I don't think this has its own thread...
CBC’s inviting reno
New building will boost public access
By BILL POWER Business Reporter
Sat, Oct 1 - 4:55 AM
A multimillion-dollar makeover of the CBC building on Bell Road in Halifax will add a gleaming new presence to the streetscape and open up a massive new production area for public viewing.
"When people are in town we want to be a destination that doesn’t require a special invitation," Andrew Cochran, the broadcaster’s managing director for the Maritimes, said Friday in an interview.
One portal into the renovated and enlarged complex will be a window bordered in red that will light up when a live broadcast is underway, sending an invitation to people at street level that they are welcome to view the action. Increased public access will also be provided in the main foyer.
The innovative design of the CBC building — by WHW Architects Inc. in Halifax — will get its first public viewing today at 75th anniversary celebrations for the public broadcaster at the Bell Road site.
"All Halifax operations will be under one roof for the first time," said Cochran.
He said the challenge for architects was to provide some sort of nod to the past — including the landmark CBC Radio building at Sackville and South Park streets — and to reflect the evolving role of the broadcaster moving into the future.
There are some white motifs featured in the gleaming exterior of the new structure, as a nod to the CBC Radio building that will be vacated when the renovated and enlarged structure on Bell Road is ready for occupancy early in the summer of 2014.
A tender call for a builder is expected to go out late in December and staff in the Bell Road building will be relocated to the CBC Radio building when renovations begin next summer.
All radio, television and online operations will be consolidated into one large production space, which will actually occupy the space where the parking lot is currently located.
This will put about 170 staff in one central location, but this number does not include assorted freelance broadcasters and independent producers who will be using the facility.
"The availability of parking will be affected and we’re going to be working on that with staff," said Cochran.
The completed project will enlarge the current 57,000-square-foot building to about 90,000 square feet. CBC has not released a cost estimate on the overhaul of its Halifax broadcast centre. CBC is reducing its environmental footprint at Bell Road with natural light to supplement room lighting, and energy efficient heating and cooling systems and LED lighting systems.
The CBC Radio building — noted for its art deco-like styling — will likely come down as part of a redevelopment of that portion of South Park Street that includes the existing YMCA building site.
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