General Updates and News

[fenwick16]

Originally Posted by eastcoastal

I presume that Government House was probably the focus of any attempts to "preserve" heritage assets

I wondered why it was 11 meters next to the Maritime Centre and 22 meters next to Government House. Dmajackson answered my question - the Barrington Street side next to the Maritime Centre is part of the Barrington Street Heritage District.

[Jonovision]

That is somewhat ridiculous that the small sliver next to one of our largest buildings in the city is zoned shorter than the site next to government house. Very backwards if you ask me. I couldn't quite grasp from the article though if they wanted to tear down the church or not? I hope not. It is a nice piece of architecture and I love the relationship between its steeple and the steeple on the Basilica. I do think a residential building around 12 storeys would work really well on any part of that site as long as it was made with mostly glass. Anything with too much stone or precast would be way to heavy for the site. But if a small glass tower was built it might help cushion that hard edge of Maritime Centre.

[worldlyhaligonian]

Originally Posted by eastcoastal

I presume that Government House was probably the focus of any attempts to "preserve" heritage assets

Lol, more like "heritage liabilities".

[Dmajackson]

Mayor involved in police chase

--- Chronicle Herald article---

If only the policing were chasing after mayor for some his poor leadership that has plagued the HRM traffic department for the last decade.

[Haliburger]

Originally Posted by Jonovision

That is somewhat ridiculous that the small sliver next to one of our largest buildings in the city is zoned shorter than the site next to government house. Very backwards if you ask me. I couldn't quite grasp from the article though if they wanted to tear down the church or not? I hope not. It is a nice piece of architecture and I love the relationship between its steeple and the steeple on the Basilica. I do think a residential building around 12 storeys would work really well on any part of that site as long as it was made with mostly glass. Anything with too much stone or precast would be way to heavy for the site. But if a small glass tower was built it might help cushion that hard edge of Maritime Centre.

I wonder if they are considering demolishing the more modern add-on and then working with the developer to have new space. The gym roof has been a major headache for a few years with leaks and a destroyed hardwood floor, but they sure use the space.

[beyeas]

Originally Posted by Jonovision

That is somewhat ridiculous that the small sliver next to one of our largest buildings in the city is zoned shorter than the site next to government house. Very backwards if you ask me. I couldn't quite grasp from the article though if they wanted to tear down the church or not? I hope not. It is a nice piece of architecture and I love the relationship between its steeple and the steeple on the Basilica. I do think a residential building around 12 storeys would work really well on any part of that site as long as it was made with mostly glass. Anything with too much stone or precast would be way to heavy for the site. But if a small glass tower was built it might help cushion that hard edge of Maritime Centre.

Yeah I had the exact same question... it is really not clear as to whether they are planning on saving the church. One assumes that surely they are, but it is not obvious. I love the look when you are on Hollis looking north and you see the two spires side-by-side.

[kph06]

The old government building (Sir Robert(?) Thompson Building) on Barrington is now named "The Thompson" and has a jazzy new wrap around sign on the exterior. There is steady activity outside and inside, but no evidence of tenants actually moving in yet.

[sdm]

Originally Posted by kph06

The old government building (Sir Robert(?) Thompson Building) on Barrington is now named "The Thompson" and has a jazzy new wrap around sign on the exterior. There is steady activity outside and inside, but no evidence of tenants actually moving in yet.

They have cleaned up the image for sure.

I know there is one tenant.

That node of the market is very very slow to respond, especially when there is space within the CBD that is competitive

[sdm]

Bids for transit terminal $4m higher than expected


Fri, Sep 24 - 4:53 AM
Bids for a proposed Metro Transit project in Dartmouth are almost $4 million higher than the development’s estimated cost, say a municipal spokeswoman.

Kathleen Cameron, with Halifax Regional Municipality, said Thursday two bids for the planned bus terminal replacement behind the Sportsplex came in recently at roughly $13.4 million each.

The project’s proposed cost is $9.5 million.

Municipal staff "will take time to evaluate the bids before they do anything," Cameron said.

In June, regional council voted overwhelmingly for the planned development.

The vote, following a lengthy public hearing and council debate, was to authorize land-use amendments so the project could proceed. Council voted 20-3 in support of amendments to Dartmouth’s municipal planning strategy.

According to staff, the Dartmouth terminal is the busiest in metro but has outgrown its usefulness. It cannot accommodate future growth in bus traffic.

It also can’t serve disabled transit users, the hearing was told. As well, there are safety concerns in terms of loading and unloading bus passengers.

The replacement project is part of Metro Transit’s five-year plan, a blueprint that includes a number of new terminals throughout the municipality.

"Construction of this terminal on the site proposed is one of the most important infrastructure improvements required by Metro Transit," said a May municipal report.

