[Dartmouth] King's Wharf (Building E) | 85 m | 27 fl | U/C

[someone123]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Every time I see an empty 320 bus heading to/from the airport I wonder (a) why are they still running that so often with passenger demand approaching zero, and (b) how hard would it be to have a shuttle running at high frequency in a circle between Alderney and the Sportsplex terminal?

Dartmouth is pretty challenging to serve well with transit. My impression is that "good" transit service is pretty much limited to people who walk to the ferry. If downtown Dartmouth had 10,000 more people it would be able to support better transit service.

All of Halifax is challenging really. It has complex geography but it's not a big enough city to have the kind of infrastructure you find in places like NYC or San Francisco, which have lots of tunnels and bridges including rapid transit line water crossings.

[atbw]

Originally Posted by someone123

All of Halifax is challenging really. It has complex geography but it's not a big enough city to have the kind of infrastructure you find in places like NYC or San Francisco, which have lots of tunnels and bridges including rapid transit line water crossings.

It's tough since outside of downtown Halifax and Dartmouth it's very suburban and difficult to serve with transit. I'm hoping the Centre Plan encourages some more defined nodes within the outer neighbourhoods.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by atbw

It's tough since outside of downtown Halifax and Dartmouth it's very suburban and difficult to serve with transit. I'm hoping the Centre Plan encourages some more defined nodes within the outer neighbourhoods.

Halifax has a lot of dead zones with poor connectivity that are not complete neighbourhoods. The far end of Fairview and Clayton Park on the other side of the 102 from Bayers is a good example of this, and all of the mainland south suburbs suffer from similar problems. Nothing connects up well, the density is not quite high enough, and big box retail has siphoned off enough demand that there isn't enough left for local stuff.

I think a lot of people are accustomed to driving 10 minutes to the grocery store even when they live in a medium density neighbourhood but I'm not sure that's the preference of most people (one bit of evidence being the generally higher land values in the mixed use areas). Yet in the media BANANA values are often treated as the only values.

[atbw]

Originally Posted by someone123

Halifax has a lot of dead zones with poor connectivity that are not complete neighbourhoods. The far end of Fairview and Clayton Park on the other side of the 102 from Bayers is a good example of this, and all of the mainland south suburbs suffer from similar problems. Nothing connects up well, the density is not quite high enough, and big box retail has siphoned off enough demand that there isn't enough left for local stuff.

I think a lot of people are accustomed to driving 10 minutes to the grocery store even when they live in a medium density neighbourhood but I'm not sure that's the preference of most people (one bit of evidence being the generally higher land values in the mixed use areas). Yet in the media BANANA values are often treated as the only values.

That end of the suburbs is what I think causes people to relate big buildings with traffic. I've worked in that neck of the woods quite a bit and you really can't walk to anything aside from a park or gravel trail if you're lucky, and everyone gets accustomed to driving.

The density is weird in that you have dense buildings surrounded by parking lots. So while there's thousands of people in these neighbourhoods, there's not a lot of vibrance and little sense of place.

The bottom of Fairview is a much different story, where you have a great corridor of services, and convenience stores dotted throughout the lower density parts.

[Good Baklava]

Originally Posted by atbw

That end of the suburbs is what I think causes people to relate big buildings with traffic. I've worked in that neck of the woods quite a bit and you really can't walk to anything aside from a park or gravel trail if you're lucky, and everyone gets accustomed to driving.

The density is weird in that you have dense buildings surrounded by parking lots. So while there's thousands of people in these neighbourhoods, there's not a lot of vibrance and little sense of place.

The bottom of Fairview is a much different story, where you have a great corridor of services, and convenience stores dotted throughout the lower density parts.

I share the same opinion.

It really makes me think about how these neighbourhoods will shape up to be in the future. Will they eventually become less desirable and cater exclusively to lower income brackets who can't afford either a suburban home or buildings in more amenity-rich areas? Or will the area improve as it becomes built-up?

I wonder if we're moving in the unfortunate direction of the French "Banlieues", the low-income suburbs dominated by monolithic apartment blocks.


Source: Wikipedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/F...des_postes.jpg

[mleblanc]

Been awhile, folks! Had to go searching for this thread. New renderings of the 27-storey apartment building courtesy of Breakhouse:





Love the facades along that street. Wonder if we'll get any word of this site starting up again soon.

[Hali87]

That was also kind of unexpected. I find the new tower design kind of bland (it looks like Metropolitan Place with balconies added - I would have expected something more creative from Breakhouse) - but even moreso, the street-level design is very different from what I expected. With the right execution it could help tie King's Wharf in architecturally with the rest of DT Dartmouth, if done poorly it could end up looking very tacky and forced. Time will tell I guess

[Good Baklava]

Originally Posted by mleblanc

Been awhile, folks! Had to go searching for this thread. New renderings of the 27-storey apartment building courtesy of Breakhouse:





Love the facades along that street. Wonder if we'll get any word of this site starting up again soon.

