A big "what if"

[TheGreenBastard]

I want to preface this: This is definitely a controversial topic, I know, but I think it could inspire some interesting discussion.

Now, the what if:

What if in 10, 20 years from now, there is a proposal to demolish St. Matthew's Church in favour of redeveloping the land for potentially better use, what would you say?


Church in question:

[pblaauw]

That's St Paul's. St Matthew's is next to Maritime Centre.

[portapetey]

If you actually mean St. Paul's, there would be no controversy because the idea would be shut down faster than you could blink.

It's the oldest building in the city (1750), one of top 10 oldest in Canada outside of Quebec, and a National Historic Site as well as a provincial Heritage Property. And a whole bunch of other things.

It would never even be considered.

[Drybrain]

It`d never happen, for reasons other posters already stated, but just to imagine some wild hypothetical universe where the building property become private property and such a thing is proposed...

No way, and I`d say the same thing if it were just a little shack and not a proper church. My thought is that there could be no `better use` because the property already occupies a unique and critical role in the city`s architectural and historic milieu.

No degree of additional density or contemporary architectural achievement would be worth trading something so steeped in the history of the city, region, nation. It`s one of those few places in the city where I`d argue that change is under no circumstances permissible.

[JET]

I like this game, I'll try one:
What if they put a 30 storey Iconic Tower in the Parade Square of Citadel Hill?
There must be lots of similar 'what ifs . . .

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by JET

I like this game, I'll try one:
What if they put a 30 storey Iconic Tower in the Parade Square of Citadel Hill?
There must be lots of similar 'what ifs . . .

I'll bite. What if the city sold the Grand Parade block to Westwood so they could tear down St. Paul's and the City Hall building in order to fill the entire block with a 3-storey condo building adorned with pre-cast concrete and vinyl siding?

What if the province, tired of spending money on maintaining the Province House structure, moved the legislature to the soon-to-be vacated WTCC and tore down the existing Province House building to leave it vacant for the next 50 years?

What if the Nova Centre was hollowed out and converted to the world's largest combination indoor bungee jumping/rock climbing facility?

This is fun!

[Drybrain]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

What if the Nova Centre was hollowed out and converted to the world's largest combination indoor bungee jumping/rock climbing facility?

Yes, please.

[Keith P.]

I am amazed nobody has suggested bulldozing Citadel Hill and building a new big-box downtown shopping center on the newly-developable land. As an added bonus, we could use the fill created to construct berms and dykes around the waterfront to protect us from the supposedly inevitable sea level rise. Win-win.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

I am amazed nobody has suggested bulldozing Citadel Hill and building a new big-box downtown shopping center on the newly-developable land. As an added bonus, we could use the fill created to construct berms and dykes around the waterfront to protect us from the supposedly inevitable sea level rise. Win-win.

Only if we get a huge surface parking lot as part of the deal...

[TheGreenBastard]

So...yes?

Great experiment. Thanks guys!

[TheNovaScotian]

I had to get in on this.
What if..we build the Harbourview Parkway as originally planned?
What if we built a Massive water park / aquatics centre where the Centennial Pool, Drum, and the Red Cross building is now? You can use the new surface parking lot where the Hill used to be.

[portapetey]

Put a dome over George's island, and turn it into a SpongeBob-themed aquarium. Or the world's biggest snowglobe.

[OldDartmouthMark]

What if Halifax could heat all their roads and sidewalks using geothermal energy, thereby eliminating the need for plowing and deicing salts?

https://www.halifax.ca/energy-enviro...rmalEnergy.php

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

Only if we get a huge surface parking lot as part of the deal...

Well, that goes without saying.

[scryer]

What if an ambitious Prime Minister signed a trade agreement with several European, African, Caribbean, and South American countries? Would that affect Halifax in a major way?

[terrynorthend]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

I am amazed nobody has suggested bulldozing Citadel Hill and building a new big-box downtown shopping center on the newly-developable land. As an added bonus, we could use the fill created to construct berms and dykes around the waterfront to protect us from the supposedly inevitable sea level rise. Win-win.

I do remember a serious (well to him anyways) proposal by former Mayor Wallace to hollow out Citadel Hill and put underground parking in it. That man was comedy gold. CBC supper hour news used to have a segment where the anchor chatted with the two Mayors once a week. Ron Wallace came up with some doozies! The best was when he told John Savage that the greatest quality of Dartmouth is its view of Halifax.

[portapetey]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

What if Halifax could heat all their roads and sidewalks using geothermal energy, thereby eliminating the need for plowing and deicing salts?

https://www.halifax.ca/energy-enviro...rmalEnergy.php

I have wondered if there was any practical / feasible way to do that exactly that with my driveway. Any tips?

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by portapetey

I have wondered if there was any practical / feasible way to do that exactly that with my driveway. Any tips?

Maybe you could get a federal infrastructure grant from Junior and spend millions to find out.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by portapetey

I have wondered if there was any practical / feasible way to do that exactly that with my driveway. Any tips?

There are many out there, most of which involve using a heat pump, some which work in conjunction with solar heating. In a sense it seems a bit wasteful, as you are using a lot of energy that basically just goes to waste changing water from a solid to a liquid state, and then you have to deal with the runoff which will freeze as soon as it leaves the heated portion of your driveway.

There's lots of info on the net if you do a search for it. For me the good ol' shovel and scoop are adequate, and a good form of exercise.

[beyeas]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Maybe you could get a federal infrastructure grant from Junior and spend millions to find out.

If only he wanted to integrate a gazebo into it he could have gotten the Harper government to pay for it from Clement's $50M infrastructure/pork-barrel fund .