The two received bids are on the municipality’s website. One is slightly more than $13.4 million; the other came in at more than $13.3 million

Municipal staff plan to contact the bidders "to look at this and verify the cost before (the) next steps are outlined," Cameron said.

( [email protected])

[JET]

Originally Posted by sdm

Bids for transit terminal $4m higher than expected


Fri, Sep 24 - 4:53 AM
Bids for a proposed Metro Transit project in Dartmouth are almost $4 million higher than the development’s estimated cost, say a municipal spokeswoman.

Kathleen Cameron, with Halifax Regional Municipality, said Thursday two bids for the planned bus terminal replacement behind the Sportsplex came in recently at roughly $13.4 million each.

The project’s proposed cost is $9.5 million.

Municipal staff "will take time to evaluate the bids before they do anything," Cameron said.

In June, regional council voted overwhelmingly for the planned development.

The vote, following a lengthy public hearing and council debate, was to authorize land-use amendments so the project could proceed. Council voted 20-3 in support of amendments to Dartmouth’s municipal planning strategy.

According to staff, the Dartmouth terminal is the busiest in metro but has outgrown its usefulness. It cannot accommodate future growth in bus traffic.

It also can’t serve disabled transit users, the hearing was told. As well, there are safety concerns in terms of loading and unloading bus passengers.

The replacement project is part of Metro Transit’s five-year plan, a blueprint that includes a number of new terminals throughout the municipality.

"Construction of this terminal on the site proposed is one of the most important infrastructure improvements required by Metro Transit," said a May municipal report.

The two received bids are on the municipality’s website. One is slightly more than $13.4 million; the other came in at more than $13.3 million

Municipal staff plan to contact the bidders "to look at this and verify the cost before (the) next steps are outlined," Cameron said.

( [email protected])

Two independent bids that large and that close sounds a bit fishy.

[sdm]

Originally Posted by JET

Two independent bids that large and that close sounds a bit fishy.

Well i think its even more an issue when you look at the real problem.

Original cost $9.6 million
Bid price $13.1 million

That's close to 40% over the original budget price.......

[JET]

Originally Posted by sdm

Well i think its even more an issue when you look at the real problem.

Original cost $9.6 million
Bid price $13.1 million

That's close to 40% over the original budget price.......

It's true, with both being 40% over, and that close to each other.....

[sdm]

Originally Posted by JET

It's true, with both being 40% over, and that close to each other.....

Well in the construction world you have three sets of budgets, Class A,B,C

Class A is typical plus/minus 5%

Class B is typical 10-15%

Then class C typically 30%

To be 40% out is unreal.

[sdm]

More offices empty downtown
Overall vacancy rate decreasing as suburban leasing continues to rise
By CHRIS LAMBIE Business Editor
Fri, Sep 24 - 4:53 AM

Bob Mussett

Although Halifax’s office vacancy rate fell to 8.7 per cent this month and is below the national average, the vacancy rate continues to grow in the downtown area.(Eric Wynne / Staff)

The office vacancy rate is going up in downtown Halifax and down in the surrounding suburbs, says the world’s largest commercial real estate services firm.

Halifax’s overall office vacancy rate fell to 8.7 per cent this month from 10.2 per cent at the end of the third quarter of 2009. But right now, the suburban office vacancy rate is 7.5 per cent, compared with 12.6 per cent at this time last year. The downtown rate is 10.3 per cent, up from 6.9 per cent last year.

"There’s been a significant amount of leasing activity in the suburban market and negative leasing activity downtown," said Bob Mussett, senior vice-president with CB Richard Ellis Ltd. in Halifax.

The trend "certainly started last year where we saw some shrinkage and we saw the significant amount of activity in the suburban area and it seems to be continuing," Mussett said.

He blamed demographics for the business shift.

"More people live outside of the city centre than on the peninsula."

There is a "growing diversity of product choices" in the suburban market, he said. Business parks in Bayers Lake, Dartmouth, Bedford and Burnside have all been popular picks for companies over the past year, Mussett said.

"There is no new construction downtown, so the product offering here has been the same for the last 20 years, basically."

Mussett said he would rather see more balance in the market.

"Halifax, when you take a snapshot of the overall office market, continues to perform well when compared nationally."

The national office space vacancy rate is 9.8 per cent.

"When you dig down, we’re seeing this shift happen locally," Mussett said. "To have that imbalance between the suburban market and the urban core, I don’t think it’s a healthy thing. And I think it will cause more issues going forward if it continues downtown.

"The valuation of properties will decrease, the tax base will decline. We already know there are a lot fewer people living down here. Will it accelerate or stall residential projects because more offices are locating outside the downtown core?"

( [email protected])

[someone123]

To some degree Halifax is just big enough now that there will be growth off of the peninsula. It would have Manhattan-like densities if 400,000 lived on the peninsula.

It is pretty sad though that the last significant office construction downtown happened around 1990.

