General Updates and News

[Barrington south]

cool....the creation of the new downtown continues....sgr

[someone123]

I saw that. Great. In the story the owner of the DQ building says he wouldn't just sell it to a random person, but that he'd consider selling if a developer is trying to consolidate the block. Hopefully that's how it will work out.

[mcmcclassic]

If that corner with the DQ gets re-developed into something nice that whole area will look amazing.

[someone123]

Things like the DQ building are really what make Halifax feel kind of small and dumpy. Some of them are very charming but really they should be on their way out. I feel similar about, say, the Victoria Apartments at Hollis and Morris - they were interesting and it would have been nice to save them but the new building will be definite progress.

[halifaxboyns]

I wonder why they aren't going taller? Probably because of the fact the DQ buildling isn't in their plans - but if they were to get it; I'd say they should go higher. As I've pointed out before, if you look at this block its one of only two in the area not covered by the viewplanes. So there is a real change to get some nice tall buildings in the block.

[sdm]

i think it would be a huge mistake and a lack luster project without the DQ building and even some of the building headed south along south park street.

I've heard there is some transactions of properties happening in this area, so something is bound to surface soon.

[worldlyhaligonian]

I'd like to see like a 14-16 story building similar in design to the Trillium with great groundfloor retail.


I can already hear the guised arguments against something there... something like: Not our Dairy Queen! Evil developers!

[Dmajackson]

Originally Posted by worldlyhaligonian

I can already hear the guised arguments against something there... something like: Not our Dairy Queen! Evil developers!

Where are we going to get our ice cream cakes!

Seriously when the DQ in Bedford shut-down that was the biggest complaint.

[fenwick16]

According to the allnovascotia.com, a review committee has voted to reduce the HRM council size to 20 from 23. It still has to be approved by the full HRM council in 3 weeks time.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by worldlyhaligonian

I'd like to see like a 14-16 story building similar in design to the Trillium with great groundfloor retail.


I can already hear the guised arguments against something there... something like: Not our Dairy Queen! Evil developers!

Well, I'm not particularly going to try and defend the Spring Garden/South Park DQ (although I do have fond memories of that location) but sometimes it is the smaller businesses like this that contribute more to the character and feel of a neighbourhood than yet another monolithic cookie cutter high rise.

I'm certainly not anti development but outside of the densest downtown cores, moderation is best. There should be variety in our streetscapes........

Having said this, the Spring Garden/South Park intersection is one of the most important sites in the city and perhaps should have something more iconic than a shabby DQ.

[mcmcclassic]

I think they should put the DQ into the main level of a potential high-rise for the corner of sgr and south park

[worldlyhaligonian]

Originally Posted by mcmcclassic

I think they should put the DQ into the main level of a potential high-rise for the corner of sgr and south park

For sure... especially one of those Orange Julius / DQ

[Jonovision]

Sounds great for Spring Garden. But I wonder if they are able to go higher. There are is an angle control implemented on Spring Garden to ensure it gets enough sunlight since it is the main shopping street. Hence Parklane having its tiered front. So I'm thinking if that was applied here you wouldn't be able to go much higher then 8 stories or so. Either way, the new building has to be of the best quality. It's such an important spot.

And also great news about council! I wish it could be cut down a bit more, but its at least a start.

[Dmajackson]

According to the deisgn manual these are the criterea for the SGR/South Park corner;

Pre Bonus Height - 39m (~12 residential storeys)
Post Bonus Height - 49m (~16 residential storeys)
Setback - 0-1.5m
Streetwall - 17m

There is also a clause that requires setbacks of .9m for every .6m in height after a height of 17m (for sunlight reasons I believe).

[DigitalNinja]

Can Halifax council actually shrink itself? Let’s hope so

By PAUL SCHNEIDEREIT
Tue. May 25 - 4:53 AM

Is Halifax regional council too big, too small or — currently with 23 councillors and a mayor — just right as it is?

Well, as anyone who’s ever served on a committee well knows, the bigger the group, the longer — and not necessarily better — the process.

So I guess the fact council’s boundary review committee last week actually recommended that council should be trimmed to just 20 members, plus the mayor, qualifies as good news.

Still seems way too big, to me.

To get a sense of how Halifax compared to other jurisdictions, I did some calculations based on stats for the 20 biggest municipalities in Canada. (The ratios I calculated by dividing population by council size, as best I could determine it.)

Based on the 2006 census, Halifax was 13th on that list in terms of overall population — but tied (with Ottawa) at fifth for the biggest city council, while placing fourth in ratio of fewest residents per councillor.

HRM, as it’s properly called by everyone except, oh, those who live here, other Nova Scotians and the rest of Canada, had 372,679 residents in 2006.

That left it well behind places like Toronto and Montreal, of course, along with Calgary (988,193), Ottawa (812,129), Edmonton (730,372), Mississauga (668,549), Winnipeg (633,451), Vancouver (578,041), Hamilton (504,559), Quebec City (491,142), Brampton (433,806) and Surrey, B.C. (394,976), and just ahead of Laval (368,709), London (352,395) and Markham (261,573). When you looked at council sizes, however, Halifax shot up the chart.

Including mayors, the biggest municipal councils can be found in Montreal (with an astounding 66), Toronto (45), Quebec City (38), Longueil, Que. (27), Halifax and Ottawa (both 24), Laval, (22) and Gatineau, Que. (18).

