[Halifax] RBC Waterside Centre | 37 m | 9 fl | Completed

[Barrington south]

Empire what about the salter street block and the Alexander...those don't make your top six???

[Barrington south]

"the rest are cheap garbage"...you think salter street is cheap garbage?

[Barrington south]

Empire, the sweet basil building was cheap garbage! it was just old cheap garbage! I do agree the rest is worth saving though

[Empire]

Originally Posted by Barrington south

Empire what about the salter street block and the Alexander...those don't make your top six???

Yes the Alexander is a great example of what we should be doing and definetly should be on the excellence list....building dense with an attractive tower and renovating heritage buildings "Keith Hall" in their entirety. Salter on the waterfront should be on the list as well. Salter's Gate is good at street level but the upper precast floors don't seem to work.

[Empire]

Originally Posted by Barrington south

Empire, the sweet basil building was cheap garbage! it was just old cheap garbage! I do agree the rest is worth saving though

Not sure how this building was old cheap garbage. Old yes,....being a good thing in this case at almost 170 years old, and as a Bistro added a lot to the gateway to historic properties. It's too bad buildings like this aren't valued more.

[sdm]

Originally Posted by Empire

Yes the Alexander is a great example of what we should be doing and definetly should be on the excellence list....building dense with an attractive tower and renovating heritage buildings "Keith Hall" in their entirety. Salter on the waterfront should be on the list as well. Salter's Gate is good at street level but the upper precast floors don't seem to work.

[hfx_chris]

Originally Posted by Empire

What are your favourite five buildings built anywhere in HRM in the past ten years?

What does your question have to do with my comment?

[Empire]

Originally Posted by hfx_chris

What does your question have to do with my comment?

Originally Posted by hfx_chris

Then somebody torches it in the night, and we have another repeat of the NFB building; just a wall, held up with supports.
But at least the tourists will think it's real and take pictures of the shell of our past

If you don't think shells of buildings from the past are worthy of picture taking then I was wondering what you thought was? Something built in the last five-ten years maybe, as these are the buildings replacing the demolished ones.

[sdm]

Originally Posted by Empire

If you don't think shells of buildings from the past are worthy of picture taking then I was wondering what you thought was? Something built in the last five-ten years maybe, as these are the buildings replacing the demolished ones.

And those structures (5-10years) will ironically be picture worthy when they are old too. When some of the now heritage buildings were new do you not think people thought their looks to be less then the ones they replaced?

[spaustin]

I personally think Salter's Gate is a huge letdown. The courtyard down by the Brewery turned out rather well and looks sharp, but the it fell apart on the Hollis side. The precast stuff that dominates on that side doesn't look very good, the stores are separated from the street by a poorly done arcade and a change in elevation (they're kind of down in caves) and the dome above the main entrance on Hollis and Salter is so small it is barely visible (they really shouldn't have bothered). I'm hopeful the Alexander will turn out better.

One I really like that I didn't see on the list was the Lexington. I know it embodies po-mo but it has a lot of visual interest and fits its corner setting quite well. I honestly think it's one of the better modern buildings in this city. Of what's upcoming, the Trillium is the one I'm the most excited about... assuming it does eventually get built.

[Takeo]

Originally Posted by sdm

And those structures (5-10years) will ironically be picture worthy when they are old too. When some of the now heritage buildings were new do you not think people thought their looks to be less then the ones they replaced?

I disagree. Cheap is cheap. Thoughtless design is thoughtless design. The buildings that will be picture-worthy in 5-10 years are the buildings that were picture-worthy the day they opened. From a purely design point of view, age is irrelevant. The fact is, many buildings of the past had more thought and care put into their design and construction. Not all, but many. The style was completely different of course, but that's a different issue. The point is, modern buildings need not be cheap and boring. Modern buildings can be just a beautiful and picture-worthy as heritage buildings.

And I agree... Sweet Basil was old cheap garbage. They made "cheap garbage" back then too! As for people thinking those buildings were worse than what they replaced... well... a great deal of our 140+ year old buildings replaced farmers fields or plain wooden boxes.

[JET]

Originally Posted by Takeo

... a great deal of our 140+ year old buildings replaced farmers fields or plain wooden boxes.

That's what makes it heritage, and worth saving. JET

[sdm]

Originally Posted by JET

That's what makes it heritage, and worth saving. JET

I tend to disagree, just because something is old doesn't mean its heritage and worth saving.

