Development Rumours

[Jreeb]

Originally Posted by eastcoastal

I read in AllNS today that there are rumours that Winners is in talks to open a new store in Scotia Square, with exterior signage and a dedicated entrance on Duke St.

I wonder where they plan on placing the dedicated entrance on Duke since Bell Aliant occupies a lot of the space and the Barrington corner is one of the main entrances to the "mall".

[Norton97]

Bring back the 2-level Woolco concept to Scotia Square!

[HalifaxRetales]

Originally Posted by Jreeb

I wonder where they plan on placing the dedicated entrance on Duke since Bell Aliant occupies a lot of the space and the Barrington corner is one of the main entrances to the "mall".

at one point they were going to open in Park Lane withe the entrance being where the NSLC ended up and the store upstairs

[Jreeb]

Originally Posted by HalifaxRetales

at one point they were going to open in Park Lane withe the entrance being where the NSLC ended up and the store upstairs

It would be nice to see Park Lane Mall get some stores that can attract more foot traffic. It feels like walking through a graveyard to get to Dollarama to get some cheap snacks before going to the movie theatre.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by Jreeb

It would be nice to see Park Lane Mall get some stores that can attract more foot traffic. It feels like walking through a graveyard to get to Dollarama to get some cheap snacks before going to the movie theatre.

It has always been that way, even from when it first opened and most of the storefronts on both levels were occupied (although the top level never quite got close to full). One would think that the pedestrian traffic on SGR would have been enough to support it but it never was. Even when there were people walking around in the mall they weren't buying anything. In its original incarnation it was like they had gotten all these store leases signed with retailers whose assortment was exactly what this market could not support. My memory is of a lot of fairly high-end fashion stores which you would have thought could have made a go of it here but for whatever reason it didn't happen. Places like House of Rodney moved from literally next door and went out of business within a short time. The well-known Halifax allergy to using parking garages at malls certainly had an effect as well. Oddly, I found the Park Lane garage nicely done if you wanted to go to the mall but that seemed to have no positive effect. That mall has always been a mystery to me.

[ILoveHalifax]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

It has always been that way, even from when it first opened and most of the storefronts on both levels were occupied (although the top level never quite got close to full). One would think that the pedestrian traffic on SGR would have been enough to support it but it never was. Even when there were people walking around in the mall they weren't buying anything. In its original incarnation it was like they had gotten all these store leases signed with retailers whose assortment was exactly what this market could not support. My memory is of a lot of fairly high-end fashion stores which you would have thought could have made a go of it here but for whatever reason it didn't happen. Places like House of Rodney moved from literally next door and went out of business within a short time. The well-known Halifax allergy to using parking garages at malls certainly had an effect as well. Oddly, I found the Park Lane garage nicely done if you wanted to go to the mall but that seemed to have no positive effect. That mall has always been a mystery to me.

Not surprised House of Rodney closed after I moved to USA - I used to spend a lot of money in that store - lol

[Jreeb]

Heard today that the McKelvies restaurant and building are being sold. The restaurant is closing October 28th I believe.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by Jreeb

Heard today that the McKelvies restaurant and building are being sold. The restaurant is closing October 28th I believe.

That one may not be a registered heritage building but should be. I hope this doesn't become another strange reactionary council debate (we can't do anything unless the owner comes to us -> somebody must do something -> let's write a report) followed by facadism and a glass box.

There is room to do good development on this block but it would be tricky. That glass box on Lower Water Street should be redeveloped.

[Wannabe Economist]

The Ramia family already owns the majority of the block. They own the office side with some German investors they are close with. I'd expect that it is selling to them and could be a few years before anything happens there, but no doubt it will be substantial and good quality.

Thankfully 1679 Bedford Row is indeed a designated heritage property.

[Keith P.]

McKelvies was a useful if not great restaurant in that area, but seemed frozen in time. Not quite a tourist trap, not fine dining by any means, and between the aging out of the owner and the last 2 years of minimal tourist revenues I suppose it seemed a good time to cash out. I am surprised the owner did not try to sell it as a going concern to another operator and either remain as landlord himself or sell the property with a rent-paying tenant.

