[Halifax] RBC Waterside Centre | 37 m | 9 fl | Completed - Page 62

fenwick16 · #**1221** Posted **May 26, 2012, 8:49 PM**

This picture from May 22 is posted on the facebook site (http://www.facebook.com/pages/RBC-Wa...8949?sk=photos). It looks like they might be excavating for the crane base foundation.

sdm · #**1222** Posted **May 26, 2012, 10:55 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by fenwick16

This picture from May 22 is posted on the facebook site (http://www.facebook.com/pages/RBC-Wa...8949?sk=photos). It looks like they might be excavating for the crane base foundation.

makes sense.

The pictures are great, gives a different look at the project.

FuzzyWuz · #**1223** Posted **May 27, 2012, 3:11 PM**

From May 2008:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keith P.

“This may be the way to save these properties," Mr. MacKinnon said. “It may be a choice of losing them altogether, or saving them in this manner where they do have a functional use."

“We do need office space — we can’t argue about that," he added. “Our vacancy rate is less than four per cent in downtown Halifax for class A office space."

Those were the days.

FuzzyWuz · #**1224** Posted **May 27, 2012, 5:52 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by fenwick16

Thanks - very interesting photos.

In this image, I wonder if the excavation is now below sea level? I remember reading that this area was where the harbour was filled in (many years ago).

From post #263 of this thread:

"The pile tops are 8 feet below sidewalk elevations on Upper Water and are in the tidal zone."

fenwick16 · #**1225** Posted **May 27, 2012, 7:39 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by FuzzyWuz

From post #263 of this thread:

"The pile tops are 8 feet below sidewalk elevations on Upper Water and are in the tidal zone."

Thank you for finding that. Here is a link to that post - http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...&postcount=266 .

Re-posting the image from the Waterside Facebook page (below), I wonder if the wooden logs are the wooden piles? It looks like they have excavated lower than 8 feet below Upper Water Street. So this should be below sea level (hopefully it will stay dry during hurricanes).

(source: http://www.facebook.com/pages/RBC-Wa...08681372508949 )

SekishikiMeikaiHa · #**1226** Posted **Jun 2, 2012, 3:15 AM**

The hole is getting bigger:

sdm · #**1227** Posted **Jun 2, 2012, 10:05 AM**

i know on the facebook page for the building there is a picture of what appears to be a pouring of a pile foundation pile.

cool stuff.

fenwick16 · #**1228** Posted **Jun 2, 2012, 12:21 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by sdm

i know on the facebook page for the building there is a picture of what appears to be a pouring of a pile foundation pile.

cool stuff.

Yes, it is very interesting. Here is a link to a series of images from 5-31-2012 showing the start of pouring the concrete piles - http://www.facebook.com/pages/RBC-Wa...8949?sk=photos . At this rate. we should see the new building rising out of the ground within a couple of months.

I wonder if some of the old stones/bricks are being saved off-site? Also, I wonder if the old stones are being numbered in order to restore them later (I have read about this being done at other historic sites).

Here is one image of a newly poured pile:

Jstaleness · #**1229** Posted **Jun 8, 2012, 12:52 AM**

Here are 2 by me from today

...and a little closer

sdm · #**1230** Posted **Jun 8, 2012, 10:12 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jstaleness

Here are 2 by me from today

...and a little closer

That is the elevator/ crane base. I suspect the crane is coming very soon.

kph06 · #**1231** Posted **Jun 8, 2012, 1:46 PM**

Here's the first section of the crane, my sister took this photo this morning. Maybe the rest will go up tomorrow?

Northend Nerd · #**1232** Posted **Jun 11, 2012, 4:41 PM**

It seems the base of the crane has found a home.

kph06 · #**1233** Posted **Jun 21, 2012, 1:21 AM**

A friend of mine snapped this for me today:

MonctonRad · #**1234** Posted **Jun 21, 2012, 1:34 AM**

Really neat perspective!

fenwick16 · #**1235** Posted **Jun 21, 2012, 1:35 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by kph06

A friend of mine snapped this for me today:

It will be interesting to see the ongoing construction from this perspective.

someone123 · #**1236** Posted **Jun 21, 2012, 2:04 AM**

These shots also show how nice the buildings around the Waterside Centre site are. I liked the old heritage buildings on this site like the two storey Imperial Oil building (lower right), but it was small and modest compared to its neighbours. I think you can have the best of both worlds with a development like this -- the character of the old buildings is preserved but the upper floors bring the density and scale more in line with the rest of the neighbourhood. I don't think it is necessary to perfectly preserve a two storey brick building in the middle of the business district unless it has extremely high significance, which these buildings did not.

With the new additions happening, like this one, the Vic apartments, and some of the restoration projects, Hollis is pretty close to having a really exceptional, consistent streetscape.

Northend Nerd · #**1237** Posted **Jun 21, 2012, 3:26 PM**

They just posted on their Facebook Page that the crane will be going up this Saturday.

http://www.facebook.com/permalink.ph...08681372508949

Jstaleness · #**1238** Posted **Jun 21, 2012, 10:42 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Northend Nerd

They just posted on their Facebook Page that the crane will be going up this Saturday.

http://www.facebook.com/permalink.ph...08681372508949

I'm glad they said first crane in the Financial District and not the usual "First crane downtown in over 20 years"

someone123 · #**1239** Posted **Jun 21, 2012, 11:57 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jstaleness

I'm glad they said first crane in the Financial District and not the usual "First crane downtown in over 20 years"

The worst I've seen is "Halifax hasn't had a development in over 20 years". Sadly, I didn't save the article. I guess it's bad that there hasn't been a new office tower for a long time but there was very little downtown office construction in Canada for a long time after the ~1990 real estate bubble burst. Toronto got maybe a couple of small downtown office towers during the whole 1990-2007 period. In Halifax in particular it's also misleading to focus on the financial district (or whatever you want to call it) as a site for new construction because there isn't much free land in that area. The other areas with more vacant land have seen more development (Hollis and Salter for example has 3 buildings built after 2000), which is to be expected. I think it's great that NSP renovated the old, largely derelict power plant instead of tearing down useful buildings around George Street.

In any case, this is an exceptional time and it looks like there might be 4 or 5 cranes downtown soon. The Citadel crane must be going up relatively soon if it's already on site.

sdm · #**1240** Posted **Jun 22, 2012, 12:02 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by someone123

The worst I've seen is "Halifax hasn't had a development in over 20 years".

In any case, this is an exceptional time and it looks like there might be 4 or 5 cranes downtown soon. The Citadel crane must be going up relatively soon if it's already on site.

true.

However this building is the first new office tower built in the CBD in 20 years.

Looking forward to seeing the crane as this means progress vertically will begin.