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  #181  
Old Posted Aug 12, 2014, 11:17 PM
counterfactual counterfactual is offline
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Even then, those 3 ugly buildings were a real drag on that part of the street.
The front of the NFB *was* a bit whacky.
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  #182  
Old Posted Aug 14, 2014, 12:43 PM
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A Patricia Brooks piece in today's Herald confirms that developer Steve Caryi now has the permits in hand to start work on the five storey, 16 unit building, mostly studios and 3-bedroom apartments.

Brooks quotes architect David Garrett as saying, “It’s been an albatross on Barrington Street for two decades, and it’s going to be good to bring it back.”

I agree. While it's not the original structure, I think the facade is interesting and, restored, will add to the diversity of the street. I think Mr. Caryi deserve credit for his commitment to proceed with what will certainly be a complex and costly project.

The paper says work will start within weeks and should be complete in 16 months, though Caryi admits there could be lots of unknowns hiding behind that crumbling facade. This should be a very interesting project to follow. It would be great to have an insider willing to provide updates to this forum.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/busines...te-to-get-lift

Last edited by ns_kid; Aug 14, 2014 at 12:54 PM.
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  #183  
Old Posted Aug 14, 2014, 2:04 PM
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One can only hope that exploratory work reveals the facade is too far gone to save and that the developers quickly realize that a more attractive streetfront would do their project a world of good.
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  #184  
Old Posted Aug 14, 2014, 2:15 PM
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This should be a very interesting project to follow. It would be great to have an insider willing to provide updates to this forum.
Agreed - I emailed the architect to see if they would be interested in having me do that for them..
No word yet..
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  #185  
Old Posted Aug 14, 2014, 2:33 PM
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Agreed - I emailed the architect to see if they would be interested in having me do that for them..
No word yet..
Your work on the Nova Centre alone should be reason for them to "hire" you.
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  #186  
Old Posted Aug 14, 2014, 6:28 PM
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Your work on the Nova Centre alone should be reason for them to "hire" you.
I second the sentiment.
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  #187  
Old Posted Aug 14, 2014, 7:09 PM
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What is most interesting about the Caryi proposal (I don't think this has been commented on here but I may have overlooked it) is that it is to construct a five storey building within a four-storey facade.

That is to say, the bottom four floors will have lower ceilings than the original structure, meaning that the Barrington Street windows will not align with the interior floors. (The first floor will be retail.) Judging by the architectural drawings the effect will be most pronounced on the third floor. It appears as though apartments on the front of that floor will see less than half of the original third floor windows set into a well high on the wall. It doesn't seem like a particularly attractive prospect to me. Back units on the north side will have small windows on one side while for units on the south side the only access to natural light will be via a "light well". Only the top floor would appear to have "normal" window coverage.

I certainly hope a good HVAC system is part of the plan.

The artist's conception:



North wall cross-section:



Source: http://www.halifax.ca/municipalclerk...reetLocked.pdf

Last edited by ns_kid; Aug 14, 2014 at 8:13 PM.
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  #188  
Old Posted Aug 14, 2014, 7:37 PM
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Not sure I would like it, but it's one of those trade-offs people frequently have to make when they want downtown apartments. In this case at least the windows are pretty large.
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  #189  
Old Posted Aug 14, 2014, 7:39 PM
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My objection to living facing directly onto Barrington would be street noise, but if the building is sufficiently soundproofed, I'd gladly trade off the window situation for such a cool building. Not everyone would, of course, but I don't think there should be any problem filling a relatively small building.
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  #190  
Old Posted Aug 15, 2014, 2:28 AM
counterfactual counterfactual is offline
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Are they doing anything interesting with the roof? Or is it too close to that ludicrous "view plane" that is skimming the top?

I would have thought the roof could have been one of the coolest things about this building; have a rooftop terrace to overlook Barrington and the city, with some views toward the harbour.
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  #191  
Old Posted Aug 15, 2014, 10:59 AM
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Are they doing anything interesting with the roof? Or is it too close to that ludicrous "view plane" that is skimming the top?

