[Halifax] The Dillon (Market Lofts) | 28 m | 8 fl | Completed

[Drybrain]

If you gotta do facadism, a step-back like that is the way to do it. Prevents the historical element from being overshadowed, and allows the contemporary portion to just be modern.

Still, I kind've think this one looked better in black and white. It's okay. (And why does every other new condo building have to have one of those little hats now?)

But whatever--glad to see the density and the relatively sensitive treatment of the historical building.

[MPotter]

The harbourside blank wall with no windows is reminiscent of the (old) blank wall on the TD building.

[Dmajackson]

Originally Posted by MPotter

The harbourside blank wall with no windows is reminiscent of the (old) blank wall on the TD building.

It is unfortunate but building up to the property line is hard to avoid on such narrow lots. The wall will only be visible at the street corner with Grafton which thanks to Nova Centre will make it stick out less. Maxwell's and the horrendous building along the rest of Grafton will cover the rest from street level, and all of the other towers underway will hide it from the harbour.

[RyeJay]

Originally Posted by fenwick16

http://mosaikproperties.ca/images/up...etStreet_2.pdf

Thanks for posting this, fenwick. This is a nice rendering of what I find to be a very attractive proposal -- but only from the perspective at the corner of Market and Sackville. That blank wall on the other shouldn't be permitted.

I hope they reconsider, and perhaps try faking some windows. This is an opportunity to be creative. And they should not take tips from the Citadel redevelopment.
I do appreciate it, though, when developments incorporate the name of the street on which they're located into their building name.

And I don't suppose it's too likely that any councillors will take any sort of initiative towards meeting the downtown's population density goals by suggesting a taller proposal. NOPE.

Friends of the Maritime Centre will be happy, at least.

[someone123]

I think it looks pretty good. Agreed about the "hat" on the building -- it doesn't seem to serve much purpose.

These upper blocks are going to feel very different in a couple of years. Barrington-Blowers-Grafton-SGR used to be a route linking two distinct, physically separated areas. I wouldn't call the middle parts a no-man's-land but they were pretty sparse with the Grafton Street parking lots (including St. Mary's), the empty spot where the library is now, etc. It just wasn't a great experience to walk along 3-4 blocks that were half empty lots. With all the new buildings it will feel more like the downtown below Barrington, and the downtown as a whole will feel correspondingly larger.

Even Spring Garden Road itself used to feel more like a neighbourhood commercial strip rather than a downtown shopping district.

[teddifax]

Originally Posted by RyeJay

Thanks for posting this, fenwick. This is a nice rendering of what I find to be a very attractive proposal -- but only from the perspective at the corner of Market and Sackville. That blank wall on the other shouldn't be permitted.

I hope they reconsider, and perhaps try faking some windows. This is an opportunity to be creative. And they should not take tips from the Citadel redevelopment.
I do appreciate it, though, when developments incorporate the name of the street on which they're located into their building name.

And I don't suppose it's too likely that any councillors will take any sort of initiative towards meeting the downtown's population density goals by suggesting a taller proposal. NOPE.

Friends of the Maritime Centre will be happy, at least.

The blank wall on the south side is probably due to the fact that the site next door could be developed and they don't own that view so why put windows that could very well be covered anyway.

[Jonovision]

The public information meeting for this is this coming Monday from 7-9 in the 1593 Market street. Which when I looked up is the parking lot at the end of the block. Im guessing its in the old TAZ space

[fenwick16]

Originally Posted by Jonovision

The public information meeting for this is this coming Monday from 7-9 in the 1593 Market street. Which when I looked up is the parking lot at the end of the block. Im guessing its in the old TAZ space

Thanks, I missed that. It was in the pdf document - http://www.mosaikproperties.ca/image...rketStreet.pdf

Public Information Meeting: Mixed-Use Redevelopment of 5262
and 5268 Sackville Street

Monday, February 3rd, 7:00-9:00pm

1593 Market Street

[counterfactual]

Originally Posted by someone123

Even Spring Garden Road itself used to feel more like a neighbourhood commercial strip rather than a downtown shopping district.

But haven't you been reading the Herald lately?

Spring Garden Road is dying! Winsby's is going, didn't you know?

[someone123]

Originally Posted by counterfactual

Spring Garden Road is dying! Winsby's is going, didn't you know?

I haven't actually been back since 2012, so I'm not sure how Spring Garden Road is doing. I wouldn't be surprised if retail business has been hurt a bit from the construction, but this happens in every city. Spring Garden Road also would have suffered eventually if there had been no investment in new and existing buildings.