This is very interesting! Definitely a lot of potential here, nice find!

[someone123]

Looks preliminary? I guess this is "lot E"?

It's interesting in that, if built in this style, the lowrise component will be a big departure from the older buildings. It's interesting how this project has been going on for so long that it's evolving over time even though it's being built by one developer.

Anybody know if prep work is being done for this and/or Brightwork and when construction might begin? The row of 4 buildings at King's Wharf never looked like a "neighbourhood" to me but it might soon take on that feel. I think a couple of new larger buildings like this, townhouses, and a bit of public space could make a big difference.

[Keith P.]

King'sWharf is not a place I go to very often in part because it is off all by itself on a dead-end street across the railway tracks, but a month or so ago I had reason to go to the post office that has relocated there. Seems an odd spot for a post office, but what do I know? Anyway, it has very much the feel of its own private enclave. The street parking was pretty much full though I dunno if that was due to the businesses being patronized, or people visiting residents. It didn't seem to have much in the way of visitor parking but maybe I missed that. It was pleasant enough aside from that and I can see this proposed development adding to that feel.

[Jonovision]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

King'sWharf is not a place I go to very often in part because it is off all by itself on a dead-end street across the railway tracks, but a month or so ago I had reason to go to the post office that has relocated there. Seems an odd spot for a post office, but what do I know? Anyway, it has very much the feel of its own private enclave. The street parking was pretty much full though I dunno if that was due to the businesses being patronized, or people visiting residents. It didn't seem to have much in the way of visitor parking but maybe I missed that. It was pleasant enough aside from that and I can see this proposed development adding to that feel.

It does have a bit of a suburban cul-de-sac feel but it is almost always busy. The Marco Polo Cafe and Jukai sushi are always close to full.

As far as the new design goes I am pleasantly surprised by the thought put into the ground floor and podium levels. Definitely a step up from what was already built. I am not surprised the tower is bland. I had heard they had switched architects to try and value engineer the tower down to its basics. Fingers crossed the podium levels are good though.

[Saul Goode]

Originally Posted by Jonovision

It does have a bit of a suburban cul-de-sac feel but it is almost always busy. The Marco Polo Cafe and Jukai sushi are always close to full.

I'm there fairly frequently and I think it has a good vibe with lots of pedestrian traffic, particularly on a summer evening. Millstone has opened a location in the old Il Trullo space which seems to be doing quite well (as I thought/hoped it might) and that's only added to the pleasant street buzz. I can see that neighborhood atmosphere growing if/when this latest proposed phase is actually built and the density of residents increases.

I've been fairly skeptical about Kings Wharf from the get-go, and it has had its problems, airbnbs not the least of them. But on balance so far I think it's a net positive for Dartmouth and has even greater potential. It's all in the execution...

[Hali87]

It sort of reminds me of the Mill Cove area in Bedford (similarly cut off by railroad tracks and largely built on fill), but less built-out at this point. There's a lot of potential, and some interesting features - it's well set up for people to use boats as a viable transportation option to/from there, and some of the spaces that have been landscaped are interesting - but it does feel pretty detached from the surrounding area and most of the site is still just barren rocks.

[someone123]

Source

[atbw]

Originally Posted by Hali87

It sort of reminds me of the Mill Cove area in Bedford (similarly cut off by railroad tracks and largely built on fill), but less built-out at this point. There's a lot of potential, and some interesting features - it's well set up for people to use boats as a viable transportation option to/from there, and some of the spaces that have been landscaped are interesting - but it does feel pretty detached from the surrounding area and most of the site is still just barren rocks.

Other thing is Alderney Drive is kind of the 'perimeter' of downtown. Hopefully the whole cove redevelopment helps tie it in more.

[Jstaleness]

Things seem to be progressing again, so I'll make a habit of getting some shots when I'm in that area.

[Jonovision]

This had its first reading at Community Council last night so a public hearing should be scheduled soon.

[hoser111]

Originally Posted by Jonovision

This had its first reading at Community Council last night so a public hearing should be scheduled soon.

New 27-Storey Tower Is Next Step In Downtown Dartmouth Development

https://huddle.today/new-27-storey-t...EMAIL_CAMPAIGN)

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by hoser111

New 27-Storey Tower Is Next Step In Downtown Dartmouth Development

https://huddle.today/new-27-storey-t...EMAIL_CAMPAIGN)

Looks interesting, though a more detailed rendering might give us a better idea of how it will look. Glad to see the proposed height anyhow.

Am I correct in assuming the long 4-storey building is a proposed hotel? Admittedly I just breezed through the city documents as my old laptop was having trouble dealing with the large drawings contained within the pdf.

Edit: Haha... just had to look further up in this thread for the answer...

[hoser111]

One comment in that article that stood out was " That will make it the second-tallest structure in the entire development, behind the proposed 40-storey tower on the water’s edge"

I presume that's referring to the Maristella which I thought was pegged at 36 and I hadn't heard anywhere that this is now a proposed 40-storey structure.