Development Rumours - Page 126

JET · #**2501** Posted **Mar 27, 2019, 4:15 PM**

I was in to the Bike Pedaler on Portland St. April 1 they are moving up the street to 61 Portland. The old Portland Landing next to the current bike pedaler is empty, and word is that they might keep the shell of the building and do something similar to the Canteen, a restaurant of some sort. It was never good as a bar (the video lottery dooms a place, I think). I wonder if the bike pedaler bldg. will be absorbed, it is such a tiny bldg. by itself.
The makeover of the Cidery bldg. up the street was well done, and is evidence that places a step up from the heyday of the Portland Landing is quite possible now. Fingers crossed.

Keith P. · #**2502** Posted **Mar 27, 2019, 5:03 PM**

Hopefully the resulting business will be less hipstery than the Canteen. I sorely miss its original incarnation with creative, tasty and not overly expensive sandwiches. Moving to a sit-down resto in a room full of hard surfaces that seems to amplify every sound, and having some trying-too-hard dishes that are barely a few bites for an expensive price, I have gone twice and will never return.

JET · #**2503** Posted **Mar 27, 2019, 5:18 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Hopefully the resulting business will be less hipstery than the Canteen. I sorely miss its original incarnation with creative, tasty and not overly expensive sandwiches. Moving to a sit-down resto in a room full of hard surfaces that seems to amplify every sound, and having some trying-too-hard dishes that are barely a few bites for an expensive price, I have gone twice and will never return.

And yet the hipsters seem to love the Canteen.

IanWatson · #**2504** Posted **Mar 27, 2019, 7:17 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Hopefully the resulting business will be less hipstery than the Canteen. I sorely miss its original incarnation with creative, tasty and not overly expensive sandwiches. Moving to a sit-down resto in a room full of hard surfaces that seems to amplify every sound, and having some trying-too-hard dishes that are barely a few bites for an expensive price, I have gone twice and will never return.

Have you gone to Little C?

Keith P. · #**2505** Posted **Mar 27, 2019, 9:55 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by IanWatson

Have you gone to Little C?

The sandwiches there are seldom as good as what the old place had, and some have never made a reappearance.

someone123 · #**2506** Posted **Apr 18, 2019, 2:44 AM**

Announcement planned tomorrow for the new art gallery:

https://www.halifaxtoday.ca/local-ne...allery-1379821

atbw · #**2507** Posted **Apr 18, 2019, 12:38 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by someone123

Announcement planned tomorrow for the new art gallery:

https://www.halifaxtoday.ca/local-ne...allery-1379821

Oh this is exciting! It'll be nice to see Lower Water St. fill in more.

IanWatson · #**2508** Posted **Apr 18, 2019, 1:05 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by atbw

Oh this is exciting! It'll be nice to see Lower Water St. fill in more.

As long as there's a reasonable plan for the reuse of the current gallery buildings.

q12 · #**2509** Posted **Apr 18, 2019, 1:37 PM**

Quote:

Province announces $130M plan for art gallery on Halifax waterfront

New art gallery will be built on land currently used as parking lot

Jean Laroche · CBC News · Posted: Apr 18, 2019 10:12 AM AT | Last Updated: 18 minutes ago

Nova Scotia's new $130-million art gallery will be built next to Bishop's Landing on the Halifax waterfront on land currently being used as a parking lot on Lower Water Street.

According to the Nova Scotia government, the 13,000-square-metre facility will feature large public spaces "and additional space to better showcase the dynamic provincial art collection, much of which has been in storage for many years."

The current Art Gallery of Nova Scotia building on Hollis Street is roughly 8,300 square metres.

The provincial government is shouldering most of the cost by contributing $70 million. The federal government will chip in $30 million and the gallery will have to fundraise the remaining $30 million.

There is no start date for construction or a date for completion of the project.

The hope is a new facility will attract double the number of people who currently visit the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, from 64,000 visitors annually to 120,000.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-...ront-1.5101521

Where's the pitchforks?

How many Doctors could be hired and recruited with $100 million dollars?

Waiting for the same rage that a $130 Million dollar stadium gets....

