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Old Posted Aug 31, 2011, 6:49 PM
halifaxboyns halifaxboyns is offline
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Join Date: Feb 2010
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Quote:
Originally Posted by beyeas View Post
yeah I totally agree. Agricola is prime for a north end version of Quinpool etc.
The great thing about Agricola is that when you compare the vehicle traffic there between that of Gottingen and Robie - it's got the least traffic of the three streets. So it opens up a huge amount of possibility in terms of looking at a Streetcar, which could enable a lot of high density in the area. I've talked about the E squared video series on Portland, which I will have with me when I come home in September. One thing that stuck out to me was the comment made by the owner of Powell's Books in the Pearl District (who was a big proponent of redevelopment) - people had faith in investing and building in the pearl district because it was permanent track transportation. It couldn't easily go away, like bus routes can. This enabled over $3 billion in private investment and development in the area.

Put a streetcar down Agricola and through the Hydrostone to downtown - I'm sure you could leverage just as much in Halifax and it wouldn't all have to be high rise towers, although if the game of the heritage trust has been to put the towers there - then lets play the game and do it and crank up the height.

I agree with Bluenoser's comment about the BMO building. It's a gorgeous building, one of only a few sandstone buildings in Halifax and should be retained. I'm sure there are ways that you can build a more modern building on the other lots and connect it to this building. If we could do it in Calgary for the Sandstone school in the Beltline (for the Calgary Board of Education's new HQ), I'm sure it can be done.
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