Halifax Retail

[someone123]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

the gap factory stores quality is more like old navy level than the actual gap store I find and the styles are totally different.

I bought some brand name cooking stuff at a US outlet mall a couple of years ago and it has mostly fallen apart at this point.

Reminds me of "I'm too poor to buy cheap". Rarely have I regretted waiting longer and buying the higher quality, higher priced item.

[Phalanx]

To quote one of my favourite characters from one of my favourite (now sadly departed) writers:

“The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money.

Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles.

But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.

This was the Captain Samuel Vimes 'Boots' theory of socioeconomic unfairness.”

― Terry Pratchett, Men at Arms

Seems applicable.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by Phalanx

To quote one of my favourite characters from one of my favourite (now sadly departed) writers:

“The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money.

Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles.

But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.

This was the Captain Samuel Vimes 'Boots' theory of socioeconomic unfairness.”

― Terry Pratchett, Men at Arms

Seems applicable.

Excellent excerpt. And very true.

[q12]

Halifax ReTales has confirmed Costco has started construction of a gas station at the Bayers Lake location. Dartmouth Crossing has one planned as well to open in a year or so.

https://twitter.com/HalifaxReTales/s...52340550914048

Is the Bayers Lake Costco Gas Bar going in the green area (marked Google)?


Dartmouth Costco Gas Bar will likely go where it says "future development"

[q12]

Hey Budda Boom Budda Bing: East Side Mario's coming to downtown Halifax this summer

The restaurant chain announced Monday in a news release that it will open its second largest location in Canada this summer at 5287 Prince Street.

By: Staff Metro Halifax Published on Mon Feb 22 2016

East Side Mario’s is coming back to downtown Halifax.
The restaurant chain announced Monday in a news release that it will open its second largest location in Canada this summer at 5287 Prince Street, the former home of Club Soda and Bubbles’ Mansion, “footsteps away from the new Nova Centre.”
The 9,000 square-foot restaurant will have a dining room, bar and a rooftop patio.
The release says the restaurant will create 80 jobs and the franchisee, David Boyd, who also owns the Bayers Lake location, will start hiring in March.

Read the story at Metro Halifax

Also Halifax Retales reported the Clayton Park Sobeys is renovating into Sobeys Extra store like the Tantallon location. https://twitter.com/HalifaxReTales/s...66465142263809

[HalifaxRetales]

From what I was told yes it's that piece of lawn at the Bayers Lake store for Costco Gas, but this also means that Costco is not building a new store where they are developing behind Kent. However sounds like Walmart is building a 100k sqft Supercentre back there, and the current Walmart will be demolished with additional parking being added for Costco .
a strip mall going up and a chain restaurant pad vs fast food

[q12]

Originally Posted by HalifaxRetales

From what I was told yes it's that piece of lawn at the Bayers Lake store for Costco Gas, but this also means that Costco is not building a new store where they are developing behind Kent. However sounds like Walmart is building a 100k sqft Supercentre back there, and the current Walmart will be demolished with additional parking being added for Costco .
a strip mall going up and a chain restaurant pad vs fast food

I wonder if Superstore would expand into the adjacent former Future Shop?

[IanWatson]

The Coast has a story about Steele Auto Group buying basically all the houses on Fern Lane, adjacent to Colonial Honda. The speculation is, of course, that they would want to expand their dealership. I think that would be a real step backwards for urbanism on the peninsula.

[Drybrain]

Originally Posted by IanWatson

The Coast has a story about Steele Auto Group buying basically all the houses on Fern Lane, adjacent to Colonial Honda. The speculation is, of course, that they would want to expand their dealership. I think that would be a real step backwards for urbanism on the peninsula.

I read about this yesterday in The Coast. Where the heck is that the Centre Plan? Presumably a car dealership is the kind of use that would be grandfathered in an area like this, but an expansion wouldn't be permitted. If that is the idea, I do hope council will kibosh it.

Unless the idea is for Steele to get into land development and build something there. That'd be much better, though given the size of the lot, it seems totally unnecessary to also knock down a bunch of perfectly good houses. The ones on Fern especially are in perfectly good shape.

[someone123]

Can council stop a development like that? The 70's and 80's planning rules in place in most of the city are extremely friendly to low-density, car-oriented development. If you want to build a midrise apartment without tons of parking you need a DA but outside of downtown completely inappropriate suburban strip mall style development is the encouraged path of least resistance and can be built as of right. This needs to be fixed if any of the neighbourhoods are to become less car dependent.

