General Updates and News

[Phalanx]

Speaking of, I received a detailed reply in response to her stance on the Quinpool Rd project. From the sound of it, it's more or less what she said during the meeting. Anyone care to see and/or poke holes in it?

[kph06]

The yellow crane from the Grainery Lofts is now working on the Eastern Passage Waste Water Treatment Facility upgrades. This makes my count 18 tower cranes in HRM.

[resetcbu1]

Originally Posted by kph06

The yellow crane from the Grainery Lofts is now working on the Eastern Passage Waste Water Treatment Facility upgrades. This makes my count 18 tower cranes in HRM.

wow that is alot of cranes for HFX

[Jstaleness]

I believe that would be a new record. I think at last count done by dmajackson in the summer we were around 16. I think that was a record then.

[beyeas]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Nothing specific. A few years ago we taxpayers paid to send her on a trip to Sweden and she came back all enthused about the 6-storey wood-frame structures she saw there. That is the only thing of any size I have ever heard her speak favorably about.

Jeez... the funny part of that is that wooden structures would represent a massive minority of buildings in either the Gamla Stan or the New City in Stockholm. There are, however, many many many 5-8 story stone/brick buildings in the core of Stockholm which are very nicely done. They have commercial at ground level (with businesses in them that are locally useful, like small hardware stores, markets etc), residential over top, and are all within easy walking distance of the t-bana.

I can't even really picture wooden structures in the heart of Stockholm so I have no idea where she got that from!!

[someone123]

Yeah, I remember that. There were similar stories after somebody (I think an HRM planner) was sent to Curitiba. After the visit it was declared a planning model for Halifax, and the good news was that since Curitiba had only buses, Halifax needed only buses. Minor details such as the completely different geography, economy, climate, culture, etc. fell below the radar I guess.

I've always considered travel an important part of learning about the world, but it often surprises me just how little some people get out of it. They can spend two weeks somewhere and completely miss the point, and frequently they can't tell the difference between real life in a place and what is set up for them as a tourist in their crappy resort or wherever it is they're staying. It's likely even worse for councillors or planners exposed to marketing and lobbying efforts.

Another unfortunate fact is that the planning field is particularly prone to gimmicks and fads.

[halifaxboyns]

Originally Posted by someone123

Yeah, I remember that. There were similar stories after somebody (I think an HRM planner) was sent to Curitiba. After the visit it was declared a planning model for Halifax, and the good news was that since Curitiba had only buses, Halifax needed only buses. Minor details such as the completely different geography, economy, climate, culture, etc. fell below the radar I guess.

I've always considered travel an important part of learning about the world, but it often surprises me just how little some people get out of it. They can spend two weeks somewhere and completely miss the point, and frequently they can't tell the difference between real life in a place and what is set up for them as a tourist in their crappy resort or wherever it is they're staying. It's likely even worse for councillors or planners exposed to marketing and lobbying efforts.

Another unfortunate fact is that the planning field is particularly prone to gimmicks and fads.

I've never been one to think that one city's 'model' is any better than another. I think you can visit 20 different cities and take away good and bad things from each, but ultimately Halifax has it's own planning model.

Cities like Portland or Vancouver can provide some good examples of urban planning principles and form but do I think we'd ever have Vancouverism in Halifax? Probably not; but Halifax can have it's own form of it - geared mainly to Halifax's geography and climate. But simply stating that 6 stories is the limit, sorry that doesn't fly.

Personally, I'm looking forward to my road trip to Portland, to see how TOD and streetcars have created an interesting urban fabric. Should be quite fun!

[someone123]

It is very complicated. Some cities do certain things better than others, but then again often there are differences that affect how a solution in one place might work in another. For example, Curitiba has very little water and is mostly a street grid. Halifax on the other hand has only a few lanes going on or off of the peninsula, and even many suburban areas are highly constrained by lakes, hills, and the harbour. Ultimately this topography creates a unique dilemma which will have to be dealt with. Simply saying that buses are amazing because you had a fun trip in Curitiba doesn't cut it. At the end of the day there's no substitute for critical thinking and basing decisions off of lots of information.

I've never been to Portland but I might go in a few weeks. I do suspect that the streetcar/TOD model is something that could work great in Halifax. The ~10k daily ridership of the Portland streetcar is something that could be matched along major routes in Halifax and the < $100M cost is realistic for the city. Streetcar service in areas like the North End would really bring things up a notch, and streetcars out to Mumford or a similar area could connect with the commuter rail route to form a pretty good rail-based transit system.

