[Halifax] The Vuze at South Village (Fenwick) | 106 m | 36/10/8 fl | U/C

[Haliguy]

Originally Posted by fenwick16

When did Downtowndawn last post on this forum?

I did a search for posts by this user name but have come with nothing

[fenwick16]

Originally Posted by Haliguy

I did a search for posts by this user name but have come with nothing

Downtowndawn posted back in early January 2010 on the Central Library and Halifax Stadium Threads. At the time I welcomed the input from an HRM councillor. I still do if she wants to give her honest views on why high rise buildings are bad for Halifax.

[sdm]

Originally Posted by fenwick16

You seem to have a lot of inside information SDM. Reading through your previous posts, you seem to know things that only a councillor would know and it seems that you are a wealthy South End resident against tall buildings. Could you be Sloane, Dawn Marie (SDM)?

PS: I have nothing against wealthy South End residents only the anti-development ones since they have secure jobs and are driving jobs away from the city. In other words they are serving their own purposes and not the purposes of the majority.

No, i am not her.

And if you read previous posts by me i have clearly stated that i have been in the industry for years, and have gone through development agreements and subseqently built developments hence where my knowledge comes from.

[fenwick16]

Originally Posted by sdm

No, i am not her.

And if you read previous posts by me i have clearly stated that i have been in the industry for years, and have gone through development agreements and subseqently built developments hence where my knowledge comes from.

Sorry for the false accusation. I was concerned that you were speaking as though you did not want the Fenwick Towers renovation to go ahead. That would be a concern if you were the councillor. I would like to see this one proceed as quickly as possible since I think that it will make a huge difference to the Halifax skyline.

Please accept my humble apologies.

[sdm]

Originally Posted by fenwick16

Sorry for the false accusation. I was concerned that you were speaking as though you did not want the Fenwick Towers renovation to go ahead. That would be a concern if you were the councillor. I would like to see this one proceed as quickly as possible since I think that it will make a huge difference to the Halifax skyline.

Please accept my humble apologies.

Apology accepted.

As per your statement of proceed quickly; well everyone (including developers) want that to happen, but the rules can't be bent to allow one proposal proceed faster then another. Doing that would be a bigger mistake on council's part.

[fenwick16]

Originally Posted by sdm

Apology accepted.

As per your statement of proceed quickly; well everyone (including developers) want that to happen, but the rules can't be bent to allow one proposal proceed faster then another. Doing that would be a bigger mistake on council's part.

Being in the development industry, do you consider the HRM by Design to be an additional obstacle to developers? Is this as rigid a bylaw as the viewplanes bylaws in restricting tall buildings?

[worldlyhaligonian]

Originally Posted by fenwick16

Being in the development industry, do you consider the HRM by Design to be an additional obstacle to developers? Is this as rigid a bylaw as the viewplanes bylaws in restricting tall buildings?

Sorry to cut in... I think HbD it has pros/cons for high rises. The Cogswell Interchange area is designated for tall buildings and other areas have changed height restrictions.

I think the issue is that we don't know when Cogswell will come down, so unless alot of the approved/proposed go up soon we will continue to wait on the tallest towers in that area.

[beyeas]

Originally Posted by worldlyhaligonian

Sorry to cut in... I think HbD it has pros/cons for high rises. The Cogswell Interchange area is designated for tall buildings and other areas have changed height restrictions.

I think the issue is that we don't know when Cogswell will come down, so unless alot of the approved/proposed go up soon we will continue to wait on the tallest towers in that area.

That is certainly a totally fair criticism, and certainly one that I share. I think on the whole there are a lot of positives with HbD (it can't be all bad if the Heritage Trust disliked it eh?) but certainly the biggest negative that stands out is the fact that any additional height is constrained to places like cogswell that have big question marks on it.

Part of the reason why I haven't been that concerned about it though is that it is difficult for me to stress about theoretical new tall buildings, when I have yet to see a single 20 story or greater building actually get built in this city in decades, even though there are several that are approved.

That is not to say that that excuses the flaws in HbD (it doesn't)... I suppose it speaks more to my frustrations with seeing one after another of cool buildings get proposed and get my hopes up, only to never get built!!!

[beyeas]

Originally Posted by fenwick16

Being in the development industry, do you consider the HRM by Design to be an additional obstacle to developers? Is this as rigid a bylaw as the viewplanes bylaws in restricting tall buildings?

