Story about this in the Chronicle Herald, paywalled sadly:
https://www.saltwire.com/atlantic-ca...eys-100913218/
A few excerpts:
“ DARTMOUTH, N.S. — Vacant for years, the old sandstone Dartmouth post office could soon see new life — with a tower on top.
RHAD Architects, on behalf of property owner James Lawley, are appearing in front of HRM’s Heritage Advisory Committee next week to get permission to make significant alterations to the building for the massive residential development. Their plans are to build The Post, a mixed-use, 26-storey residential tower with townhomes and commercial spaces. It would have 142 residential units.
The 1914-era, two-storey building designed in the Edwardian Baroque style was added to HRM’s heritage registry in 2020 before it was sold to the developer in 2021.
Long before it was a post office, that land was the site for a Quaker Meeting House from 1785-1822. The site was also home to Dartmouth’s first school (where the parking lot is now) and fire station and the Halifax Explosion-demolished Central School.
And between 1880 and the early 1900s, six townhomes built there were known officially as Rudolf's Terrace after the property owner, but commonly referred to as "the Coloured Terrace" because of the African Nova Scotian residents.”
^^^Interesting history of which I was unaware.
More from the story:
“The addition will see the most change but beyond restoration, there will only be a few noticeable changes to the original 1914 building
The windows will be modified and a new door will need to be added to “accommodate residential use.” HRM staff said in their report to the heritage committee that the door isn’t an issue because it’s not visible from the public right-of-way.
Character-defining elements — like the sandstone, granite foundation, and inscription stone — will be preserved.
As for the addition, they plan to remove and then reconstruct the 1961 addition of the post office to turn into eight townhouse units. HRM staff say that this is fine because it is not original and does not have any character-defining elements.
The residential tower will be built on the west side of the property — taking out the parking lot that is there now. Two levels of underground parking will be added.
The First World War memorial will be restored and moved to the open space on the subject property, with added seating and lighting.
RHAD Architects wrote The Post will bring “much needed density to the downtown core” and was designed to minimize the impact on the original building.”
The mid- and high-rise portions of the project was “designed as a calm contemporary form, clad in white, to blend away on cloudy or foggy days.”
They say they designed the mid-rise and high-rise to have a minimal impact on the post office. The tower will connect to the heritage building by a glass breezeway on the second storey.
This kind of substantial alteration to a municipal heritage property will need approval from council, and council will also vote on the development agreement for the project. The heritage committee will vote on Wednesday whether to give it their blessing and send it to council or not.”
The renderings shown upthread do not seem to have changed much.
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