It feels a bit like the downtown missed the boat because nothing changed during 2000-2010. There was lots of economic growth in the city, lots of demand for office space. Nothing was spent downtown by the city and it was hard to even get approval for private projects.

[sdm]

Originally Posted by someone123

To some degree Halifax is just big enough now that there will be growth off of the peninsula. It would have Manhattan-like densities if 400,000 lived on the peninsula.

It is pretty sad though that the last significant office construction downtown happened around 1990.

It feels a bit like the downtown missed the boat because nothing changed during 2000-2010. There was lots of economic growth in the city, lots of demand for office space. Nothing was spent downtown by the city and it was hard to even get approval for private projects.

The sad reality is these numbers don't take into account up coming vacanies such as Emera (130,000) or and or a number of other tenants who are now on the move.

The stats show that there is approximately 450,000 SF of available space downtown (currently). Add Emera and the others and it won't be long before we see close to 600,000. That is a lot of space in a relatively small market.
The problems for downtown came in part from a number of factors. The addition of Purdy's Wharf II on spec (no tenants) damaged the market in the early 90's. It wasn't till about 2002-2003 that the market more or less recovered. By this time construction cost rose and the market rates require for downtown space (new) was questionable, but was in the realm of possibilities.

Then the approval process to get projects on line meant projects missed opportunites.

Now the biggest issue is when you look at the trends of "absorbtion" the market is negative. There is no new companies coming to Halifax of significant size. More or less property owners are trading space, which in the end someone ends up holding the vacancy bag.

The province needs to be promoting business to locate to Halifax, but i am affaird we are not currently structure or viewed as pro business.

[Wishblade]

Just an article regarding a couple of developments in the Wrights cove area. Apparently within a certain radius of Magazine Hill you require an unexploded ordinance sweep lol.

It’s bombs away for Burnside complex

By BILL POWER Business Reporter
Sat, Sep 25 - 4:53 AM

The builder of a Burnside Park area apartment complex has been ordered to sweep the property for unexploded bombs before starting construction.

"I must say I have never heard of such a thing, but it is the requirement, so of course I will comply," architect and developer K.J. Ghandi said in an interview Friday.

Halifax Regional Municipality requires a search for unexploded military ordnance for developments in the Wrights Cove area.

A staff report cites concern about unexploded ammunitions following an explosion in the 1940s at the nearby Magazine Hill military installation.

"It seems like a useless and futile exercise. If there was unexploded ordinance on the property it would surely have been detected by now," said Ghandi.

The developer’s proposal for a six-storey, 70-unit residential complex and adjacent commercial development, facing Windmill Road, goes to Harbour East community council for a public hearing on Oct. 4.

Ghandi said he was contacted by the military about the requirement for a sweep of the property and tentatively arranged to have it conducted prior to his anticipated Spring 2011 construction start.

He said he’s holding off on the bomb search until the project is approved.

Ghandi is an architect and his company, Innovation Architects, designed the development, and his other company, Legacy Home Builders Ltd., will handle construction at the site, located between Windmill Road, Basinview Drive and Wrights Cove.

Another significant development in Wrights Cove is also scheduled to move forward in the spring. Project manager Dan Dean said a search for unexploded ammunition was previously conducted at the site of the 12-storey residential complex, planned by Harbour Isle Halifax Incorporated.

"Just a small corner of our property is within the zone but we still had to search the entire for unexploded ordinance," he said.

Dean said the proximity of this proposed development to Bedford Basin also required an underwater search.

"A team of navy divers came in and they conducted a sweep of the area and gave it the all-clear," he said.

The Harbour Isle development has gone through several fits and starts over the years. In a previous incarnation it was known as Sheppards Island condominiums.

Dean said additional details of this latest development effort for the Windmill Road site were to be released in coming weeks.

"We’re not expecting any difficulties on this phase of development, as a 12-storey residential complex was previously approved," he said.

The developers of Harbour Isle recently completed a waterfront walkway at the site.

"This was to encourage people to come down and see the beauty of the location," said Dean.

It looks as though Harbour Isle is moving along as well.

[Haliburger]

Originally Posted by kph06

The old government building (Sir Robert(?) Thompson Building) on Barrington is now named "The Thompson" and has a jazzy new wrap around sign on the exterior. There is steady activity outside and inside, but no evidence of tenants actually moving in yet.

Anyone know the details of what happened with this building? I believe the Canada Lands Company was looking for proposals at one point. Did it sell?

[kph06]

Originally Posted by Haliburger

Anyone know the details of what happened with this building? I believe the Canada Lands Company was looking for proposals at one point. Did it sell?

Universal Properties bought it. They have been doing interior renovations for quite some time now. I think the exterior will remain as is for the time being.

[JET]

A couple of derelict buildings on Gottingen St, north of KitKat pizza were being torn down today. They were a mess for years.