United Gulf towers | ~90m | 27 fl | Approved

[skyscraper_1]

Phil Pacey Plaza.

[Haliguy]

I emailed UG asking them about this and they said a decision on the name should be coming soon.

[phrenic]

Anybody want to put forth a rough estimation as to when construction will start?

I understand their is a consiterable amount of planning left to do, but I am curious as to when people think we will start to see these towers rise up. Will UG want to sell x number of condos first?

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by skyscraper_1

Here are some old imagines I found.

View from of Barrington.


View of skyline.

Perfect location for infilling the Halifax skyline.

[someone123]

Usually units are pre-sold in condo developments before construction starts, although in this case there are other components such as the retail and hotel which could have tenants lined up already.

I can't wait for construction to begin but I think it will be a while.

[worldlyhaligonian]

Are the floors white when seen from the exterior? Do they actually protrude outside of the glass?

[Keith P.]

One thing that hasn't ben mentioned is that this gives the opportunity for a true 4-star or 5-star hotel in Halifax. Reading the Halifax hotel reviews on tripadvisor.com, I was astounded to learn that the best-rated hotel in Halifax is the Marriott Courtyard (Salter St) which is just a nice new 3-star Marriott standard hotel. Nothing bad, but nothing special. It turns out that the concensus there is that Halifax doesn't have a 4-star or better hotel. The Prince George is close, but getting tired and is lacking some facilities, and the Marriott Harbourfront suffers from several issues as well. As for the Westin (which gets horrible reviews) and the Deltas, they don't even come close. If this is done right and they go after the right kind of affiliation -- Fairmont, Intercontinental, FourSeasons, Omni, etc -- it will serve a market that is currently being ignored in this city.

[someone123]

I think major developments like this open up completely new possibilities. It might be possible to attract a hotel chain for this project that wouldn't even consider a smaller building. Similarly, the hotel rooms and condos above are likely to make the retail below much more attractive for certain potential tenants, and the design and height lend this development a bit of cachet.

A major new building on the corner of Spring Garden and Queen could potentially be similar.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by someone123

A major new building on the corner of Spring Garden and Queen could potentially be similar.

What, you mean the library?

[someone123]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

What, you mean the library?

Yes, they could put in a coffee shop and maybe even some bike racks to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions.

[hfx_chris]

nevermind.

[terrynorthend]

Originally Posted by worldlyhaligonian

Are the floors white when seen from the exterior? Do they actually protrude outside of the glass?

I doubt it. That's just the developer's model comped into some current photos. It looked like it was built from acrylic or something. My impression is that this is largely conceptual. It is to demonstrate the airy feeling the development hopes to capture. I doubt very much that it will actually be a see-thru building.

[citiguy]

I heard that the block that currently had BMO, TD, second cup on Spring Garden between Queen and Brunswick is going to get redevelopment. Has anyone heard about this?

[phrenic]

I know none of this is new information, but farting around the downtown Halifax site today I came across a pdf document that gives a bit more info on the architectural concept of the project, in case anyone is interested.

http://www.downtownhalifax.ns.ca/images/tex-park.pdf

[someone123]

Originally Posted by citiguy

I heard that the block that currently had BMO, TD, second cup on Spring Garden between Queen and Brunswick is going to get redevelopment. Has anyone heard about this?

Yes, I've been hearing about this for a while. The plan is for Westwood to develop a boutique hotel once they are finished with Gladstone Ridge.

It's unclear how many buildings on that block will be a part of the redevelopment and what will happen to them. The building on the corner should definitely be preserved.

As for United Gulf, I hope they release some new info soon. It's been a while since this was approved.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by citiguy

I heard that the block that currently had BMO, TD, second cup on Spring Garden between Queen and Brunswick is going to get redevelopment. Has anyone heard about this?

The last I heard, Danny Chedrawe (Westwood) has the BMO/Second Cup building, and the Fireside/Thackeray's building at the other end, but not the TD Bank bldg in the middle.

Given how long these things take around here, and especially given the neighborhood, don't expect anything within the next 5 years.

[Empire]

One option is to demolish the BMO building on the corner of Spring Gdn Rd. and Quen. Unthinkable but very HRM acceptable!!

[someone123]

SGR is a busy area but most of its buildings are pretty bland. The BMO building is actually a highlight so I hope it doesn't come down. Ideally I would like to see a kind of point tower (preferably glass) on just part of the block but I guess that's unlikely to happen.

It would be nice to see SGR and Queen turned into a major corner. Queen Street South of SGR could also become more commercial.

[craner]

Nice - hope they get built.

[worldlyhaligonian]

Old Article:
http://www.canadianarchitect.com/iss...005&PC=&RType=