[Halifax] Nova Centre | 65-58-58 m | 16-15-14 fl | Completed

[bluenoser]

Originally Posted by terrynorthend

Checked out his instagram, Fraser does great work! Is this you bluenoser?

No, unfortunately I am not quite at that level, ha... but I certainly agree!

[Keith P.]

Everybody's favorite pseudo-journalist, Tim Bousquet, did another negative piece on Nova Centre, but this time he actually might have a legitimate beef on the section of Grafton that runs between the two towers:

https://www.halifaxexaminer.ca/featu...rumbling-mess/

Pictures illustrate the mess this has become. It really need to be totally rebuilt.

[someone123]

I guess he had to find something new to complain about since before it opened he declared that it was going to be an empty white elephant. Remember the speaker that was brought in to talk about how the conference/convention industry is dying and oversupplied with spaces? It turns out that so far the bookings at the new convention centre have greatly exceeded what was possible to host at the old one.

It's true that the photos look pretty bad and it seems inexcusable for a brand new job. I wonder why this happened?

[IanWatson]

He (and other detractors) don't seem to be wrong about the finances though, even if they were wrong about attendance. So far it's very much failing to live up to financial projections, and the city is eating the cost.

And yeah, those "driveway" paving bricks are atrocious. He's right to call them out. The grade of the underlying concrete is super exaggerated and the bricks don't lie flat, so they break whenever something drives over them. They also tried to do some really complex patterns using different colours of types of bricks, so a whole bunch of the bricks were cut into tiny pieces and poorly fitted.

I try to keep my criticism of architecture, design, and construction to a minimum, but Grafton "Street" is an embarrassment; especially compared to how well Argyle was designed and installed.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by IanWatson

He (and other detractors) don't seem to be wrong about the finances though, even if they were wrong about attendance. So far it's very much failing to live up to financial projections, and the city is eating the cost.

It has been open only since April so I'm not sure what "very much failing to live up to financial projections" means. It appears to be rather busy.

[DT Hfx]

I was told that the plan is to re-brick it properly after the ceiling and other construction in the tunnel is finished - the implication being that the quick bricking done last fall was temporary.

[Colin May]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

It has been open only since April so I'm not sure what "very much failing to live up to financial projections" means. It appears to be rather busy.

Bousquet quotes from an HRM staff report which details the dismal financials.
If you don't like the numbers take it up with the CAO and the Director of Finance.

[ns_kid]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

It has been open only since April so I'm not sure what "very much failing to live up to financial projections" means. It appears to be rather busy.

The convention centre is "rather busy". The financial projections Bousquet talks about are entirely separate from the question of how much use the convention centre receives. He (and the staff report) refers to the capital and operating cost-sharing agreement the city signed with the province which kicked in when the project was substantially complete.

The city attempted to show that the lion's share of its payout would be covered by tax revenues paid by Nova Centre tenants. But, as we know, the project was repeatedly delayed and much of the complex remains vacant. As a result the anticipated shortfall has almost doubled. (The new hotel will open early next year, which will make a substantial difference.)

In truth, the city's plan was a bit of financial sleight-of-hand (Bousquet called it a "rigged game") but, in fairness, HRM always forecast a shortfall on the convention centre. That the annual shortfall has grown by some $1.7 million (in a $761 million budget) is what Bousquet calls a "financial disaster" for the city.

As far as convention centre patronage is concerned the same staff report declares, "The new Halifax Convention Centre is currently exceeding expectations for convention bookings. The facility shows every sign of being extremely successful."

[Keith P.]

Heck, $1.7 million is wasted by HRM on a regular basis with nary a notice. That is mere pocket change for the Barons of HRM Council. The Forum redevelopment estimate just skyrocketed from its original estimate and I expect after a few pious speeches by members of Council it will be rubber-stamped on its way to chalk up even more overruns before it is done.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-s...-22m-1.4781331

[someone123]

Originally Posted by ns_kid

As far as convention centre patronage is concerned the same staff report declares, "The new Halifax Convention Centre is currently exceeding expectations for convention bookings. The facility shows every sign of being extremely successful."