[coolmillion]

I've been to Portland twice in the last year and although the city is great, the transit system is not all it's cracked up to be. One of the problems is that most of the city outside of downtown is not serviced by light rail and the buses do not provide frequent connections. At midnight on New Year's Eve my friends and I were waiting for a bus! Earlier in the night we spent 15 minutes waiting in a high volume transfer point. At least we had some great beer in between...
The next day we met up with a friend who works as a transportation planner and he bemoaned the fact that he needs a car to get around, which he didn't when he lived in Vancouver.
Halifax could vastly improve its transit system without making major capital investments by making numerous small changes to the existing bus network and implementing bus right of ways in congestion points. This message was delivered by Jarrett Walker, a senior planner with Translink who was a panelist at one of the (ironically titled) "it's more than buses" talks last summer. Rail transit is a great idea but would be even better in practice if added to an already efficient bus system.
My favourite thing about Portland was the neighbourhood shopping districts outside of downtown. I was struck by the low volume of traffic on these streets and the human scale of the older buildings and newer infill.
Another thing - people in Portland are super friendly and chatty...

[someone123]

All of the US West Coast cities have somewhat weak transit compared to Vancouver. Portland is actually a bit of a poster child for fads in planning, although like I said I think they have done some stuff right. They still don't have anything like the SkyTrain or BART, but they have done better than Seattle. Seattle's Central Link LRT line was fairly expensive but is slow and only gets around 20,000 boardings per day. Part of the problem is that the system is an example of "planning by ballot initiative" -- Seattle's transit development has been all over the place.

I agree that there's tons of room for improvement to Halifax's bus system. Commuter rail and other options should still be considered, however. As I've said before, Halifax's problem isn't that it's overly ambitious. There's a real risk that "progress" in service by 2021 or 2031 will be a few new bus routes to serve 100,000 more people in car-dependent suburbia. In order to really promote TOD I think Halifax needs some sort of comfortable rail-based service.

[fenwick16]

Originally Posted by spaustin

The whole St. Pat's sale is a massive failure to be innovative and make the most of public resources. Putting aside the rhetoric, the charities really can't take on the school property. It's too big and has too many problems. It would likely bankrupt them or at least take away from the good work they're doing (the $200,000 heating bill alone would mean a lot less help for the community). That said, why does it have to be all or nothing? There is surely an option to redevelop the site and meet the charities needs. Below-market space could be reserved in the redevelopment as a condition of the sale or HRM could have split the site so that a portion was reserved for the charities. As Waye points out, if we had been a little creative, we could have sparked redevelopment of multiple other properties on Gottingen producing an even bigger long-term benefit for the city. HRM needs to stop making this stuff up as they go along and start following a clear set of rules so that everyone knows what to expect. The Provincial and Federal governments have very clear rules and processes for surplus properties. Why is it still amateur hour over at City Hall?

The thing that I keep coming back to on this story is the stark contrast to the sale of the Sister Lots off Spring Garden. Wasn't preserving parking capacity part of the condition of that sale? It's pretty sad when our municipal bureaucracy can take the time to protect surface parking spaces, but can't be bothered to look out for the needs of the less fortunate.

I wonder if a similar concept to the Notting Park development would work at St. Patrick's Alexandra School? The Notting Park development retained part of the school for community purposes.

(source: http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/52713-notting-park-site-ready-phase-2 )

Notting Park site ready for phase 2
January 16, 2012 - 7:33pm By REMO ZACCAGNA Business Reporter


An artist's rendering of the redevelopment project slated for Notting Village in Dartmouth. (Kassner/Goodspeed Architects)

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The Notting Village site retains some existing buildings that house a daycare and gymnasium.

“There’s a small bit of the school left, the gym and there’s a classroom wing left that was part of the originally much-larger school,” Goodspeed said.

The development in the neighbourhood near the Angus L. Macdonald Bridge has been a success so far, Goodspeed said.

“The residential units were rented very quickly. It’s been a little while to get the commercial tenants in the ground floor, but I think something is happening on that front, too.”

[Haligonian88]

Not sure if this has already been mentioned somewhere,

Chedrawe plans another Halifax project
Remo Zaccagna
thechronicleherald.ca
January 18, 2012

"In what he calls a speculative purchase, developer Danny Chedrawe is on the verge of snapping up another piece of real estate on Spring Garden Road.

An agreement is in place between England’s Churchill Steel & Timber Ltd., owners of the two-storey property at 5504 Spring Garden Rd. and Chedrawe’s Westwood Developments Ltd.

...

Redevelopment of the property into a four-storey, 25,000-square-foot building is anticipated to begin in 2013, Chedrawe said.

“We’re just in the middle of planning now but we’re planning on an office-retail complex,” he explained

..."

http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/53410-chedrawe-plans-another-halifax-project

[someone123]

There was some speculation about the Winsby's property a while back. The plan sounds fine. I don't think anybody is particularly attached to the building. I'd be more excited however if something were done with the row across the street (Hakim Optical, Atlantic Photo supply). The businesses seem to be doing fine but that is not an attractive strip: http://g.co/maps/vv3u2

Not really sure why he said he hopes things will "turn around" on Spring Garden Road since the area is already fairly successful and already has lots of construction happening.

