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Originally Posted by fenwick16
PS: Based on the fact that the Armour Group just completed the Park Place V in Burnside, maybe they simply put the Waterside on the back burner until that one was complete.
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I guess, but why would they demolish the properties immediately if this was the plan?
I can only speculate about motives but I think there is a tendency for developers to destroy heritage buildings as soon as possible to eliminate the possibility of preservation, which is always something brought up at council. Once the heritage buildings are gone there's one less reason to vote against awarding a development agreement.
Ultimately I believe the problem here rests about 90% with the HRM's extremely weak heritage regulations and lack of financial support for heritage buildings. I do not think that the Armour Group acted in the best interests of the city but that is not their responsibility. It is the job of the HRM.
The saddest part is that these weren't even derelict buildings. They had tenants. Now they're empty. I wonder what visitors think when they see this sort of thing. A couple blocks up on Barrington we have the same situation. The empty facade of the NFB building that has sat for 20 years. Downtown Halifax from Barrington to Lower Water reminds me very much of the downtowns of struggling industrial cities in the Midwest. Those cities have an excuse -- they've lost tons of industry and population. What's the excuse in Halifax? There is none. It's just horrendously managed.