(Yes, Quebec seems to be fertile ground for big city governments.)

Behind Halifax were bigger municipalities like Calgary (15), Edmonton (13), Mississauga (12), Winnipeg (16), Vancouver (11), Hamilton (16), Brampton (11) and Surrey (9).

London, just slightly smaller than Halifax, has a council of 15, including the mayor.

If you break down council sizes by population, only Longueil (8,494), Quebec City (12,924) and Gatineau (13,451) have fewer residents per council member, including mayors, than Halifax (15,528), at least among the 20 largest municipalities in Canada.

Municipalities that are similar to Halifax, population-wise, have bigger ratios: Brampton (39,437), Surrey (43,886), Laval (16,759) and London (23,493).

Now, some argue that because HRM is among the largest municipalities in Canada in land size, council here needs to be bigger.

There’s merit to that point, no question; but when Edmonton, with twice as many people as Halifax, can get by with almost half the size of council, I’d say the facts still favour cutting here.

Though I don’t think they went far enough — 15 would make sense — I’m shocked the review committee recommended cutting some colleagues’ jobs at all.

Odder still was hearing HRM’s man of mystery, otherwise known as Mayor Peter Kelly, last week say that most people he’s heard from like things the way they are.

In fact, some, he said, want an even bigger council, because it would be more "effective."

Yes, I know there were many times during those cat bylaw debates that I pondered how quickly the whole issue could have been decided if only we’d had a half-dozen more councillors queuing up to share their tales of local homes overrun with kittens.

Funny, though, that the mayor was singing a different tune just a few months ago.

Back in January, Kelly, who’s chairing the boundary review committee, said in an interview he’d noted "a public appetite" for a smaller council.

"We have heard those underpinnings to go in that direction," Kelly told Herald city hall reporter Michael Lightstone.

When it comes to our fence-sitting mayor, it doesn’t get much clearer than that, does it?

Council decides on this next month, so if you’ve got some underpinnings to pass along to your councillor on the subject, don’t be shy.

( [email protected])

A positive article in the Chronicle Herald about reducing council size.

[someone123]

The problem is that councillors do two different jobs - they deal with the public to address problems and they discuss issues in council. Having more councillors is good if you're calling in to complain about cats but bad if you want all of them to get together and reach a decision to do something.

The person making the executive decisions doesn't need to be the one handling day-to-day issues. The HRM could easily have a council of 7 or 9 people and it would be far more functional than it is now. It could also have elected "representatives" or bureaucrats to manage small-scale local spending.

[hfx_chris]

I wonder if I still have my Mayor Windsock image...

[Keith P.]

Wanderer's Club facelift coming soon
Last Updated: Tuesday, May 25, 2010 | 8:18 AM AT
CBC News

Construction on the Halifax Wanderers' Grounds dilapidated field house on Sackville Street should begin before the end of the summer, says the group dedicated to its restoration.

Wanderer's Amateur Athletic Club spokesman Tim Keddy said the project may go to tender in the next month or so, and they are still working toward a March 2011 completion date.

The project has been held up, he said, because the Halifax Regional Municipality, which owns the building, is working through toxic paint and mould issues.

The boarded up building is the former Navy League Dry Canteen, built in 1942. It sits on the site of the original Wanderer's Amateur Athletic Club, which was built in 1896.

The dilapidated building was slated for demolition in 2006, but the Halifax Rugby Club — which has leased a portion of the building since 2001 — approached the municipality with a plan to save it.

In 2009, the Halifax Rugby Football Club and the Halifax Tars Football Club created a registered non-profit society to save the building, and reverted to its original name, the Wanderer's Amateur Athletic Club.

Also in 2009, the building was designated a municipal heritage building.

Keddy said that when the restoration project is finished, the building will serve many purposes.

"It'll be kind of like the St. Mary's Boat Club kind of style place — a facility that the community can really use," he said, adding it could host weddings as well as sporting events.

Keddy said his group has already raised $200,000 towards the restoration project. They are now working to raise an additional $30,000 to buy equipment and furnishings, as well as set up a capital fund.

The Halifax Regional Municipality and Infrastructure Canada have committed another $700,000 to the project.

Keddy said his group wants to have the refurbished building finished as soon as possible.

"Obviously, the sooner the better in our minds and I think probably the same with the people in the community. It would be nice to see the building up and running," he said.

"That's a pretty marquee place for tourists, for visitors. You know, you've got the [Halifax] Public Gardens right there, so it's a pretty recognizable building and it would be really, I think, beneficial to everybody to have it looking like what it should be."

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia/sto...s-grounds-restoration.html#ixzz0oziDG6iv

This is totally outrageous -- $700,000 of taxpayer funds going to this?!? It is a totally unremarkable old building that received a bogus heritage designation last year, totally undeserved. When this is all done it will sit empty and unused 90% of the time and/or be used as a clubhouse by a small group of privileged individuals. No wonder HRM cries poor when they can waste money like this.

The best solution would be a runaway bulldozer aimed directly at it.

[alps]

Agreed, there is absolutely nothing architecturally significant about it, and it's so dilapidated it will require total reconstruction.

[cormiermax]

This is totally unacceptable, The hole Wanderers' Grounds block should have been re-developed years ago.