Thanks for sharing the actual financial information. It remains to be seen if the small annual shortfall will persist over many years.

It is really the same old debate we hear about any public investment. The convention centre was never going to be a cash cow for the city. The point of it is that it creates a lot of spinoff effects and enriches life in the city by expanding the range of events that can be hosted there. The city can afford it in the sense that the budget impact is minimal. The city funds all kinds of money-losing ventures. That's why it exists. It doesn't have to fund low risk profitable ventures.

Not everyone is going to like or personally benefit from every single public project.

Tim Bousquet decided a long time ago that he didn't like the Nova Centre and his reporting reflects that. He's one of the most depressing and negative journalists around.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by DT Hfx

I was told that the plan is to re-brick it properly after the ceiling and other construction in the tunnel is finished - the implication being that the quick bricking done last fall was temporary.

That would make the most sense to me. With all the construction equipment, which generally would weigh 3 to 5 times the weight of an average car, that could potentially be running over the area while they finish the tunnel, it would be hard to avoid damage to these kinds of bricks.

The questions that remain for me:
(1) Why would they not just apply some inexpensive decking of some sort until the work is done? Custom-cut pavers seem very labour intensive (i.e. expensive) as a temporary surface.
(2) Will there be some adjustment of the drainage slopes before the new bricks are laid? It's weird, but when you are onsite it appears that somebody misread the plan and scaled the grades at 2X the required.

[DT Hfx]

Massive suspended frames are being built in the tunnel now for what will hold a series of big screen monitors.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by DT Hfx

Massive suspended frames are being built in the tunnel now for what will hold a series of big screen monitors.

That should be interesting. Do you know their intended use? Advertising? Sporting events? or..??

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

That should be interesting. Do you know their intended use? Advertising? Sporting events? or..??

Flashing "Please Watch Your Step" warning signs.

[beyeas]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

That should be interesting. Do you know their intended use? Advertising? Sporting events? or..??

I would bet its a combination of things, but my assumption is that the primary usage would be to provide info to conference/meeting attendees. Usually at large conference centres I see screens like this providing welcome info to attendees, information on current sessions and room #s, etc. However, like that is also interlaced with advertising as well.

[DT Hfx]

I imagine some screens might also be monitors so you could see yourself as you drive/walk through.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by beyeas

I would bet its a combination of things, but my assumption is that the primary usage would be to provide info to conference/meeting attendees. Usually at large conference centres I see screens like this providing welcome info to attendees, information on current sessions and room #s, etc. However, like that is also interlaced with advertising as well.

I don't know if it's still like this but the Moscone Center in San Francisco at one point (not 1982 but more like 2012) had giant ads for strippers.

[pblaauw]

It's just going to be a bunch of Max Headrooms, warning vehicles and pedestrians of hazards.



Source: Wikimedia Commons (via Wikipedia "Max Headroom" page.)

[Aya_Akai]

I think the blue LED's are one of my favourite aspects of the exterior of the structure. It creates such a bizarre visual sensation when you walk around there at night.

The brilliant blue LED light strip along the outside of the upper floor shines down, and the shadow of the building lines up perfectly with the line along the sidewalk creating almost an optical illusion along Sackville St. from just the right angle..

[Drybrain]

I don’t know; I agree the LED lights create a bizarre street-level feeling, but I don’t think bizarre is a desirable contribution to public space. Opinions seem to be really split on this, but put me in the group who think the bright blue lights are tacky and ugly, and an incredibly obnoxious imposition into the public realm.

I think it’s bad for Argyle Street too. I was down there a couple of weeks ago around 10 on a Friday night. Patios were maybe three-quarters full, and the street was empty. It FELT much emptier than it was because even though the patio were reasonably full, the lights illuminated the huge empty facade and vacant street more brightly than the patios, which felt puny and exposed. The windswept emptiness opposite was more visible and imposing than the patios around us. It felt like a bar at closing time. It was a terrible, terrible, atmosphere for a bar district. We left, and I know others did too.