[Halifax] Garden Stone Place | 22 m | 7 fl | Completed

[someone123]

A new proposal is listed on the HRM website for 5552 Kaye, which is the empty lot across from the Hydrostone Market near Isleville Street.

A preliminary report can be found here: http://www.halifax.ca/planning/docum...ctSheetPIM.pdf

No rendering is available but the report says that the building will be seven storeys with ground floor retail, a level of office space above, and then 30 residential units in the five upper levels.

[Dmajackson]

The architecture is the same one who designed the lofts at the former Grenvale School and the Villas at Mont Blanc

[someone123]

I hope this turns out to be a bit nicer than Mont Blanc. It's actually a pretty prominent site in an area that's seeing a relatively high amount of development. This will be the third development on that block in the last couple of years. Unfortunately, the Hydrostone Suites at the other end of the block are not very attractive. I also think the lack of ground floor retail was unfortunate given the fact that the Hydrostone Market's right across the street. Thankfully, this proposal includes ground floor retail.

[Halifax Hillbilly]

Originally Posted by someone123

I hope this turns out to be a bit nicer than Mont Blanc. It's actually a pretty prominent site in an area that's seeing a relatively high amount of development. This will be the third development on that block in the last couple of years. Unfortunately, the Hydrostone Suites at the other end of the block are not very attractive. I also think the lack of ground floor retail was unfortunate given the fact that the Hydrostone Market's right across the street. Thankfully, this proposal includes ground floor retail.

The Hydrostone Suites aren't very nice at all, neither is the building going up on the corner of Isleville and Russell. This project is mixed-use retail/office/residential so hopefully this is a little more ambitious developer who will create a nice building.

This area is such a great part of town, with the hydrostones and easy access to downtown. There are lots of small parking lots and under-utilized sites and if people want to fill them in with low/mid-rise buildings than I think it's awesome.

[someone123]

Anybody been by this site lately? It's an as-of-right development so there's nothing on the HRM website.

[Takeo]

The Hyrdostone Suites are a hideous monster... a bad parody of the Hydrostone Market design. So bad. And that tall central window that doesn't really end right at the roof line... it looks so horrible. And that giant concrete podium the whole thing sits on. And the horribly cheap and ugly board and baton cladding. Good lord. It really is a completely and utter disaster. It's in the running for one of the worst residential apartment building designs on the Peninsula... if you ask me.

As for the building on Russell... all I can say is... I won't be paying big bucks to live behind Olands. Holy. Who could live with that stink! I'm not sure what I think of the design. It seems... I don't know... very out of place. It looks kind of like Miami Florida Deco or something. Very odd. I really don't like the curved corner balconies. Tacky.

[terrynorthend]

Originally Posted by Takeo

The Hyrdostone Suites are a hideous monster... a bad parody of the Hydrostone Market design. So bad. And that tall central window that doesn't really end right at the roof line... it looks so horrible. And that giant concrete podium the whole thing sits on. And the horribly cheap and ugly board and baton cladding. Good lord. It really is a completely and utter disaster. It's in the running for one of the worst residential apartment building designs on the Peninsula... if you ask me.

I agree, but only so far. I think the building had/has tremendous potential. The mansard roof is terrible. I really don't know what they were thinking. More thought could be put into a peaked or flat roof with some nice detailing. On the other hand, I love the large glass curtain on the east elevation. Its particularly striking when coming up Kaye street, and evokes the churches and (nunnery?) that surround it. The concrete podium is hideous and unfinished looking... but nothing a little careful landscaping couldn't remedy.

As well I would have preferred to see mixed use/ground floor retail, and orienting the focus of the building northward, towards the Hydrostone Market. The residential entrance would be centered on this elevation with a nice restaurant with an outdoor patio on the podium wrapping eastward around the Novalea side. A couple of boutiques could round out the ground floor to the west. Who wants to live with a ground floor balcony right there anyways? Yikes, that's just a break-in waiting to happen.