[Drybrain]

I don't imagine council is legally empowered to do anything. Say Colonial wants to expand (which, after reading the Coast story again, seems more likely):

Council can't deny the demolition of non-heritage properties. (As we've discussed before, they can't even deny the demolition of heritage properties._

So the houses get torn down, and then choice will then be between the current dealership + some empty land, or an expanded dealership. Not much of a choice.

I'm disappointed Colonial would want to do this, but a lot more disappointed that the city's land-use laws are so feeble and out-of-date that it's basically impossible to stop them.

[Keith P.]

I don't understand why Steele would keep the dealership on Robie anyway. He owns 2 Chrysler dealers not very far apart (one at the 103 entry to BLIP and one on the Bedford Hwy next to Icon Bay) and this market only needs one of those. That Robie land would be worth a considerable amount for residential development.

Same holds true for O'Regans down the road. Don't understand why they don't relocate to Kempt Rd.

[Colin May]

Originally Posted by Drybrain

I don't imagine council is legally empowered to do anything. Say Colonial wants to expand (which, after reading the Coast story again, seems more likely):

Council can't deny the demolition of non-heritage properties. (As we've discussed before, they can't even deny the demolition of heritage properties._

So the houses get torn down, and then choice will then be between the current dealership + some empty land, or an expanded dealership. Not much of a choice.

I'm disappointed Colonial would want to do this, but a lot more disappointed that the city's land-use laws are so feeble and out-of-date that it's basically impossible to stop them.

The Coast must read this forum. I know a number of journalists who read this forum.

On February 14 I posted the information re the Steele purchase here : http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...17#post7336417

[worldlyhaligonian]

Originally Posted by IanWatson

The Coast has a story about Steele Auto Group buying basically all the houses on Fern Lane, adjacent to Colonial Honda. The speculation is, of course, that they would want to expand their dealership. I think that would be a real step backwards for urbanism on the peninsula.

Definitely... I was always kind of hoping the car dealership would end up having a high density development where it is... instead of an open lot.

I know that the people who would normally disagree with me wouldn't be in favour of high density on the existing Colonial lot... but that would be a much better alternative that the tearing down of those houses.

Urbanism is about density that interfaces well with the street. Unfortunately now due to all of the misplaced anti-development rhetoric in Halifax, we'll probably end up with less defence for empty lots or developments that don't interface with the street well. This is the consequence of crying wolf for the wrong things.

If all these houses are torn town, it will be a shame for the feel of this neighborhood, even if it is rapidly gentrifying. Another Shoppers Drug Mart type expansion here will be just as bad as the empty lots further up Robie.

[worldlyhaligonian]

I will say this... I don't appreciate the underlying tone in anything the Coast produces.

The title of that article "Steele quietly buys up houses"... I mean, yeah, its quiet because we don't hear about everything that goes on in the world. Sure, it will be detrimental to the area if the houses are torn down, but the tone is immediately like there is conspiracy. There isn't... the problem is the policy environment, not that somebody didn't announce to everybody they were buying private property.

Its all a bit much most of the time and its why I can't take CBC or the Coast seriously. They could make their point without being douches.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by worldlyhaligonian

I will say this... I don't appreciate the underlying tone in anything the Coast produces.

The title of that article "Steele quietly buys up houses"... I mean, yeah, its quiet because we don't hear about everything that goes on in the world. Sure, it will be detrimental to the area if the houses are torn down, but the tone is immediately like there is conspiracy. There isn't... the problem is the policy environment, not that somebody didn't announce to everybody they were buying private property.

Its all a bit much most of the time and its why I can't take CBC or the Coast seriously. They could make their point without being douches.

Wholeheartedly agree. They make it sound like some sinister plot to rule the world. Statements like: "Steele snatched up Colonial Honda from 40 years of ownership by the Megaffin family back in December." make it sound like he sneaked in and stole the dealership when nobody was looking. It really makes it hard to take them seriously with "journalism" like that.

The reality of the situation is that it's a business. Steele appears to have bought properties to enlarge their cramped lot (having taken my car there for service in the past, I can assure you that they are challenged for space). If you look at the Google satellite view, you can see most of that block is already taken up by their sales lot and the buildings mentioned in the article will really have minimal impact on the neighborhood.

https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Rob...05b1f562f9ab35

I've long questioned why they kept their dealership in that location, but it has always been successful and in fact underwent major renovations not long ago, so from a business case point of view, this all makes perfect sense.

Really shoddy work by The Coast on this, IMHO.

[Drybrain]

Originally Posted by worldlyhaligonian

the problem is the policy environment, not that somebody didn't announce to everybody they were buying private property.

