[Dartmouth] 215 Wyse Road | ? M | 2x9 FL | U/C

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

Just testing my memory: Is this the site that formerly housed a Volkswagen dealership?

Yes, I think this was Glen Robertson VW. The see-saw roof overhang in front is very 1960s:

[Keith P.]

Also today I noticed the former building on the northeast corner of Wyse and Albro Lake Rd has been demolished. It had a mansard roof design and for some reason I think it may have been a real estate office at one point, though more recently it had fallen on hard times and was used as a drug treatment facility. It's gone now.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by fatscat

Here you go

Ah, another 7-storey HRM box. This is definitely the new Highfield Park Special.

EDIT: Wait!!! This is a dizzying 8 floors!! Surely the world will spin off its axis once this is built. It's Too TALL!!!

[Saul Goode]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Wait!!! This is a dizzying 8 floors!! Surely the world will spin off its axis once this is built. It's Too TALL!!!

Best count again, Keith.

[Jstaleness]

Originally Posted by saul goode

best count again, keith.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by Saul Goode

Best count again, Keith.

Typo. I was gobsmacked and stunned when I realized the previously impenetrable 7-floor barrier had been broken.

[Saul Goode]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Typo. I was gobsmacked and stunned when I realized the previously impenetrable 7-floor barrier had been broken.

Gobsmacked no doubt! Nine storeys (well, I never!) may trigger an epidemic of vertiginous pearl-clutching and fits of the vapors....

One can but wonder what effect a trio of 40-storey towers next to the Macdonald Bridge will have.

[Dmajackson]

The building permit to start this project was issued last week. The property has been subdivided and this is actually two buildings with ~203 units total.

[Dmajackson]

Construction is underway.


HalifaxDevelopments.ca (Photo by David Jackson)

[OldDartmouthMark]

It's interesting to see the transformation of a street that was once dominated by car dealerships and some retail, switch to mostly residential. Maybe someday the Kempt Road area of Halifax might undergo a similar transformation.

[Keith P.]

There were only ever a couple of dealership sites there at any given time and they moved around over the years, so in that respect it is quite different from Kempt Rd.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

There were only ever a couple of dealership sites there ant anny given time and they moved around over the years, so in that respect it is quite different from Kempt Rd.

4, no?

Beacon Pontiac/Beacon Datsun/Chaisson Chrysler/Dartmouth Dodge on one site, Fairley & Stevens on another, various Volkswagen on this site, and wasn’t there one on the other side of the Old Mill building? Then there was the Goodyear shop up the street.

Also, IIRC there was a dealership or two near the bridge?

[Dmajackson]

Wyse might not be as densely packed with dealerships as Kempt Road is but it's definitely of the same idea.

There's the remaining dealership, three automotive repair shops, PartSource, and a auto detailing spot all north of Boland.

Thankfully it looks like Baker Drive is Dartmouth's new auto strip.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

4, no?

Beacon Pontiac/Beacon Datsun/Chaisson Chrysler/Dartmouth Dodge on one site, Fairley & Stevens on another, various Volkswagen on this site, and wasn’t there one on the other side of the Old Mill building? Then there was the Goodyear shop up the street.

Also, IIRC there was a dealership or two near the bridge?

The two bigger ones were across the street from each other. VW was out of there by the early ‘70s IIRC. There is now one north of what used to be the Old Mill site but that is fairly recent and seems to limp along. The other tire/repair shops are just commercial uses, no different than a bicycle shop. There was a used car lot near the MacD bridge but I don’t recall when that went away, maybe early ‘70s.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by Dmajackson

Wyse might not be as densely packed with dealerships as Kempt Road is but it's definitely of the same idea.

There's the remaining dealership, three automotive repair shops, PartSource, and a auto detailing spot all north of Boland.

Thankfully it looks like Baker Drive is Dartmouth's new auto strip.

Yes. Exactly. Thanks!

While I never compared Kempt Road to Wyse Road in my post, The feel some 30 - 40 years ago was similar. Car dealerships, repair shops some commercial, some old (historic) industrial.

By the 2010s, Wyse had already started to undergo the transformation with the Dartmouth Dodge and the old Rope Works/Old Mill building Torn down, to make way for a Sobeys store. https://maps.app.goo.gl/c5VZuu9X3YeGgBUj7

This trend is continuing now, with dealerships and commercial sites starting to be replaced directly with residential.

Kempt Road used to be a mix of car dealerships, commercial and industrial, more like Wyse Road was but by the 2010s it had sprouted more car dealerships, while Wyse was shedding them. Some day in the future, it is likely that it will undergo a similar transition to Wyse Road, as car dealerships shrink and/or move, and the land becomes more valuable and well-suited for residential.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

There two bigger ones were across the street from each other. VW was out of there by the early ‘70s IIRC. There is now one north of what used to be the Old Mill site but that is fairly recent and seems to limp along. The other tire/repair shops are just commercial uses, no different than a bicycle shop. There was a used car lot near the MacD bridge but I don’t recall when that went away, maybe early ‘70s.

In the early 2000s, there were both a Mitsubishi and a Suzuki auto dealership along Wyse Road as well. Even once the OEM dealerships went away, all of those buildings remained but were switched over to other uses, mostly used car dealerships.

Also, I seem to recall a VW dealership remaining on that site up into the 1980s, but I could be mistaken.

I'm not sure where you get the idea that the Scotia Tire shop is the same as a bicycle shop. It's a reasonably sized building with an office/showroom and 3 service bays with surrounding parking lot.