One of the nice things about the new residents who have moved in (to places like the Trillium, Vertu, etc.) is that they create much more steady pedestrian traffic and demand for shops and services in the area. It doesn't matter as much to them if Dartmouth Crossing 2 opens up.

Barrington and Gottingen need a stronger base like this too. I think the projects in the North End will help too; the impact per capita on the downtown will be lower but a lot of people are going to move in and they're more likely to want to go downtown (maybe without a car) than somebody living in Hammonds Plains. Meanwhile they're also commuting less by car and they are a bit less likely to follow the most congested routes at the worst times.

If 15,000 or so new people moved in downtown and maybe 30,000 in total moved onto the peninsula Halifax would be a very different, and probably much healthier city.

[RyeJay]

Originally Posted by someone123

If 15,000 or so new people moved in downtown and maybe 30,000 in total moved onto the peninsula Halifax would be a very different, and probably much healthier city.

...and then Dartmouth Crossing 3 opens.

[worldlyhaligonian]

Originally Posted by counterfactual

But haven't you been reading the Herald lately?

Spring Garden Road is dying! Winsby's is going, didn't you know?

Hahahaha, Winsby's.

There is no reason why SGR doesn't have a Lacoste store, an H&M, and other mid-level fashion... oh, right, not many suitable developments to house them in because of the naysayers.

[counterfactual]

Originally Posted by worldlyhaligonian

Hahahaha, Winsby's.

There is no reason why SGR doesn't have a Lacoste store, an H&M, and other mid-level fashion... oh, right, not many suitable developments to house them in because of the naysayers.

Yeah, I was being a bit sarcastic (mocking news stories pronouncing the end of SGR due to Winsby going), but agree. But then, it's not just the naysayers, I think SGR has a problem with dumb, lazy, cheap, and greedy landlords. Landlords that charge unreasonably high rents but then not spending a dime on renovations or upgrades.

The old HMV space is a great example. HMV got turfed out of there because of a major rent hike. So then we had, as usual in Halifax, a prime piece of street level retail space empty for over a year, with, as far as I could see, absolutely no evidence or inkling of internal or external renovations to attract a new tenant. Lazy, dumb, cheap, greedy, landlords.

To cite another example, I'm really happy Crombie-Reit is selling Park Lane. They've done absolutely nothing for that mall lately; letting it die a slow glum death.

All Park Lane needs for a turnaround, is an owner who actually is willing to invest a little toward its success. If Park Lane received the same treatment the Halifax Shopping Center did 5 years ago, I think it would be a different story. It needs some serious internal renovations to brighten it up a bit, as well as some more management savvy-- that is, an aggressive campaign to land some of those high end tenants that are looking elsewhere. I mean, when people heard Apple was opening in Halifax, everyone assumed it would end up at the HMV downtown. Instead, it's at the Halifax Shopping Center, probably after a hard campaign to land the tech co.

Park Lane needs a few big name retail anchor tenants, and things will turn around. But to land those anchor tenants, you need to invest now, and show you're willing to do so down the line.

There should be H&M', Lacoste, Urban Outfitters, Chapters, etc, all along there.

Now that the Bookmark is being sold, maybe now some of the dumb and irrational opposition to Chapters opening downtown will end. Yes, Haligonians, retailers that are not local are not necessarily bad or inherently evil.

[teddifax]

The derelict building next to the old HMV site, keeps hanging on. I wish something would be done with that site!

[xanaxanax]

Originally Posted by teddifax

The derelict building next to the old HMV site, keeps hanging on. I wish something would be done with that site!

Its been having renovation work done to it for the last few months so maybe something is going in it. It would make a really good cafe and local craft market

[Dmajackson]

The plan is to start construction this year (2014) and take 18 months to construct (late 2016).

Source : "GEORGE GIANNOULIS UNVEILS MARKET STREET LOFTS" (February 4th, 2014) - AllNovaScotia.com

[xanaxanax]

Originally Posted by Dmajackson

The plan is to start construction this year (2014) and take 18 months to construct (late 2016).

Source : "GEORGE GIANNOULIS UNVEILS MARKET STREET LOFTS" (February 4th, 2014) - AllNovaScotia.com

Is that normal for construction to take so long. I would have thought something like this would take less than half that time. The Toronto aquarium didn't take much longer to build than this. Construction in Halifax seems to drag on forever as much as possible

[RyeJay]

Originally Posted by xanaxanax

Is that normal for construction to take so long. I would have thought something like this would take less than half that time. The Toronto aquarium didn't take much longer to build than this. Construction in Halifax seems to drag on forever as much as possible

We may consider asking Torontonian skyscraper fanatics if they're sick of waiting for L Tower to finish. Or if they're happy with the gridlock over approval of the Mirvish+Gehry towers. Of if they're happy about LRT/subway debates and the subsequent increase in taxes to pay for Scarborough's subway.
The Toronto aquarium certainly hasn't been the only project in that city.