Add to that the development of the Kaye/Isleview corner and the Hydrostone and little triangular park take on a whole new life! One could get really ambitious and complement with a likewise development on the third face of the park (across Novalea)

[Keith P.]

No progress to report. I took some shots of the site today:








This is the somewhat odd-looking building just down the block:




I took a quick shot of Hydrostone Suites while I was there:



Don't like it much.

[Takeo]

Originally Posted by terrynorthend

On the other hand, I love the large glass curtain on the east elevation. Its particularly striking when coming up Kaye street, and evokes the churches and (nunnery?) that surround it.

Take a look at the top of that curtain wall... it is completely unresolved. Looks like a mistake. The whole building is a parody of the Hyrdostone Market. And the board and batten... ugh. I have nothing good to say about this building.

[terrynorthend]

I agree totally. What I am saying is fix the roof then, not the window.

[Takeo]

Originally Posted by terrynorthend

I agree totally. What I am saying is fix the roof then, not the window.

Oh ya... the window itself is cool. I just don't know what they were thinking with the execution. It looks unfinished / awkward at the roofline.

[reddog794]

It looks like there should be two or three more floors, on top of what's there. Takeo, you took the words right outta my mouth.

Nice pics Keith btw. I like that funky building, I usually hate block street walls. They've always looked fake to me, no matter how you dress it up, but it's that open area. It looks like it has equal width to the wall, and creates an interesting entrance. I really want to see that building next time I'm home.

[Jonovision]

This is a new development across from the Hydrostone Market. It doesn't look too bad. Probably better then the couple of buildings that have gone up in that area lately. It still has yet o go before council.

http://www.halifax.ca/planning/Case01113Details.html

[terrynorthend]

Not bad. Seems appropriate for the area. I like that it has ground floor commercial..too bad the one just to its east didn't. (can't remember the name..Hydrostone Place? Hydrostone Suites?..god i hope they don't tack "hydrostone" onto the name of this one, i'll never keep them straight)

[Dmajackson]

I welcome it. Nothing fancy but the Hydrostone doesn't need anything fancy now anyways.

[worldlyhaligonian]

yeah, we get what we can.

[someone123]

There were duplicate threads so I merged them together.

Nice to finally see renderings. This design is a step up from the other new buildings in the area and I think its scale and mixed use are appropriate.

I really like how mid-scale infill is spreading to different parts of the city that up until now have mostly just had original houses or aging, plain apartment buildings. Over the next few years I think Halifax's core is going to transition into something more typical of mid-sized cities, where there are many different busy, relatively built up areas outside of the main downtown district. This is definitely happening both to the south and to the north of the downtown (which these days should be thought of as including the Spring Garden area out to South Park or arguably Robie).

[Takeo]

Nice. It's not award winning architecture... but it's a good, solid, functional building. SOOOOO much better than the new apartment building on Kaye and Gottingen (Hydrostone Suites)... which is just a bad architectural parody of the Hyrdostone Market and offers nothing to the street but a blank concrete plinth. This is very encouraging. I live here... and I've always said that while the Hydrostone Market is nice... it's just a shame it's so tiny. I will be nice to have a little more street activity with the addition of this building.

[someone123]

Yeah, the best part really is that the storefronts in the rendering look like they will actually be inviting, practical, and easy to open up to outdoor cafés. That is the kind of thing the area needs. Storefronts should have been REQUIRED on the other side of the street facing the existing Hydrstone Market.. that other building was definitely a lost opportunity.

A great long-term vision would be to develop Agricola more (as is happening) and turn Young into a more built up mixed-use area with strong transit connections to the downtown (e.g. a streetcar line that would run down Agricola). That area could accommodate several thousand units of housing currently, or even more if the military gives up some of its nearby underused land.

I also think that the little park/square by the Hydrostone Market should be improved, and that the city should try to find some well-located, medium-sized piece of land to turn into an urban park or square.

[worldlyhaligonian]

Any news on this development?