Anyhow, I never said that Wyse Road today is the same as Kempt Road today, so that's not really a conversation. However, I can say without hesitation that the entire length of Wyse Road is undergoing a transformation, and that's really interesting to see.

Finally, here's the only photo (from 1969) that I have been able to find of that section of Wyse from back in the day, when it was mostly commercial and car dealerships and IMHO it had a different feel than it has now, and will definitely in the future.


Source

I'm not sure why I am having to defend my post, but it is what it is...

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

In the early 2000s, there were both a Mitsubishi and a Suzuki auto dealership along Wyse Road as well. Even once the OEM dealerships went away, all of those buildings remained but were switched over to other uses, mostly used car dealerships.

Also, I seem to recall a VW dealership remaining on that site up into the 1980s, but I could be mistaken.

You may be correct on that. There seemed to be much turnover in the VW situation in Dartmouth back then, unlike in Halifax where it was more stable.

I'm not sure where you get the idea that the Scotia Tire shop is the same as a bicycle shop. It's a reasonably sized building with an office/showroom and 3 service bays with surrounding parking lot.

I have a hard time understanding the equating of a small tire shop with the planning profession’s public enemy #1, the auto dealership (or #2, depending on the current classification of the single-family home). I’m pretty sure from looking at the Scotia building that it has been doing similar things for a very long time. Perhaps the owner should apply for heritage status.

Anyhow, I never said that Wyse Road today is the same as Kempt Road today, so that's not really a conversation. However, I can say without hesitation that the entire length of Wyse Road is undergoing a transformation, and that's really interesting to see.

I'm not sure why I am having to defend my post, but it is what it is...

The basic argument you’re making is flawed, so that’s why I questioned it. If that means you feeling the need to “defend” it, nothing I can do about that.

The idea that Wyse Rd was somehow a cesspool due to its longtime commercial uses but will somehow become an area full of high-end residential once those evil automobile-related uses are evicted is somewhat mind-boggling. It may happen decades into the future but that is simply because urban areas evolve over long periods of time. In my lifetime I cannot imagine all of those existing uses just going away. What will we do without the revered “My Son’s Place” beverage room and the wall to wall Sam Sticks lining the street?

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

I have a hard time understanding the equating of a small tire shop with the planning profession’s public enemy #1, the auto dealership (or #2, depending on the current classification of the single-family home). I’m pretty sure from looking at the Scotia building that it has been doing similar things for a very long time. Perhaps the owner should apply for heritage status.

I'm not equating anything to anything. I simply said that the feel is changing from a street that was once mostly car dealerships and commercial uses (like the old Goodyear, later Scotia Tire building), to what I imagine will be mostly residential highrises in years to come. I find that interesting.

Originally Posted by Keith P.

The basic argument you’re making is flawed, so that’s why I questioned it. If that means you feeling the need to “defend” it, nothing I can do about that.

Again, I'm not making an argument. Just a statement. "Defend" is perhaps too strong a word to use. "Explain" more aptly describes it. It feels odd that you feel the need to provide contention to my post saying how I feel about a neighbourhood that I was very familiar with years ago. I spent a lot of time in that area as my Dad once worked in one of those car dealerships, and for a good part of my young life, the Dartmouth Shopping Centre was the main shopping venue for my family.

Originally Posted by Keith P.

The idea that Wyse Rd was somehow a cesspool due to its longtime commercial uses but will somehow become an area full of high-end residential once those evil automobile-related uses are evicted is somewhat mind-boggling. It may happen decades into the future but that is simply because urban areas evolve over long periods of time. In my lifetime I cannot imagine all of those existing uses just going away. What will we do without the revered “My Son’s Place” beverage room and the wall to wall Sam Sticks lining the street?

Again, I never said that.

As a side note, "My Son's Place" is unfamiliar to me. I remember it as "Clancy's", though I've never been inside the building...

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

Again, I'm not making an argument. Just a statement. "Defend" is perhaps too strong a word to use. "Explain" more aptly describes it. It feels odd that you feel the need to provide contention to my post saying how I feel about a neighbourhood that I was very familiar with years ago.

I felt the need to respond solely because of the word “defend”. One defends themselves when they are attacked. You made it sound like I somehow attacked you. A difference of opinion is not an attack. I will admit to finding the planning profession’s constant belittling of anything to do with automobiles quite tiresome. It seemed you were also singing that tune.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

I felt the need to respond solely because of the word “defend”. One defends themselves when they are attacked. You made it sound like I somehow attacked you. A difference of opinion is not an attack. I will admit to finding the planning profession’s constant belittling of anything to do with automobiles quite tiresome. It seemed you were also singing that tune.

Not defending myself, but defending what I wrote. We obviously look at the term differently, as I never felt attacked by you, but a little frustrated that you seemed to get nitpicky about a relatively unimportant statement that I made. Frankly I didn’t feel like going through the effort of explaining it out, but did out of respect.

I would think you might realize that I never ‘sing that tune’ though I do try to face every issue with an open mind. For example, I have deep roots in both the automotive world and the cycling world (old school cycling enthusiast, not the activist movement of present day - I’m not an activist for anything as I don’t care for extremism, but I do have strong opinions), so I can usually see the good and bad of both “sides” (to me they aren’t mutually exclusive, but I see they are to some), and tend to voice my views here after consideration of all the facts. After all, a city is made up of all kinds of people and like it or not we have to find common ground and learn to live together in some way. Or at least we should aspire to that, IMHO.