[Jonovision]

Fight between us and the city, Armour says
McCrea will oppose interveners when it appeals Waterside Centre decision
By AMY PUGSLEY FRASER City Hall Reporter
Fri. Nov 7 - 2:08 PM

The Armour Group does not want any third parties, including the government, to intervene when it appeals Halifax city hall’s rejection of its Waterside Centre proposal to the Utility and Review Board.

"The issues are between Armour Group and HRM," Armour Group chairman Ben McCrea said in an interview Thursday.

Armour "will oppose the intervention of any public interest group and-or the province of Nova Scotia."

Premier Rodney MacDonald, a supporter of the Waterside Centre project, was upset that regional council rejected the proposal in a 9-9 vote on Oct. 21. He has said the province will apply for intervener status at the appeal, dates for which have not yet been set.

When a public hearing was held on the proposal a few weeks ago, dozens of people wanted to have their say, resulting in a second night being added.

Opponents of the Armour Group’s redevelopment proposal took issue with the company’s plan to keep only the facades of four existing heritage buildings, calling it Disneyland "facadism."

Supporters applauded the design for keeping the historic element while providing the city with much-needed high-end office space.

Very public lobbying campaigns have ensued. The Heritage Trust of Nova Scotia, which is against the redevelopment, organized a postcard blitz, and supporters of both sides have written letters to the opinion pages of The Chronicle Herald.

"We’ve been through a very difficult, lengthy, protracted process," Mr. McCrea said. "We don’t want to see it continue through a Utility and Review Board hearing."

The issues are clear, he said.

"They’re between ourselves and the city as to whether the city followed its own bylaws," he said.

"Why would we continue with an appeal if it continues to be a circus?"

Waterside Centre was designed to occupy most of the city block bordered by Upper Water, Duke and Hollis Streets in downtown Halifax.

The Armour Group owns the four heritage buildings there and proposes to keep their facades while unifying them under a new six-storey office tower designed by Lydon Lynch Architects of Halifax.

On Sunday, the Armour Group pulled down an old wooden building on the property that was not to be part of the redevelopment. The company has also applied for demolition permits for the remaining four buildings but a mandatory one-year waiting period is in effect because of their heritage status.

Mr. McCrea said Waterside Centre, modelled on his Founder’s Square redevelopment nearby on Hollis Street, is the only viable option for the property.

He said it "represents the only financially feasible basis upon which the civic history represented by the four registered heritage buildings can be preserved."

( [email protected])

[Dmajackson]

Well its nice to know that Armour Group didn't go to the province for assistance. I wonder if they'll still give Mr. MacDonald a bunch of money every election?

[sdm]

Originally Posted by Bedford_DJ

Well its nice to know that Armour Group didn't go to the province for assistance. I wonder if they'll still give Mr. MacDonald a bunch of money every election?

Good question, of course thats if you consider 500 bucks a bunch of money .

I tend to agree that this issues should be between the developer and HRM, therefore stopping this circus.

[Dmajackson]

Originally Posted by sdm

Good question, of course thats if you consider 500 bucks a bunch of money .

I tend to agree that this issues should be between the developer and HRM, therefore stopping this circus.

It was only 500 bucks! Wow okay yah its defenitely not a lot of money than. THanks to the media and other things i was under the impression that it was a lot more money.

[sdm]

Originally Posted by Bedford_DJ

It was only 500 bucks! Wow okay yah its defenitely not a lot of money than. THanks to the media and other things i was under the impression that it was a lot more money.

Thats what i read in the media as well, who knows. One thing is obvious they don't want the province involved nor the heritage trust which i believe is a good thing.

That said, i think that the Heritage trust will still try and find a way into this appeal.

[spaustin]

Originally Posted by Bedford_DJ

It was only 500 bucks! Wow okay yah its defenitely not a lot of money than. THanks to the media and other things i was under the impression that it was a lot more money.

Maybe... but let's not kid ourselves, Halifax and Nova Scotia is a small place and McCrea gave the PC's $500 in addition to whatever he gave to Rodney's leadership bid. Rodney also launched his campaign in the lobby of Founders Square. It's not that $500 buys a politician but $500 is a good indicator of who someone's buddys are and who has access.

[phrenic]

To be fair, McCrea also gave money to the previous Liberal Premiers.