They better keep that stone wall though... they don't build them with that quality anymore... they use "cheap" looking stone. Except for on Coburg, they put in a nice new stone wall across from Dal near the tower at the corner of Oxford and Coburg.

Peter Polley (Spice and Jazz Condos) here... didn't know there was a thread on this project...

I have copies of both the UARB decision and the Court of Appeal ... if anyone wants copies, send me an email and I will send them to you ... pp@polycorp.ca

I have skimmed them...it's not exactly light reading... but it gives you a better feeling for what the builders and developers in this City put up with on a daily basis. Unbelievable !!!!!!! The local legal community is busting a gut at the tone of the decisions... both UARB and Court of Appeal obviously have no time for what transpired on these ... I may be jaded, but this stuff doesn't look good on anyone at HRM - from the lowest levels to the highest...

Peter Polley
POLYCORP

timely article about new construction
http://realestate.msn.com/blogs/list...3651&Gt1=35000

That is an interesting article. However, what it indicates is shoddy construction of a 9 year old apartment tower, not that new construction is not as good as it used to be. I am sure that a lot of wooden buildings have been poorly built also.

Just make tall buildings interesting like the new Trillium Tower. If they were all as nice as the Trillium Tower then you could put a couple of hundred on the peninsula and I would be happy.

Jet, this is a skyscraper forum, so most of us like tall buildings. I for one have always been very biased in favour of tall buildings and massive bridges (Halifax could use one like the Golden Gate Bridge). However, I would also like to see Halifax get a subway, stadium, new Metro Centre, convention centre, library, etc., etc., etc. For me, every time an interesting building is proposed in the HRM it is a great day.

Poorly built wood buildings have a tendency to fall apart. If a house has been around for 100 years, it has a good chance of being around for a couple hundred more. I too like tall buildings. The triliium will be excellent, as will the spire at kings Wharf (my neighborhood). What they are proposing for All Saints is neither tall or interesting, it's a box. What they propose to demolish is solid, interesting, and a nice complement to places like the trillium. People who like tall buildings can also decry what is lost. A good discussion forum should welcome divergent views. If we all agreed, how would that be interesting? JET
ps, nice graphic

I took out the skyscraper graphic since I didn't want to incite anyone (it is one of the skyscraperpage ones). (You quoted me before I had a chance to remove it).

I haven't seen a rendering of the proposal - do you have a link? I will also be disappointed if it turns out to be a featureless tower. It should be worthy of replacing the architecture that it replaces.

I saw something early on, http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia...h-seniors.html
but it wasn't a tower, just a short (8 story) box, not very interesting, I expect. Too bad you took out the graphic, I liked it. JET

Renderings?

Just got an update on this project. The diocesen centre and the three houses that belong to the church, will be torn down within the next month so that this project can start. I know that some of you like those old homes but I do the work in these and they have been let go on the inside for many years,and it would take alot of TLC for these to look new on the inside again.

I have no problem with these buildings being torn down.. but a retirement home?

This should be high density residential. It would've been amazing to see another fancy building go in across from the Trilllium.

The design of this thing better be nice. That is prime real estate.

It would take TLC, but they have good bones; if there is a will..
They are fine buildings. It will be a terrible loss. JET

No demolition yet but the construction trailer is on site so keep your eyes out over the next two weeks.

There still clearing the buildings out and moving their office to Quinnpool, the next few days everything should be done.

The houses on Tower have all the windows boarded up, demolition will no doubt be soon.:(

If there are no renderings yet it may be because the Shannex group plan to build a cookie-cutter box of the new Mother House that they built at Mount St. Vincent. That would be a great loss.


Cheap design & materials
http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&ie=...,293.76,,1,-10

It's not so bad - i mean, face it - it could be MUCH worse!

Yes indeed it could be worse. Like this mess stuck on the Convent of the Sacred Heart....

Cheap design
http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&ie=...,0.011662&z=17

It may not look like it will fit in; but give it time for the colour of the bricks to wear with being there and I suspect it will fit in better. Although the roof won't work well.

The brick may gain some character but the brown tin sided upper level will fade and the lower concrete block veneer (faux granite) will leach and stain. It will be then that people notice what a mistake this building is.

Part of the benefit of having a planning commission here in Calgary is that applications like this (since it would be considered downtown) would go through CPC for a review (if it were here in Calgary). Part of the make up of CPC is that there are 2 designers and one of the alderman has a passion for good design. I suspect if we had tried to get this through there would've been changes made.

This is where the design committee that HbD talked about becomes so much more important and I actually think it should grow to focus beyond downtown. So many urban developments could be improved by simple or even complex changes to design.

CPC here looks at apartment buildings over 60 units, all downtown applications, places of whorship over a certain size and a bunch of other things - I'd like to see the design committee do something similar. Ultimately it comes down to the Development Officer's decision though and perhaps it should be important for HRM to have people in the role who have design experience? If that's the case - nothing wrong with sending existing staff for some urban design courses to help them either.