In any case I'm looking forward to news about the redevelopment of the old TD block. It would be nice to see exactly what the plan is for the current heritage buildings. They shouldn't just be demolished.

[-Harlington-]

Whats the story on that house between HMV and hakim optical anyway ??

Its like its been empty for years and on Spring Garden .

[kph06]

Originally Posted by -Harlington-

Whats the story on that house between HMV and hakim optical anyway ??

Its like its been empty for years and on Spring Garden .

I've heard the person who owns it is trying to sell it, but no one wants to pay the price he's asking and he won't budge. On its own, the lot doesn't allow for very much to be built if the building is demolished.

[spaustin]

Originally Posted by kph06

I've heard the person who owns it is trying to sell it, but no one wants to pay the price he's asking and he won't budge. On its own, the lot doesn't allow for very much to be built if the building is demolished.

I have heard the same. The last time I remember anything being in there (antiques or knick knacks or something like that) was when I was in undergrad so that's going on 8 years ago! That's a long time to carry the cost of an empty building.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by someone123

Not really sure why he said he hopes things will "turn around" on Spring Garden Road since the area is already fairly successful and already has lots of construction happening.

There was a very interesting article tonight in ANS that seems to explain this.

Danny Chedrawe was trying to get the Apple Store as a tenant for the redevelopment of the SGR/Brunswick block. His comment apparently was about how SGR is not generally attracting the top retail chains. It's too bad his deal fell through because that would have been a great store to have right across from the library. As he says I doubt Halifax will get two Apple stores, since cities like Toronto only have a few in total.

I'm not sure that high-end chains should be the measure of success for the downtown, but it is shameful that the street and sidewalks are still in a state of disrepair. SGR is definitely not maintained by the city as if it were a prime shopping destination!

[resetcbu1]

It is a real shame that neglect on spring garden road, when you look at other cities like Calgary's, Stephen avenue, montreal's, Saint Catherine street, or even moncton's, main street, it is hard to fathom that a city trying to make a name for itself lik halifax is or even just trying to keep an image as a clean well kept city could let their main shopping district will look like a Harlem street corner.

It shows you how much of a lack of vision City Council has especially when it comes to priorities, they rant and rave about tourists and the view from the citadel..... yet can't even maintain what is supposed to be our main attraction street with power lines, heaving sidewalks and generally an unfriendly look on probably the most traveled street by tourists in the whole entire city. I hope there are some big changes come next elections in this city and some visionaries are brought in....

[Empire]

Originally Posted by someone123

I'm not sure that high-end chains should be the measure of success for the downtown, but it is shameful that the street and sidewalks are still in a state of disrepair. SGR is definitely not maintained by the city as if it were a prime shopping destination!

Spring Garden Rd. had a few million in funding a few years ago for improvements and at the time Bernie Smith head of the Spring Garden Rd. Business Assoc. thought the plan would disrupt shoppers and devivery trucks. Some of that money was diverted to Quinpool Rd.

WishbladeFeb 26, 2009, 12:37 AM
In light of the recent discussions about Spring Garden's redevelopment, some good news for Quinpool:


Quinpool merchants get $2M facelift

Merchants on Quinpool Road – but not Spring Garden Road – celebrated Wednesday.

Council approved $2 million to pretty up Quinpool, but decided to delay the rejuvenation of Spring Garden Road until their plan is more fine-tuned.

“I feel exhilarated and I’m very happy for the business members on the street,” said Karla Nicholson, general manager of the Quinpool Road Mainstreet District Association.

“I’m so pleased because our members are embracing this opportunity.”

The entire project is estimated at $6 million, but she’s hoping for federal and provincial funding.

Improvements include: resurfacing the road, sidewalk renovation, burying wires, planting trees, as well as installing bike racks and public art.

“One message that has been abundantly clear in my dealings with all the members on the street is that they’re happy and grateful to see this coming together,” Nicholson said.

“The timing is perfect because we do make a great candidate for (infrastructure) funding.”

If approved, they could tap into federal and provincial funding above the municipal money they received Tuesday night.

But Nicholson said they have enough now to get going on construction. “The goal is August, but we will be ready to go this year,” she said.

Northwest Arm-South End Coun. Sue Uteck said it was about time council showed Quinpool Road a little love.

“I will admit Quinpool Road does not deserve (the little) attention it receives. It is the entrance gateway into Halifax,” she said.

“With the influx of restaurants and the revival of Quinpool, the only thing that hasn’t been revived is HRM’s commitment.”

It will also be more parking-friendly, she said, so commuters and shoppers alike will win.

While thrilled with the $2 million from the HRM, Nicholson said she felt for the merchants on Spring Garden Road.

“I wish it could have gone better for them,” she said. “There is no rivalry at all.”

[Jonovision]

Renovations continuing on the apartment building on Coburg.