[Halifax] Vintage Row Development (Queen & Birmingham) | ? M | 9 Fl | U/C

[Dmajackson]

There is a Site-Specific Planning Requests Report going to Regional Council this week. There is a rendering of this development towards the end of document.

[Drybrain]

Originally Posted by Dmajackson

There is a Site-Specific Planning Requests Report going to Regional Council this week. There is a rendering of this development towards the end of document.

It's hard to make too much of a little rendering like this, buried in this doc, but I'm sort of surprised to see that it looks like it might be quite nice. The architects have a pretty good local portfolio, as well, which is more reason for optimism. I sort of assumed this one was sure to be a dud, for whatever reason. Maybe I was wrong!

[Keith P.]

This is the site of the former jellybean houses on Queen St across from Doyle whose demolition resulted in much angst and wringing of hands, along with the other recently demolished buildings behind them on Birmingham - I think the old Mathers building and Woozles. The proposal shown is interesting enough and probably a big upgrade for the area overall at the cost of some charm.

An aside: the package sent to Council shown in the link is 100 pages dealing with a number of different proposals in different areas. I cannot imagine Council members are reading such huge documents closely. I also shake my head at the boilerplate contained within it that talks about the "precincts" downtown. There ought to be a quiz to see if anyone understands that concept.

[someone123]

Yes, Fathom is pretty good.

It's too bad Halifax is losing so many of these old character-rich wooden buildings and it would be better to have some historic districts (like the North End) where this style can be preserved more. That being said, this stretch was obviously underdeveloped and the new developments appear to be coalescing into a kind of medium-sized shopping area Halifax wouldn't otherwise have. I'd say SGR is more impressive than what you find in almost all comparable North American cities these days and even many that are much larger (million+). It reminds me a bit of the central shopping district of a medium-sized European city.

I do wonder a bit if the zoning is encouraging too much redevelopment of the same old areas and not enough expansion to new areas. For example developing along South Park (farther south) or going west along Spring Garden and into Coburg Rd. Then there are certain sites like the old library or that Queen St lot owned by Dalhousie that sit for years and years.

[IanWatson]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

I also shake my head at the boilerplate contained within it that talks about the "precincts" downtown. There ought to be a quiz to see if anyone understands that concept.

Well hopefully Andy does... he created it.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by Dmajackson

There is a Site-Specific Planning Requests Report going to Regional Council this week. There is a rendering of this development towards the end of document.

Looks like it's gone now...

404 - File or directory not found.
The resource you are looking for might have been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable.

[Dmajackson]

The URL changed for some reason. Here's the new one;

https://pub-halifax.escribemeetings....ocumentId=3262

[OldDartmouthMark]

Thanks!

[Jstaleness]

Site activity has once again commenced. Today an excavator has removed the old concrete foundation wall of the former I.H. Mathers building. Not sure if it's the start of full site excavation yet or just enough to bring the pile trucks in to do core testing.

[Dmajackson]

^The grade alteration permit was issued last week so it could be the start of excavation.

[Jstaleness]

A few pics as it sits this afternoon by me.

[Jstaleness]

Flurry of activity at the site today. Old foundation removal as well as some rock breaking.

There is even a crane loading/unloading the replacement HVAC system for the Bond Building where I take these pictures.




Photo by me

[kzt79]

Originally Posted by Dmajackson

The URL changed for some reason. Here's the new one;

https://pub-halifax.escribemeetings....ocumentId=3262

This now gives a 404. It would be nice if they had some kind of consistent archive of these planning documents. It would be great if there were some easy way to search the history of a particular site or building without having to fight for incomplete scraps.

[Dmajackson]

Originally Posted by kzt79

This now gives a 404. It would be nice if they had some kind of consistent archive of these planning documents. It would be great if there were some easy way to search the history of a particular site or building without having to fight for incomplete scraps.

Halifax Planning Case - MPSA 2025-02020

[someone123]

Originally Posted by kzt79

This now gives a 404. It would be nice if they had some kind of consistent archive of these planning documents. It would be great if there were some easy way to search the history of a particular site or building without having to fight for incomplete scraps.

I mostly follow Halifax developments but it seems like there are fewer renderings of projects there than in other cities and they are of a worse quality. I wonder if it has to do with so much apartment construction vs. condo and presales in other cities.

I remember posting about the 30-ish storey Quinpool Rd building by the Arm in the Canada section and some people didn't believe it was real since there was practically nothing up online. Not that it really matters, but I don't think there is currently any kind of rendering that conveys the magnitude of all the construction that's happening right now. Dartmouth in particular is going to look very different.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by Dmajackson

Halifax Planning Case - MPSA 2025-02020

Thanks. I feel a little ambivalent about this one but then again Fathom projects tend to be nice, and the old rowhouses here were more distinctive due to the paint job and small shops rather than the architecture itself.

It does seem like the construction around the area is creating a sort of commercial vibrancy that probably couldn't otherwise exist there. And it's quite rare outside of the largest North American cities.

[kzt79]

Originally Posted by someone123

I mostly follow Halifax developments but it seems like there are fewer renderings of projects there than in other cities and they are of a worse quality. I wonder if it has to do with so much apartment construction vs. condo and presales in other cities.

I remember posting about the 30-ish storey Quinpool Rd building by the Arm in the Canada section and some people didn't believe it was real since there was practically nothing up online. Not that it really matters, but I don't think there is currently any kind of rendering that conveys the magnitude of all the construction that's happening right now. Dartmouth in particular is going to look very different.

I wonder if, in terms of population and density, DT Dartmouth may at some point "surpass" Halifax? Although of course nothing could ever compete with the prestige of south end

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by kzt79

I wonder if, in terms of population and density, DT Dartmouth may at some point "surpass" Halifax? Although of course nothing could ever compete with the prestige of south end

I wouldn't hold my breath on that. The one thing that might help would be opening up the Alderney harborfront parking lots to development, but the CN activity there weighs heavily against it.

[worldlyhaligonian]

Originally Posted by kzt79

I wonder if, in terms of population and density, DT Dartmouth may at some point "surpass" Halifax? Although of course nothing could ever compete with the prestige of south end

With the density, it is totally possible given the physical size of Dartmouth.

What interests me most is how these dense areas can interconnect... Fairview has randomly made huge density gains while the peninsula has been slowly improving density.

It will be exciting to see the final lots downtown have towers in the future. I'd like to see that lot in front of the Maple and the one in front of the Vic have something on them.

Also, I'm suprised that weird area on the waterfront hasn't had a proposal resurface.

[IanWatson]

Originally Posted by someone123

I mostly follow Halifax developments but it seems like there are fewer renderings of projects there than in other cities and they are of a worse quality. I wonder if it has to do with so much apartment construction vs. condo and presales in other cities.

It's a combination of that, and the fact that so many projects are now as-of-right. Nice renderings are expensive, and if you're not "selling" the project to anyone (be it potential buyers or Council) then it makes a lot less sense to do them.