General Updates and News

[coolmillion]

Originally Posted by -Harlington-

Found an article for this :


United Gulf Developments Ltd. had formed a partnership in 2004 to build a $350-million mixed-used development on the site before that partnership was mutually dissolved five years later.

Hmm... I remember this project being announced back in 2004 but I had forgotten United Gulf was the developer. Another example of them dropping the ball. Hopefully the city has been keeping track and connecting the dots. Great to see the new partnership with Southwest Properties...

[alps]

(own photo)

[someone123]

Still nothing happening for Gottingen Terrace one block over I guess?

There have also at times been plans for overhauling the building on right.

[kph06]

New Chickenburger, photo by me.

[Keith P.]

^^^ I can't believe Mickey chose to renovate an old house for the Chickenburger rather than knock the thing down and put up a properly-designed restaurant building.

[someone123]

Thanks for the photo. That does look a little odd.

[cormiermax]

Looks like crap honestly.

[RyeJay]

So I guess we need to wait for this new Chicken Burger to go out of business before that damn house may be demolished.

Shouldn't be too long.

[ZET]

they will probably do a bang up business

[alps]

Euch, so it's just gonna be a house and a big parking lot?

[someone123]

The empty space to the south is one of the Clyde Street lots, but I think the house next door (north side) was purchased and demolished in order to create a parking lot for the new Chickenburger location.

Originally I'd hoped this would be a new building similar to the Chickenburger in Bedford but more pedestrian oriented -- so there'd be a similar glassed-in counter people could walk up to, but no big parking lot out front. That would be really popular near Spring Garden. I suspect this version will be popular too but the parking is not very desirable from a planning perspective and I doubt it's as important in this location. It also comes at a big cost in such an expensive area.

Maybe there are future plans? Another explanation is that this is a result of the car/parking mindset that is extremely common with business owners. Cars are great but dedicating 75% of your land to them (actually more when you include the public road) is not. It also has a negative impact on the whole area because it brings in more cars and drives everything apart. If this were on Spring Garden Road itself it would be extremely bad.

In Vancouver something like this would be vetoed. They don't even allow curb cuts for residential driveways in some (very successful and desirable) neighbourhoods.

[RyeJay]

Originally Posted by someone123

In Vancouver something like this would be vetoed.

Another reason why I love Vancouver.

[Empire]

Originally Posted by RyeJay

Another reason why I love Vancouver.

I wasn't expecting much. After all, Mickey runined the appearance of Mills Bros. with cheap concrete veneer that looks totally out of place.

The odd thing is......the chicken burgers aren't very good.

No thought reno:
http://maps.google.ca/maps?q=halifax&hl=...TA1BJsj5sIx1aUi3Q&cbp=12,111.94,,0,-4.44

[Dmajackson]

Windsor @ North and Brooklyn Warehouse renovations respectively;

[Wishblade]

In case anyone is interested Emera has won the naming rights for the skating oval on the commons, and apparently Molson has naming rights to the food/entertainment court. Here is the article:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/story/2011/12/06/ns-oval-naming-sponsorship.html

[gm_scott]

^ Interesting... I haven't heard anything about this food/entertainment plaza yet, sounds like a great idea.

[halifaxboyns]

Originally Posted by gm_scott

^ Interesting... I haven't heard anything about this food/entertainment plaza yet, sounds like a great idea.

As I recall, because there was concern over the use of the oval in the summer there was question about food services too. I know Beavertails provided some temporary shelter to do it during the Canada Games, but with the oval becoming permanent the idea was to provide some permanent services next to the changing area.

Since the oval has been designed to be a skating rink in winter and then a rollerblading spot in the summer, this concession area should work out quite well. I just hope that the rollerblading in summer is limited to those that want to just skate rather than doing tricks and bringing ramps in.

[someone123]

The skate park is nearby so presumably this would just be a track in the summer.

The concessions could be implemented well or poorly I guess but at least this is all more stuff on the North Common. That area has been so empty for so long and has been planned in a really bad way -- they let the bushes get overgrown, then randomly removed them when there were complaints about homeless, then there was that hideous public washroom. Basically typical reactionary HRM planning.

A couple years ago there was a nice plan drawn up for the North Common that included little "islands" with seating and greenery, among other things. It looks great but, unsurprisingly, there doesn't seem to be much pressure to implement it. It would be a major improvement to a major city park for only a couple million dollars...

I really wish the Barrington and Spring Garden streetscaping plus North Common improvements could just be pushed through and completed. They would have a huge impact on the appearance of the most important part of the city and cost very little compared to the projects like the Bedford ice rink or Canada Winter Games centre that keep popping up and getting funded a few months later. Part of the problem is that anything done downtown is contentious and takes more effort. In an environment with little direction and drive that means those projects just get dropped.

[Keith P.]

I drove by the site this week and was struck by a number of things:

1. There is still a ton of work to do before this is usable. The site is still very much a construction site.

2. This thing is massive. It looks far bigger than the one last year. Though the track may be the same size, it looks like much more has been added to the site - and the pricetag. I suspect HRM staff did their typical job of inflating the scope of the thing.

3. It looks out of place and somewhat haphazard. I have a sneaking suspicion we will be regretting this decision in a few years.

4. To amplify someone123's comment above, it seems a shame to have sunk this money into the oval when it could have done so much for the entire Common.

[bluenoser]

I can't remember if there is a thread for this but anyway, an update on the Cunard lot:

http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/40808-cunard-block-application-set-winter

Cunard Block application set for winter
December 8, 2011 - 6:33pm By REMO ZACCAGNA Business Reporter

The Cunard Block development project on the Halifax waterfront has now moved on to another phase.

Two conceptual designs for the property were unveiled by Waterfront Development Corp. Ltd. in June, when the provincial Crown corporation invited public feedback.

As of Dec. 1, the project moved forward into the design development phase.

....

The corporation wants to see a mixed-use project built on the property, located on Lower Water Street north of the new Nova Scotia Power headquarters by Marginal Road, that will include an 18-storey apartment tower housing 275 units. The project would incorporate public spaces and have anywhere from 20,000 and 40,000 square feet of commercial space.

Lydon Lynch Architects of Halifax led a team that worked on the two initial conceptual designs. The next phase will move forward with a new team of experts led by Michael Napier Architecture and Ekistics Planning & Design.

....

Construction is expected to begin in the spring of 2013.

“It’s an aggressive timeline, trying to get the project to a point where construction would begin in 2013, and that’s our intent, and so we’re working hard with all the project partners to work toward that.”