The policy environment is what blows me away. This 2016, not 1976. The idea that we're going to lose inner-city housing to expand a goddamn car dealership is a profound failure of city planning, even if the affected area is quite small.

Halifax is developing mostly in a positive direction, but most of that is in spite of the work of planners and policymakers, not guided by it. And most of the not-so-positive developments (bland architecture, threatened heritage, centrally located big-box stores) are directly related to a civic government that has little muscle on the policy and planning side of things.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by Drybrain

The policy environment is what blows me away. This 2016, not 1976. The idea that we're going to lose inner-city housing to expand a goddamn car dealership is a profound failure of city planning, even if the affected area is quite small.

Halifax is developing mostly in a positive direction, but most of that is in spite of the work of planners and policymakers, not guided by it. And most of the not-so-positive developments (bland architecture, threatened heritage, centrally located big-box stores) are directly related to a civic government that has little muscle on the policy and planning side of things.

I agree with your point on principal, but can't help thinking that perhaps this is being overblown a little.

Besides, wouldn't there be allowances for expansion of existing, "grandfathered" businesses? I realize that lines have to be drawn, and that rules have to be adhered to, but if you look at the satellite image below, the dealership lot in question (circled in red) is just a stones throw from a massive area of sprawling businesses with huge open lots (circled in yellow).

I'm wondering, given the scale involved, whether the city would be better off focusing their efforts on scaling back the massive wasteland in the yellow circle than singling out one dealership who is planning to tear down 4 structures to expand their existing lot.



I could certainly agree if somebody was planning to tear down a whole block to start a new car dealership in a residential area, but I can't help but think that this is much ado about nothing in this particular case.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

I could certainly agree if somebody was planning to tear down a whole block to start a new car dealership in a residential area, but I can't help but think that this is much ado about nothing in this particular case.

The problem is that this is a step in the wrong direction. I think it's terrible that there is so much crummy car-oriented sprawl on the peninsula, and it shouldn't be allowed to grow as it naturally tends do due to the way it degrades adjacent areas. Somebody could come back in 2025 and circle a "yellow" area that's twice as big, after the sprawl developments have taken out even more of the peninsula, and then argue for more expansion based on the argument you've put forward. Over a 30-40 year period this was the exact process that created the present situation. We're just seeing a brief snapshot of how it works right now.

Another issue is that businesses tend to operate just fine in cities with more modern planning rules. Halifax used to have a car dealership in the CBC building that did not have a huge parking lot. Many other cities still have car dealerships. The same thing goes for Shoppers.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by someone123

The problem is that this is a step in the wrong direction. I think it's terrible that there is so much crummy car-oriented sprawl on the peninsula, and it shouldn't be allowed to grow as it naturally tends do due to the way it degrades adjacent areas. Somebody could come back in 2025 and circle a "yellow" area that's twice as big, after the sprawl developments have taken out even more of the peninsula, and then argue for more expansion based on the argument you've put forward. Over a 30-40 year period this was the exact process that created the present situation. We're just seeing a brief snapshot of how it works right now.

Another issue is that businesses tend to operate just fine in cities with more modern planning rules. Halifax used to have a car dealership in the CBC building that did not have a huge parking lot. Many other cities still have car dealerships. The same thing goes for Shoppers.

Good points. It actually amazes me a little to think that lot of the businesses in the yellow area were allowed to expand within the last 10 years or so. The old Halifax Chrysler Dodge dealership that was on Kempt and Lady Hammond once had a 2-level parking situation that was torn down and not replaced when the current Subaru dealership was built. I think part of the issue with car dealerships anyhow is that they are becoming larger and more elaborate but there appears to be no means to limit the amount of surface parking allowed. It appears that massive surface lots are cheaper than multi-level lots so on it goes.

The old Scotia Chev Olds that was also occupied by CBC was a really interesting building with service bays and showroom below and the lot on the roof. Just down the street, on the corner of Sackville and Brunswick used to be Citadel Motors (Cambridge Suites is there now), which also used multi levels with the showroom on Brunswick street and the service area on the lower level on Market Street. These types of buildings used land much more efficiently and really interesting architecturally but have become a thing of the past (The Scotia/CBC building is literally about to become a thing of the past, unfortunately). Too bad.

Personally I would prefer the kind of dealership where they have one of each model available for viewing and test drives and a storage facility off-site in a less-obtrusive location where the actual vehicles for purchase would be kept. Service department around back with a small lot for vehicles to be serviced. Something that is a cross between Tesla's situation and the current would work well, IMHO.