I am not myself in the development industry, but from what I have heard from some is that it is all about trade-offs. HbD is far from perfect, but the most common gripe before that among developers seemed to be the lack or clarity etc in the guidelines and the fact that even if you followed the rules you could be challenged by heritage groups until it was finally not financially viable.

Many developers seemed willing to live with greater restrictions, if what came with it was the compromise that the process was clear(er?) and if you followed it had fewer potential challenges.

This seems to be the trade-off that many (maybe not all) developers were willing to accept. Basically, they just wanted to be told what the rules are and know that if they follow them then things will at least be easier than it used to be. That is better than in theory being able to build skyscrapers everywhere, but then being challenged in the URB/Courts for years until you finally can never actually build anything anyway.

[Haliguy]

I think overall HRM by Design is good. There are few things I'm not crazy about which is the height restrictions in some areas. However there is clarity and much more stream lined process that will allow developement approvals to go through within months as opposed to year or years and its a plan for the downtown. Something that will move the downtown forward which will hopefully create increased investment, improvements to the public realm and quality of new buildings that will hopefully make for a much more vibrant downtown.

[sdm]

Originally Posted by fenwick16

Being in the development industry, do you consider the HRM by Design to be an additional obstacle to developers? Is this as rigid a bylaw as the viewplanes bylaws in restricting tall buildings?

Yes it is rigid
In agree in principle of what HRM by design is, but don't fully agree with it.

I believe the height restriction make it harder to build to the market because along with lower heights there are Floor area ratios and angle controls that make the development costly to build. If the development cannot yield a reasonable rate of return for the developers then they will not develop, period. People tend to forget that developers don't build without making money and a reasonable rate at best. If it can't most move to areas that do provide this or invest it in the equity markets.

[DigitalNinja]

I think the reason behind everything here and all these height by laws, is not only the "historic" aspect of the city. (Which there really isn't much at all, go to Quebec city if you really want to see a historic section and how much better than is). But the fact that Halifax blocks are really narrow and not big at all, so you will have floors with a lower amount of space than other major cities, hence you need to build higher.
HRMBD is a step in the right direction, but it's not there yet.

Also, I have little faith for many of the politians in this city, many of them lack a true vision for the city and it's inhabitants and focus more on personal opinion which seems to dominate them

On topic. Like I said before, over my dead body this renovation and renewal will take place

[Dmajackson]

I don't think it has been mentioned yet that a Public Information Meeting will be held on March 24th.

[fenwick16]

Originally Posted by DigitalNinja

I think the reason behind everything here and all these height by laws, is not only the "historic" aspect of the city. (Which there really isn't much at all, go to Quebec city if you really want to see a historic section and how much better than is). But the fact that Halifax blocks are really narrow and not big at all, so you will have floors with a lower amount of space than other major cities, hence you need to build higher.

Good point, I am afraid that they have set the height limits way too low. Once the grandfathered projects are complete then downtown construction might decrease dramatically.

Hopefully, nobody will try to impose height restrictions on the Dartmouth side. Once it becomes impractical to develop on the Halifax side then developers can simply switch their focus to Dartmouth.

[DigitalNinja]

Dartmouth will be bigger than halifax eventually anyway, from what I see there is much more land on there, and the session on the 24th looks interesting.

[spaustin]

Not to restart the fire or anything, but what does HRM By Design have to do with Fenwick? HRM By Design doesn't cover Fenwick and so the redevelopment is proceeding under the old rules, which takes time. I don't see anything to get worked up about here. It's the same process as before. What heritage group is undermining it? Delefes said he liked the proposal! I don't understand what all the fuss is about.

[fenwick16]

Originally Posted by DigitalNinja

On topic. Like I said before, over my dead body this renovation and renewal will take place

So are you against it? Or do you just think that it will never proceed?

[Takeo]

Originally Posted by Bedford_DJ

It's not likely because Councillor Sloane had her own account awhile back, Downtown_Dawn.

She's not a wealthy south ender either. LOL. She's a poor girl from the 'hood. She's also very well liked. So unfortunately for us, and Halifax developers... I think she'll be around for a while fighting against development.

[DigitalNinja]

Originally Posted by fenwick16

So are you against it? Or do you just think that it will never proceed?

I did say it will take place, so I am for it haha.

[downtowndawn]

Hello,
Yes, the Public Information Meeting is March 24th. I'm still around but have limited time for forums as I am taking a Municipal Finance Course.
Dawn