay, kill this awkward thing and send us back to the drawing board. This is at least one case where the public good and Conservative party interests actually coincide.

[worldlyhaligonian]

Originally Posted by Empire

"Yet, I’m hearing of grumbling even among other developers and hoteliers who will feel the competition of a publicly supported hotel and office tower in a situation in which both sectors are already overstored."

Is Ralph very misinformed or is he just being a sly old dog by implying that the hotel and office tower will get taxpayer money?

Convention centre: logic weak, politics weaker. Is it dead?

By RALPH SURETTE
Sat, Feb 19 - 7:28 AM



The federal Conservatives are in turmoil over, among other things, what public infrastructure to fund across the country — a problem closely linked to the next election. The Quebec City arena, which got too hot and scared them off, is the big example. But there are others. The Halifax convention centre is one of those, and well it should be.

The immediate problem is that the public is largely against it, correctly sniffing out that in times of high austerity, public funding for a private project with a rationale that is weak at best and deceptive at worst raises a huge red flag.

Defence Minister and Atlantic political godfather Peter MacKay admitted as much in Antigonish a few weeks ago. "There is no desire outside of Halifax for this project, or very little from what I have heard," he said. By all appearances, there’s minimal desire within Halifax as well. No big poll has dared ask the question, but a series of smaller ones from various sources, the incidence of letters to the editor to this newspaper and other taps of public opinion indicate city public opinion running from two-thirds to 85 per cent against it.

A key motive — perhaps the only motive — for the Tories to announce their $47-million share of the $160-million public part of the public-private project would be to advance the fortunes of Conservative candidates in metro. It may sink them instead, and do no good to the rural ones either, who have grumbled publicly, as funding for the convention centre implies less for other things elsewhere.

The bigger problem is the actual economics. They don’t add up, and the harder the proponents of the project try to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear, the more obvious it becomes. There’s a glut of money-losing convention centres, some brand new, throughout North America as business has been declining for 15 years, and is likely to keep doing so. In trying to torque this into the notion that business is booming (or, if not, that Halifax is immune from the general trend), the argument has slipped into misrepresentation.

At issue is the presentation Trade Centre Ltd. made to Halifax Regional Municipality on Nov. 9, which led HRM to buy into the project. TCL’s slides showed an impressive increase in convention business in Canada from 2005 to 2008.

The opposition Save the View group has been doing the math, and found that this information came from "private and proprietary" studies by Convention Centres of Canada of Vancouver, an industry promotion group. Figures from public sources, including the Conference Board of Canada, showed the reverse — a decline in convention business across the board in that period. Furthermore, charges the group, TCL had "more reliable information they didn’t divulge." Does this matter — or were councillors prepared to swallow anything anyway, as long as it got a crane up in downtown Halifax?

The argument for it is that no matter what the cost in taxpayer funds, it will all come back in economic spinoffs. The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives did an analysis and said that "prudent and conservative numbers from the centre itself" — that is, even the optimistic scenario — "indicate that it will lose in excess of $200 million over 25 years." Those of you who usually email me to say the CCPA is an "NDP front" can spare me this time. The main promoter of the convention centre is the NDP government.

What is disappointing here is the lack of vision shown by the developers, supported in that failure both by the provincial government and city hall. We have a clunker that hardly anybody wants — with the fabled convention centre in the basement yet, calculated to serve lucratively as the foundation for the private hotel and office tower. The developers have said take it or leave it, and the province and the city took it. The idea seems to be that anything that provides a short-term burst of jobs, and that fills that empty space at midtown Halifax, must be a good thing, regardless of the long-term cost, which will in fact be $374 million over 25 years to the public.

Yet, I’m hearing of grumbling even among other developers and hoteliers who will feel the competition of a publicly supported hotel and office tower in a situation in which both sectors are already overstored. Parks Canada has complained too: Although Rank Inc.’s 14- to 18-storey towers will be within the letter of the viewplanes laws, the spirit will be violated, diminishing the Citadel as a national tourist-drawing icon.

Any real small-c conservative out there must be gagging at this shoddy use of public funds. So, Peter MacKay, kill this awkward thing and send us back to the drawing board. This is at least one case where the public good and Conservative party interests actually coincide.

There are alot of factual errors in here. I'm not even going to begin to address them.

[fenwick16]

Originally Posted by Empire

"Yet, I’m hearing of grumbling even among other developers and hoteliers who will feel the competition of a publicly supported hotel and office tower in a situation in which both sectors are already overstored."

Is Ralph very misinformed or is he just being a sly old dog by implying that the hotel and office tower will get taxpayer money?

He certainly seems to be a sly old dog who will never give up. I posted a comment. I am afraid that people are starting to forget about the convention centre since it has taken so long to get funding.

[Keith P.]

Surette is a dyed-in-the-wool lefty from way back who is in bed with the anti-development obstructionists and the STV loonys. So it is not surprising he uses their same tactics of misinformation and distortion. The truly disappointing thing is that what used to be a decent newspaper, the Herald, has chosen to give space to the likes of Surette and Rachel Brighton under the inept leadership of Dan Leger. He may be the one person who destroys the Dennis family's legacy.

[fenwick16]

There was a story today in the Chronicle Herald about the Heritage Trust wanting funding for a stadium instead of a convention centre. I would like to see both built and will post a comment in the comments section of the story at this link - http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1230016.html

Stadium and convention centre, not an either-or proposition

By ROGER TAYLOR Business Columnist
Fri, Feb 25 - 7:11 AM


One wonders if the proposed convention centre was located somewhere other than in downtown Halifax whether there would be as much opposition to the project.

Because it will be located in the heart of the downtown, the convention centre has become a lightning rod for people opposed to all kinds of things.

Some don’t like the idea of a new highrise building within proximity of heritage structures, others are concerned about preserving the view of Halifax Harbour and Georges Island from Citadel Hill, and a few others are concerned for competitive reasons.

The people who feel that way are strong in their opposition but they realize their specific reason is in the minority. So they attack the necessity of a larger congress centre, arguing the convention business is going down the tubes. And as part of that, they are critical of the business case for the centre, which is designed to be a break-even operation.

Then there are critics of the design of the proposed centre, which will be about three times the size of the current facility. The plan is to build the centre on two levels covering two city blocks below ground.
.
.
.

[Jstaleness]

On the Morning Show this morning there will be a discussion on the convention centre vs the Stadium. Which one or both? Tune in or listen online.

[CorbeauNoir]

Originally Posted by fenwick16

There was a story today in the Chronicle Herald about the Heritage Trust wanting funding for a stadium instead of a convention centre. I would like to see both built and will post a comment in the comments section of the story at this link - http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1230016.html

So they don't like the idea of a highrise blocking the view of the refinery from the Citadel but they have no problem with a giant ugly vacant pit in the middle of the city's entertainment district?

I really don't get this city sometimes

[DigitalNinja]

There was a guy on CBC radio this morning advocating new construction in cities and higher density to help draw new people to the city as older buildings tend to cost more than high density newer ones.