I would have thought the roof could have been one of the coolest things about this building; have a rooftop terrace to overlook Barrington and the city, with some views toward the harbour.
the section posted above shows the a trellis and a railing, so id say there is a patio up there.
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  #192  
Old Posted Aug 15, 2014, 11:40 AM
xanaxanax xanaxanax is offline
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should have been allowed to be built higher
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  #193  
Old Posted Aug 15, 2014, 12:57 PM
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Originally Posted by ns_kid View Post
What is most interesting about the Caryi proposal (I don't think this has been commented on here but I may have overlooked it) is that it is to construct a five storey building within a four-storey facade.

That is to say, the bottom four floors will have lower ceilings than the original structure, meaning that the Barrington Street windows will not align with the interior floors. (The first floor will be retail.) Judging by the architectural drawings the effect will be most pronounced on the third floor. It appears as though apartments on the front of that floor will see less than half of the original third floor windows set into a well high on the wall. It doesn't seem like a particularly attractive prospect to me. Back units on the north side will have small windows on one side while for units on the south side the only access to natural light will be via a "light well". Only the top floor would appear to have "normal" window coverage.
That accursed facade is the gift that keeps on giving. What a disaster.
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  #194  
Old Posted Aug 15, 2014, 7:17 PM
counterfactual counterfactual is offline
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Originally Posted by xanaxanax View Post
should have been allowed to be built higher
Come on, you can't block the view planes there.

It's a matter of national security.

How else would be spot the enemy, dragging cannons and cannon balls up the hill from the harbour?
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  #195  
Old Posted Aug 15, 2014, 7:52 PM
counterfactual counterfactual is offline
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the section posted above shows the a trellis and a railing, so id say there is a patio up there.
Hope you're right.

I actually also agree with xananax, that they should have been allowed to build up several more floors, make this a more of a density development.
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  #196  
Old Posted Aug 15, 2014, 8:36 PM
xanaxanax xanaxanax is offline
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I can not wait for someone to drive a dump truck threw the forbes building is it called across the street and have something the comparable to the size of the new roy, that one has to be the ugliness building in the city
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  #197  
Old Posted Aug 15, 2014, 9:05 PM
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Which building is the forbes?
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  #198  
Old Posted Aug 15, 2014, 9:59 PM
xanaxanax xanaxanax is offline
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Which building is the forbes?
The one with the art gallery and the spot that had the backpacking clothing store, maritime summit shop?
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  #199  
Old Posted Aug 16, 2014, 3:55 PM
Drybrain Drybrain is offline
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Originally Posted by counterfactual View Post
Hope you're right.

I actually also agree with xananax, that they should have been allowed to build up several more floors, make this a more of a density development.
I'm kinda glad they're only recreating the building as it was--just because I wonder how a taller building behind the facade could be gracefully integrated. I'm kind of excited to see a true reconstruction of a historical building that would otherwise be lost. We don't have many of those.

But one thing that is profoundly dumb is that the original tower on top of the mansard roof (as seen on the right in this pic) can't be rebuilt, because it now falls under view plane restrictions. I mean, come on--the tower was built in 1891, and in 2014 it's too tall? Quite ridiculous.
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  #200  
Old Posted Aug 16, 2014, 4:11 PM
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It's particularly sad since the view planes are sometimes sold as a form of heritage preservation. In this case, they are preventing the reclamation of a little piece of the city's heritage.

Rebuilding the tower definitely would have made this building more impressive looking. I hope we'll one day see more and more restoration of stripped detailing like this. The former post office (AGNS) cupola is the biggest example I can think of but there are many others.

I still think this project will improve the look of the street enormously though. The empty, deteriorating facade that is there now is one of the most noticeable things along Barrington and it does not leave a great impression.
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