1269 Barrington (Bearly's) | ? m | 10 fl | Proposed

[someone123]

Developer website: https://www.enqore.ca/on-the-horizon-1

Rendering:

[OldDartmouthMark]

Quoted from their website:

The building, originally built in 1864, is a slated for a major renovation. This modern, upscale renovation will bring it into the 21st century while maintaining the charm of its bygone historic era.

I'm not sure what they mean by 'bringing it into the 21st century'... that could be good, or not-so-good.

Otherwise, housing units filling in private surface parking is a good thing. Not sure why they are building it on stilts, though.

Personal critique: The apartment complex isn't the most attractive, and IMHO doesn't do anything to compliment the heritage structure.

[HarbingerDe]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

Quoted from their website:


I'm not sure what they mean by 'bringing it into the 21st century'... that could be good, or not-so-good.

Otherwise, housing units filling in private surface parking is a good thing. Not sure why they are building it on stilts, though.

Personal critique: The apartment complex isn't the most attractive, and IMHO doesn't do anything to compliment the heritage structure.

I will never object to more/denser housing being built quickly, but I do wonder how designs like these come about...

Who looks at that and says, "Wow what a great addition that respects and compliments the aesthetic nature and heritage of the original property"?

It's a 21st-century modernist box on stilts grafted to the back of an old shop front. If they're going to do that, might as well just demolish the old structure and get 2x the units out of the increased foot print.

[Drybrain]

Originally Posted by HarbingerDe

I will never object to more/denser housing being built quickly, but I do wonder how designs like these come about...

Who looks at that and says, "Wow what a great addition that respects and compliments the aesthetic nature and heritage of the original property"?

It's a 21st-century modernist box on stilts grafted to the back of an old shop front. If they're going to do that, might as well just demolish the old structure and get 2x the units out of the increased foot print.

The tower is pretty off-the-rack—especially since projects like the Green Lantern have already established a precedent for higher quality historic restoration complemented by new construction—but I’d still much rather see a restoration than a demolition. As has been discussed on here before, Halifax long ago lost the chance to really turn this area into an Old Montreal style historic district, so as far as I’m concerned, embracing old/new contrasts and juxtapositions is fine. The “new” part could obviously be more impressive, of course.

[eastcoastal]

Bearly's is mid-block, so I'd suspect the tower won't be very visible from the streets - I think you'd need to get a fair distance away to really notice it. The street-fronting heritage building has the most potential for street presence and impact, I think.

[Arrdeeharharharbour]

The tower may be bland but it's not ugly. It looks to provide good outdoor space and nice sized windows for interior light. Perhaps the real issue with this rendering is the colour of the Bearly's building itself? It's purple with yellow trim. What goes with that??

[someone123]

Originally Posted by Arrdeeharharharbour

The tower may be bland but it's not ugly. It looks to provide good outdoor space and nice sized windows for interior light. Perhaps the real issue with this rendering is the colour of the Bearly's building itself? It's purple with yellow trim. What goes with that??

The colours may not be accurate. I wouldn't be surprised if they were just rendering the building how it is.

Hard to tell exactly what the tower would be like (precast?) but I agree it's pretty low stakes and it's a short-ish building behind another building.

[OldDartmouthMark]

I suspect the purple is supposed to represent brown bricks. It shows more brown than purple on my monitor (looks like one of those 'in between' shades)... perhaps an unfortunate colour tone choice by the person creating the render.

[new2halifax]

Not really digging this one. And why are they not adding retail space at floor level? Seems like a miss opportunity.

[Keith P.]

Bearly’s is still open and I haven’t heard if they are staying after construction. The developer website makes mention of 11 rooms upstairs which I presume is affordable housing. I wonder what the plans are for that space.

[Arrdeeharharharbour]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Bearly’s is still open and I haven’t heard if they are staying after construction. The developer website makes mention of 11 rooms upstairs which I presume is affordable housing. I wonder what the plans are for that space.

I heard that Bearly's is moving up to Grafton St...the old Stubborn Goat space. Perhaps it was just a rumour?

[Arrdeeharharharbour]

Originally Posted by new2halifax

Not really digging this one. And why are they not adding retail space at floor level? Seems like a miss opportunity.

Do you mean the ground level of the tower? The tower looks like it'll be accessed by residents through the current Bearly's space. The alley to the base of the tower is likely to facilitate folks moving in/out and perhaps garbage collection and maintenance. I suspect this is why half of the ground level of the tower is up on stilts. ...to allow vehicles under because of the lot size.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by Arrdeeharharharbour

I heard that Bearly's is moving up to Grafton St...the old Stubborn Goat space. Perhaps it was just a rumour?

I thought I saw that they had just reopened in their original but rebuilt space?

[Dartguard]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

I thought I saw that they had just reopened in their original but rebuilt space?

No,the Stubborn Goat is moving to Argyle proper in the Old East of Grafton space, as per an article in the Herald.

[new2halifax]

Originally Posted by Arrdeeharharharbour

Do you mean the ground level of the tower? The tower looks like it'll be accessed by residents through the current Bearly's space. The alley to the base of the tower is likely to facilitate folks moving in/out and perhaps garbage collection and maintenance. I suspect this is why half of the ground level of the tower is up on stilts. ...to allow vehicles under because of the lot size.

Still a shame but it makes sense!