[Halifax] The Cunard (1475 Lower Water) | 57 m | 19 fl | U/C - Page 6

Drybrain · #**101** Posted **Aug 30, 2013, 2:00 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by someone123

Interesting view of the Cunard Block and Alexander site:

Neat photo. One thing it really shows is how lucky the city is that Bishop's Landing turned out as it did. I still maintain it's a bit too cloistered away, and it's one big failing is the mediocre interface with Water Street, but for a 2000/2001 project, it was ahead of its time, at least in this part of the world.

someone123 · #**102** Posted **Aug 30, 2013, 5:35 AM**

The Waterford on Hollis is relatively nice too. It looks okay and it has ground floor townhouses. That neighbourhood could be great; there are a couple of crappy buildings but they won't matter much if the holes are filled in, and there are some real gems like Government House, the brewery, and Keith Hall. The farmers' market is a great local amenity too. It's very different from the situation around, say, Cogswell, which will not be fixed without some serious reconfiguration of the whole area.

On a related note, there was an interesting article in ANS tonight with an interview of Jim Spatz. He made an interesting point about how people tend to move from older buildings into newer buildings, making the older buildings more affordable in the process. He also talked about how amenities in high density buildings can take the place of large private spaces like yards in suburban developments, and mentioned that 2,000-3,000 new apartments downtown would be a good target for the next few years. The Cunard site and Bank of Canada will have on the order of 500 units in them.

2,000-3,000 is not unrealistic when you consider how many apartment buildings have gone up in areas like Clayton Park. It doesn't make sense for all those units to end up out on the urban fringe when there are empty lots downtown, but in the past there were a lot of artificial barriers that kept those empty lots around. HRM by Design removed a big one, and the WDCL seems to be more active now, so I think the balance will continue to shift in favour of the downtown.

Duff · #**103** Posted **Aug 30, 2013, 11:47 AM**

I tried to find these images online but no luck. These pictures were taken w/ my phone off of my television from the CBC report yesterday at 5:30.

halifaxboyns · #**104** Posted **Aug 30, 2013, 6:31 PM**

CTV's article on the development.

Nifta · #**105** Posted **Aug 30, 2013, 9:52 PM**

Won't somebody think of the parking lots?!

I'm forming the Friends of the Parking Lot Society.

In all seriousness, it looks great.

someone123 · #**106** Posted **Aug 31, 2013, 2:59 AM**

Reminds me of the Canada Place hotel in Vancouver. Not really my cup of tea, but I am sure it will be refined a bit and in any case the housing units, commercial space, and outdoor space are the most important part.

scooby074 · #**107** Posted **Aug 31, 2013, 4:09 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nifta

Won't somebody think of the parking lots?!

I'm forming the Friends of the Parking Lot Society.

In all seriousness, it looks great.

Umm... that would be me

Yeah a parking lot isnt the best use of waterfront, but if not there then where?

I have no problem losing the lot per se, so long as the same number of PUBLIC spaces are put underground at the site on top of those required by the buildings inhabitants so that there is no change in the net number of spaces available in that area.

worldlyhaligonian · #**108** Posted **Aug 31, 2013, 11:44 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by scooby074

Umm... that would be me

Yeah a parking lot isnt the best use of waterfront, but if not there then where?

I have no problem losing the lot per se, so long as the same number of PUBLIC spaces are put underground at the site on top of those required by the buildings inhabitants so that there is no change in the net number of spaces available in that area.

Waye Mason · #**109** Posted **Aug 31, 2013, 2:14 PM**

The stairs look like the False Creek village in Vancouver... nice.

Hali87 · #**110** Posted **Sep 1, 2013, 2:25 AM**

I was also immediately reminded of Vancouver when I saw the renderings. For me, I think it's the balconies, and the street interface - the awnings in particular. I agree that the "boat-shapedness" is something that it shares with Canada Place, and could end up looking very sleek or kind of tacky, or both.

RyeJay · #**111** Posted **Sep 1, 2013, 6:03 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hali87

I was also immediately reminded of Vancouver when I saw the renderings. For me, I think it's the balconies, and the street interface - the awnings in particular. I agree that the "boat-shapedness" is something that it shares with Canada Place, and could end up looking very sleek or kind of tacky, or both.

Kind of tacky. That's the limit. I don't want hardcore tacky, where downtown Halifax begins to resemble a theme park.

Oh -- look: I see Theodore!

In all seriousness, I want this waterfront development to turn out just as well as the Nova Centre.

Wishblade · #**112** Posted **Sep 1, 2013, 11:42 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by RyeJay

Kind of tacky. That's the limit. I don't want hardcore tacky, where downtown Halifax begins to resemble a theme park.