ILoveHalifax · #**2510** Posted **Apr 18, 2019, 1:37 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by someone123

Announcement planned tomorrow for the new art gallery:

https://www.halifaxtoday.ca/local-ne...allery-1379821

So will this be built before the stadium? Will a new art gallery be visited by 25,000 people on several weekends and will there be an event like Grey Cup in Halifax attached to the new art gallery? Will there be frequent television coverage of visits to the gallery, like there is to a football game? Will Halifax get national coverage for a whole season as with CFL?

I am not against this project, in fact favor it but feel the stadium will do more for the city faster than this project

sk8tr · #**2511** Posted **Apr 18, 2019, 1:40 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by IanWatson

As long as there's a reasonable plan for the reuse of the current gallery buildings.

Totally agree. IMHO the current gallery buildings are a really important part of the Hollis streetscape, and heritage worth saving. There must be an appropriate use for them.

Summerville · #**2512** Posted **Apr 18, 2019, 2:19 PM**

Perhaps this is why the province ditched its plan to build new office space on the Dennis Building site, and instead is now selling the land.

The current art gallery buildings would become new offices for the provincial government.

teddifax · #**2513** Posted **Apr 18, 2019, 2:45 PM**

Then open up the Vacant land (Old Birk's site)and the Dennis building to private development... I don't believe anything is planned for this site?

IanWatson · #**2514** Posted **Apr 18, 2019, 2:57 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by teddifax

Then open up the Vacant land (Old Birk's site)and the Dennis building to private development...

That's apparently what they're doing. They're just being slow as molasses about it.

someone123 · #**2515** Posted **Apr 18, 2019, 4:04 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by IanWatson

As long as there's a reasonable plan for the reuse of the current gallery buildings.

This makes me think of the old library. Still vacant? The province needs to make heritage a bit more of an explicit priority. I doubt it would have cost that much money to keep the Dennis Building in a usable state; the problem seemed to be waffling over the years while the building deteriorated.

Here is the press release:

https://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20190418005

No mention of NSCAD.

someone123 · #**2516** Posted **Apr 18, 2019, 4:08 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by atbw

Oh this is exciting! It'll be nice to see Lower Water St. fill in more.

Assuming the currently planned projects happen the difference is going to be like night and day along the waterfront.

A couple years ago Queen's Marque, Salter, and Cunard were all giant lots. In a few more years they might be gone, and the only significant gap will be around Waterfront Warehouse, which seems like the least bad one of the four. So ~75% reduction of surface parking in a decade.

Then on top of that there's the Ralston redevelopment. I remember when Salter Street below Barrington was almost all empty lots.

someone123 · #**2517** Posted **Apr 18, 2019, 4:52 PM**

Yet another thing to consider: AGNS was given a $4.7M collection of Annie Liebovitz photos in 2013, but they are still not being displayed. Presumably the new gallery will have space designed just for that collection. But does this also mean that they won't bother displaying the photos in the old gallery?

OldDartmouthMark · #**2518** Posted **Apr 18, 2019, 5:01 PM**

This is great news! It's amazing how relatively quickly the waterfront is being filled in with substantial projects after sitting partially bare for literally decades.

I am hoping that there will still be room on the waterfront for a permanent preservation site/museum for the last corvette (HMCS Sackville).

Regarding the gallery vs. the stadium, I really hope that people don't get hung up on the either/or idea, as Halifax should be able to have both. Each of these projects will fill a uniquely different cultural need for the city, and each will provide benefits not measurable in monetary units.

I do have concern about the two buildings that will be vacated, as they are both very attractive historical buildings, but surely they are significant enough that they will not sit neglected for years as happens all too often in Halifax.

OldDartmouthMark · #**2519** Posted **Apr 18, 2019, 5:03 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by someone123

Yet another thing to consider: AGNS was given a $4.7M collection of Annie Liebovitz photos in 2013, but they are still not being displayed. Presumably the new gallery will have space designed just for that collection. But does this also mean that they won't bother displaying the photos in the old gallery?

I recall hearing that the display of this collection was being held up due to a tax benefit issue between the donating party and the CRA. Has that been resolved?

someone123 · #**2520** Posted **Apr 18, 2019, 5:04 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

I am hoping that there will still be room on the waterfront for a permanent preservation site/museum for the last corvette (HMCS Sackville).

The proposed site for this (Battle of the Atlantic Place) is out over what is currently water beyond Sackville Landing. Not sure how likely it is to be built.