[Arrdeeharharharbour]

If I recall correctly, that building is an old fire department hall. I love the little patio on the Lwr. Water side. I really don't want to see this one lost.

[Drybrain]

Originally Posted by Arrdeeharharharbour

If I recall correctly, that building is an old fire department hall. I love the little patio on the Lwr. Water side. I really don't want to see this one lost.

Given the historical importance of the area and the heritage status of the building (municipally registered) I would be pretty surprised to see it endangered in any way.

[someone123]

On the Canada forum people often suggest Halifax isn't very historic but the urban fabric around there is quite good and in fact is very historic. Canada doesn't have a lot of Dominion Public Building or Bank of NS or Province House or even Mitchell House type buildings or really much in the way of tight blocks like this with a medium scale. It would have been nice if this had been a completely preserved heritage district but it can still be improved upon and reinforced with new development.

Queen's Marque extended that area a bit and Press Block will too if it's successful. There are still big holes like along Sackville Street (on either side of Maple). A good building at the end of Bedford Row would completely change the feel of the street. The space does not really make sense with a parking lot there. Bedford Row opens up onto.. nothing. The little BMO triangular public space with the pedestrian overpass is strange as well (of course it was a classic urban square before it got trashed around the 1960s) and then the little loading dock area there adds to the weirdness.

I think good infill on the McKelvie's block would have some solidity and move it toward a medium scale like Queen's Marque without merely adding a "placeless" condo feel. Hopefully it won't be Waterside Centre II.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by Arrdeeharharharbour

If I recall correctly, that building is an old fire department hall. I love the little patio on the Lwr. Water side. I really don't want to see this one lost.

Yes it was. See the link to the excellent blog post below.

I agree that it should be preserved, as it's nice little piece of Halifax history that actually has aged well. When in the restaurant, it's actually not hard to envision the space previously being filled with fire apparatus.

As far as the restaurant goes, I liked it. Not avant garde fine dining, but then everything doesn't have to be. It was nice to just have a place to get decent seafood that's not trying to push some sort of culinary boundary all the time. JMHO.

https://halifaxbloggers.ca/builthalifax/2017/03/4-fire-station/

[Arrdeeharharharbour]

Thanks for the link ODM! An interesting blog indeed! And now that I know that Hydrostone was a brand of concrete block made in Eastern Passage, I'm left wondering why we don't see more of that product used all over the city.

[ns_kid]

ANS reports that Lou Reznick (Starfish Properties) has purchased the McKelvies bldg but the restaurant will stay put, for the time being anyway.

[Jreeb]

Originally Posted by ns_kid

ANS reports that Lou Reznick (Starfish Properties) has purchased the McKelvies bldg but the restaurant will stay put, for the time being anyway.

Interesting, they have let go of all their staff so I assume the restaurant will shut down for a bit and hopefully reopen.

[Keith P.]

I attended a business (as HRP press releases would say) at the Dartmouth Shopping Center today. In chatting with a staff member I learned that they were unable to renew their lease and need to relocate early in 2023. The reason as they understood it was that with the possible exception of Shoppers and No Frills, the rest of the facility is scheduled for demolition and redevelopment as residential units of some sort (they were not sure exactly what). This is the first I have heard of this.

[JET]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

I attended a business (as HRP press releases would say) at the Dartmouth Shopping Center today. In chatting with a staff member I learned that they were unable to renew their lease and need to relocate early in 2023. The reason as they understood it was that with the possible exception of Shoppers and No Frills, the rest of the facility is scheduled for demolition and redevelopment as residential units of some sort (they were not sure exactly what). This is the first I have heard of this.

There has been lots of chat about this on Hfx Retales facebook.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by JET

There has been lots of chat about this on Hfx Retales facebook.

I thought I followed that page but I haven't noticed anything on this.