Oh -- look: I see Theodore!

In all seriousness, I want this waterfront development to turn out just as well as the Nova Centre.

lol I didnt even notice that until you mentioned it. Unfortunately it does kinda raise the tackiness factor a bit

FuzzyWuz · #**113** Posted **Sep 1, 2013, 4:17 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by scooby074

Umm... that would be me

Yeah a parking lot isnt the best use of waterfront, but if not there then where?

I have no problem losing the lot per se, so long as the same number of PUBLIC spaces are put underground at the site on top of those required by the buildings inhabitants so that there is no change in the net number of spaces available in that area.

'Course with good enough public transit/mass transit we would not need as many parking spaces downtown.

scooby074 · #**114** Posted **Sep 1, 2013, 6:48 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by FuzzyWuz

'Course with good enough public transit/mass transit we would not need as many parking spaces downtown.

Cart before the horse here.

How long has Metro Transit been in existence? And they still havent got it right.

Jonovision · #**115** Posted **Sep 2, 2013, 2:44 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by scooby074

Cart before the horse here.

How long has Metro Transit been in existence? And they still havent got it right.

They've not got it right yet, but they are about to undergo a series of public consultations for their next 5 year plan. I have it on good authority that anything is on the table. So if enough people show up and say they want a complete network redesign, it could happen. We could end up with a great bus network instead of this piecemeal one we have now.

Also, great looking development. Can't wait to see this, Bank of Canada and Nova Centre. I think they will all compliment each other nicely.

worldlyhaligonian · #**116** Posted **Sep 2, 2013, 6:13 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by FuzzyWuz

'Course with good enough public transit/mass transit we would not need as many parking spaces downtown.

I think my thinking was why "public" parking spaces downtown... if you can afford a car you should be paying to park it.

scooby074 · #**117** Posted **Sep 2, 2013, 9:42 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by worldlyhaligonian

I think my thinking was why "public" parking spaces downtown... if you can afford a car you should be paying to park it.

I had no idea those spaces in Cunard Block were free? Here I am paying $3.00/hr like a chump

scooby074 · #**118** Posted **Sep 2, 2013, 9:53 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jonovision

They've not got it right yet, but they are about to undergo a series of public consultations for their next 5 year plan. I have it on good authority that anything is on the table. So if enough people show up and say they want a complete network redesign, it could happen. We could end up with a great bus network instead of this piecemeal one we have now.

Also, great looking development. Can't wait to see this, Bank of Canada and Nova Centre. I think they will all compliment each other nicely.

Its usually the vocal minority who rules these "consultations". Ill wait and see but I doubt there will be much change.

They just killed the #8 which was a great downtown loop that would pull from the large lot by the NSCAD and pier 21 not to mention the other lots and spaces along the way. If CB is developed and the spaces lost, use of the other lots and ridership (of the 8 ) as a consequence would have increased. Its like they work in a vacuum and dont think about the potential for future changes affecting route ridership.

someone123 · #**119** Posted **Sep 3, 2013, 1:14 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by scooby074

They just killed the #8 which was a great downtown loop that would pull from the large lot by the NSCAD and pier 21 not to mention the other lots and spaces along the way. If CB is developed and the spaces lost, use of the other lots and ridership (of the 8 ) as a consequence would have increased. Its like they work in a vacuum and dont think about the potential for future changes affecting route ridership.

One of the big problems in Halifax seems to be that land use decisions are fairly detached from transit decisions. Transit is most powerful when it's used not just to serve what's already there but to direct how and where new development happens. It's possible to provide transit service much more efficiently and to have much higher riderships if new development is oriented toward transit that already exists (TOD). This is the opposite of the current approach where developers build to maximize lot values and satisfy outdated planning requirements and then (inefficient, poor quality) bus service is added after the fact.

Public consultations sound nice in theory and it is fine to say that Metro Transit is open to suggestions, but I am not sure that a really great transit plan can come from the public. People know what they want (sort of -- humans are notoriously bad at predicting how they would behave in a hypothetical situation) but they do not necessarily know how to get there. This again seems very closely related to problems with HRM planning since they keep considering the same ageing transit technology over and over again without much regard for the full range of options available to the city.

I agree somewhat about maintaining some public parking but residential development also serves a similar purpose, and you get a lot more out of a lot when it's converted from 1 level of surface parking to 20 levels of apartments.

macgregor · #**120** Posted **Sep 3, 2013, 1:42 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by scooby074

I had no idea those spaces in Cunard Block were free? Here I am paying $3.00/hr like a chump

Not sure if you're kidding or not - but no, the current Cunard Block parking is still $3 per hour. I think it is cheaper at the rear of the Westin, and the parking by Pier 21 I think is free on evenings on weekend.