In Halifax, the Nova Centre is progressing quickly; the Vic, Trillium, Citadel Hotels, and TD Centre on Spring Garden were constructed in a timely manner. Projects proceeding with different schedules isn't unique to Halifax; in fact, in larger cities where you have enormous and highly specialised developments ongoing -- construction time can be for many, many years. And people will complain.

(Our new library may be cut some slack due to its unconventional glass.)

The slower pace of real estate construction in Halifax may prevail because our market conditions aren't as demanding as Toronto's. Even though you're possibly judging Halifax by using a Torontonian example, there are economic opinions that hypothesise Toronto's construction pace is far too fast and far, far too voluminous.

Despite the defeatist attitudes that cramp Halifax's style, there is also a growing sense of optimism because people are seeing evidence of our progress.

With that said: could (and should) Halifax's construction rate be accelerated?
May Nova Scotia adopt Ontario's real estate legislation and allow a tsunami of foreign investment?


Condos! Condos!! Half-filled, half-finished, half-sized Condos!!!

[Drybrain]

Originally Posted by RyeJay

We may consider asking Torontonian skyscraper fanatics if they're sick of waiting for L Tower to finish. Or if they're happy with the gridlock over approval of the Mirvish+Gehry towers. Of if they're happy about LRT/subway debates and the subsequent increase in taxes to pay for Scarborough's subway.
The Toronto aquarium certainly hasn't been the only project in that city.

I worked near the L Tower for years, and it was literally under construction the entire time. (And still is, I think.)

[halifaxboyns]

Originally Posted by RyeJay

We may consider asking Torontonian skyscraper fanatics if they're sick of waiting for L Tower to finish. Or if they're happy with the gridlock over approval of the Mirvish+Gehry towers. Of if they're happy about LRT/subway debates and the subsequent increase in taxes to pay for Scarborough's subway.

The slower pace of real estate construction in Halifax may prevail because our market conditions aren't as demanding as Toronto's. Even though you're possibly judging Halifax by using a Torontonian example, there are economic opinions that hypothesise Toronto's construction pace is far too fast and far, far too voluminous.

I think you have to be careful when you are talking about the Mirvish Gehry towers because there are a lot of local plan issues with that. The Corridors/Avenues Plan of Toronto's Official Community Plan didn't consider the site for high rise, so they were asking for a huge variance from the policy which the chief planner felt was inappropriate. The OMB will deal with that question because it really comes down to what is more important: density or the plan that council approved.

Frankly; the challenge I have with Ontario's system is that despite council making a decision (and case law showing that most court's tend to favour the decision of council as being the key decision makers by statute) you can steel appeal it. I think there are sometimes a decision of a local council should be appeal-able in certain cases, but in Ontario all decisions of council on land use can be and that just isn't right to me. In Alberta, if a plan is brought forward to council - once it's adopted; you can't appeal that. That seems to be the more appropriate way to go - you get one crack at the can (that seems to be the way it is in NS too). But the fact you can appeal parts of all of a new zoning bylaw and that it takes years to implement; that 's silly.

I agree with your point about the Halifax market though - it is drastically underserved for condos, but hasn't proven that the market can handle more (with certainty). I think there is still some reluctance of banks to fund projects until other ones have gone forward and sold out. It's only the power house markets like Toronto, Vancouver and now Calgary where the lenders seem to be more willing to take risk. I think this was underscored by the building that went up near the commons and how the lender went out on a limb and that building still hasn't sold yet. I'm referring to this building. So while the approvals are good and create momentum, it seems to take banks time to thaw towards these long standing concerns.

Although someone was telling me recently (I think it was at a community meeting and it was a developer) that some banks are now causing issues for developers particularly around financing for mixed use projects. Apparently the concern is that the retail market (even in Calgary) isn't good in some places to support the risk and so builders are having to take on bigger mortgages or larger interest payments because of it. I'll have to go back through my meeting notes, but I was surprised by that because it seemed counter intuitive - you were bringing residents with the commercial use so they would use it. I guess it's about economies of scale and when you had a low population density, the one building wasn't enough (from the bank's perspective) to make the retail work. I doubt this would be an acceptable excuse around say the Hydrostone.