[Halifax] Aurora & Eventide (1540 Carlton) | ? m | 8 & 6 FL | U/C

[Dmajackson]

It's been a five year cliff hanger but this project was approved and a development agreement is active for the site. Killam has now returned to the municipality to ask for a five year extension on the project completion date.

Case 22436 Details

[someone123]

They also want to cut down on the number of parking spots, and changes to the planning rules since the original application allow each parking spot to be smaller.

The major aspects of the application are as follows:
• Reduce the minimum number of parking spaces required from 230 to 180 spaces;
• Remove the minimum number of parking spaces for visitor parking in the multi-unit building;
• Change the size of the parking stalls from the requirements in the Halifax Peninsula LUB (2.7 metres wide & 6.1 metres long) to the dimensions set out in the Centre Plan (2.4 metres wide & 5.5 metres long); and
• Extend completion date by 5 years from original date of completion, to November 23, 2025.

[TheGreenBastard]

They’re demolishing the current building on the site? It’s old, but doesn’t seem to be in too bad shape. I’d much prefer them getting rid of the old brick building across the street, 5880 Spring Garden Road. Maybe someday that eyesore will be ripped down.

[atbw]

Originally Posted by TheGreenBastard

They’re demolishing the current building on the site? It’s old, but doesn’t seem to be in too bad shape. I’d much prefer them getting rid of the old brick building across the street, 5880 Spring Garden Road. Maybe someday that eyesore will be ripped down.

It's going in behind the existing building, where its surface parking lot currently is.

[Keith P.]

Amazing how this moved with such lightning speed! Only 6 or 7 years. Maybe it took the developer that long to find a reciprocating saw to cut off the top two floors to satisfy the heightophobes.

It is interesting that there has been very little development along this stretch of SGR for decades, especially considering it is sort of equivalent to our Central Park West. In the late '70s/early '80 you had the unfortunate 1472 Tower Rd (now Cathedral Lane) and 5770 SGR, the controversial Summer Gardens in the late '80s/early '90s, and then Garden Crest/Summer Crest in the early '00s.

In the mid-60s Spring Garden Terrace and Embassy Towers just west of it were the first wave of high-rise apartments in Halifax, along with Park Victoria on South Park. All three of these early buildings have had issues. Embassy went condo years ago and owners were beset with hefty charges for repairs due to water infiltration. Spring Garden Terrace did not age well and has tried to cling to its status like an aging penniless dowager but it can be shabby in certain areas. I wonder if once this new structure is built in behind whether it will then be subject to a thorough renovation and makeover. Park Vic is perhaps the worst of the three now as it is largely housing students, seniors and the disabled with lots of govt money paying for that. Not the high-status address it once was.

[Dmajackson]

This project is now cancelled. According to Killam they will be bringing forward a Level III site plan approval for this lot and the recently demolished lots across the street. The buildings will be a mid-rise on the western lot and a tall mid-rise on the eastern lot.

Case 23555 Details

[eastcoastal]

Interesting that Killam would abandon an approved project to jump into the Site Plan Approval Process under the Centre Plan... I am interested to see where this goes next!

[Keith P.]

Just a reminder that after 8 (!) years of obstructionism, HRM red tape and dithering, this is what we have lost:

Originally Posted by Dmajackson

Source: Urban_Halifax @ flickr.com - Originally from HRM Panning (Case 18270)

Carlton Terrace
5885 Spring Garden Road, Halifax
64 METRES
20 FLOORS
HRM Planning Case #18270
Killam Properties (Developer)
Michael Napier Architectures Ltd
Completion slated for 2017

2013.08.02 - Project Information Made Public on HRM Planning's Website
2013.09.11 - Public Information Meeting
2014.01.27 - District 7 & 8 PAC Recommendation (against project)

---

[worldlyhaligonian]

What is the max height under the new rules? Maybe they're going taller?

It would be a stupid move NOT to build something tall on this site with the current shortage of land on the peninsula and the location.

[Jonovision]

Under Centre Plan the block with the existing building and its property has a FAR of 8 with a 90m height limit. And the same is true for the two lots across Carelton St.

[someone123]

Killam's recent projects have been pretty nice. I would guess that they have something good planned for this spot. Hopefully it will have some good street level interaction. That is missing somewhat in this area due to some of the older buildings like Summer Gardens or the professional building by Robie.

[worldlyhaligonian]

Originally Posted by Jonovision

Under Centre Plan the block with the existing building and its property has a FAR of 8 with a 90m height limit. And the same is true for the two lots across Carelton St.

Interesting, that gives them 20 stories... and the old proposal was 20 stories.

I wonder if they're going to build twins?

[eastcoastal]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Just a reminder that after 8 (!) years of obstructionism, HRM red tape and dithering, this is what we have lost:

I understood that this was approved a year and a half ago, but that Killam took it upon itself to cancel the Development Agreement and align with "new" Centre Plan rules instead.

[kph06]

I think this has been significantly changed. Marco Contractors had a tweet about being picked as the builders for the two buildings. There is also information on the Killam Site with full plans.

Marco Press Release

Killam Project Site



Image Source: Marco Tweet

[worldlyhaligonian]

[TheNovaScotian]

The Centre Plan strike again, while we wait for the 10 year anniversary to fix the obvious issues in the Plan, we can watch opportunity sites across the city disappear into terrible developments likes this.
We would need 800 more of these buildings to hit the 40 000 units which the market is missing but in the time it will take to construct those the population boom will be over because we've squandered something we pined about for decades.

This is what one of the largest REIT's in the city and we have incentivized them to split and shrink a previously approved mid-rise into 2 squat ugly buildings, in the heart of the city. The worst part is that this is what the Centre Plan was meant to do and I worry about the future of this city.
What happens when we stop being a far flung suburb of Toronto and have to rely on being an affordable city to attract newcomers again?

We now have two buildings that have the same amount of units as the one building spread between two lots. We lose another chunk of Hi-Rise territory in the Plan to another short and squat development like many others. It's as if, the Plan was made by people who thought tall buildings were a problem and they had the solution. That solution was to not tackle the housing crisis but enforce rules that will make it worse.

[someone123]

It does seem completely generic, not very high density, and a lost opportunity in general. I'm not sure who these building heights are supposed to be helping since these sites are surrounded by highrises and the graveyard. Limiting shading on a portion of Camp Hill is a consideration but doesn't seem like it should be a very high priority one.

[Keith P.]

One must remember that Mason, Austin, and their planning dept cronies shepherded this disaster of a document into existence to placate the crowd who think everything over 6 floors is TOO TALL and would send Halifax peninsula spinning into oblivion. The same bunch are responsible for the street redesign disasters were are now starting to see implemented. The culprits are easy to identify and need to be removed from positions of power and influence.

[IanWatson]

I don't see how this is a Centre Plan issue. Killam had an approved DA for the original design. They could have built it, but have chosen not to. And even under Centre Plan they get 90 metres, which is ~28 floors and again have chosen not to do that. Obviously there's something other than the rules that is driving the design decisions here.

[eastcoastal]

Originally Posted by TheNovaScotian

The Centre Plan strike again, while we wait for the 10 year anniversary to fix the obvious issues in the Plan, we can watch opportunity sites across the city disappear into terrible developments likes this...

Not quite true. There was an approved development agreement in place for a taller project. The developer chose to discharge that agreement and proceed under the Centre Plan. Not sure why.