[St. John's] Henry-Bell Condo Complex | 10- & 8-floors U/C | 1X25-30m Proposed

[statbass]

Originally Posted by JCE

I have been looking around for a condo to purchase in the St. John's area lately. Unfortunately when I inquired about this project. I was informed by real-estate agents that the Mix project has now been cancelled. Marconi is still a go as of now.

Unfortunate but not surprising. If this is indeed the case, hopefully another developer will take on this beast. This will probably mean starting over from scratch which translates to longer timelines. I wonder how this will affect sales for the Marconi project? I for one would not want to look out my window and see that derelict piece of $#!* every day.

[Horsell]

There might be a silver lining in this. The two buildings that make up the Mix have always been a problem. A couple of former developers wanted to tear them down and start from scratch but the regulations wouldn't allow them to be replaced by buildings the same height or higher. Maybe, just maybe, something can be done to finally allow that to happen in order to get this moving. I just grasping at straws here.

[Architype]

Originally Posted by Horsell

There might be a silver lining in this. The two buildings that make up the Mix have always been a problem. A couple of former developers wanted to tear them down and start from scratch but the regulations wouldn't allow them to be replaced by buildings the same height or higher. Maybe, just maybe, something can be done to finally allow that to happen in order to get this moving. I just grasping at straws here.

That's unfortunate news about the Mix, I thought it might have been a difficult project but still doable. Since it already exists, the regulations should allow it to be rebuilt at the same height. I also think it might be more suited to be converted to a hotel of some kind.

[Horsell]

I think your hotel idea would be great. The majority of units planned for The Mix were either 1 bedroom or studios which would lend themselves well to a suites hotel. The location is certainly prime and parking might not be an option either. The ground floor and the lower floor would work well for hotel amenities.

[Marty_Mcfly]

When I was downtown today I noticed all signage for the Mix have been removed from the building and the area in general (minus one poster on the office building next to the parking garage).

So sadly enough...I think that's the end of the Mix. And the end of any possibility of the NewTel building being developed at all. At this point any development to be proposed there won't be able to meet parking regulations.

So sad. That building is really....REALLY a huge eye sore, and there's nothing anyone can do about it with the current city regulations.

[BigRedSpecial]

It definitely is an eyesore, there is no disputing that, but IMHO it had so much potential, which makes it even sadder that it'll likely continue to deteriorate until it either gets torn down for a surface parking lot, or somebody decides to make a movie based on Fallout.

[SignalHillHiker]

I'm disappointed. The developer really tried at least, this obviously wasn't some ploy... but I bet we're going to be stuck with two abandoned buildings AND a parking garage now, instead of tolerating the parking garage to get rid of those two abandoned buildings.

[J_Murphy]

Originally Posted by Marty_Mcfly

When I was downtown today I noticed all signage for the Mix have been removed from the building and the area in general (minus one poster on the office building next to the parking garage).

So sadly enough...I think that's the end of the Mix. And the end of any possibility of the NewTel building being developed at all. At this point any development to be proposed there won't be able to meet parking regulations.

So sad. That building is really....REALLY a huge eye sore, and there's nothing anyone can do about it with the current city regulations.

I hope they get torn down ASAP. Don't really care anymore what happens, I just want to see the current structures gone. Not so much former CBC (Marconi), but especially former Newtel (Mix). I think it has been proven these structures are beyond repair and not feasible to renovate. Don't really care if something tall goes in their place, just something that looks nice.

[jthetzel]

Good news. A demolition permit was issued during July 8 to July 22 for 345 Duckworth Street (page 190 of http://www.stjohns.ca/sites/default/...%28R%29pdf.pdf ).

Anyone hear rumours of renewed development plans, or has the cost of liability finally overcome the cost of demolition?

[J_Murphy]

Originally Posted by jthetzel

Good news. A demolition permit was issued during July 8 to July 22 for 345 Duckworth Street (page 190 of http://www.stjohns.ca/sites/default/...%28R%29pdf.pdf ).

Anyone hear rumours of renewed development plans, or has the cost of liability finally overcome the cost of demolition?

I heard that the projects are still a go and haven't been cancelled as it appears to be. I've noticed there are two dumpsters placed on Duckworth next to the Mix development.

[ed0797]

Originally Posted by J_Murphy

I heard that the projects are still a go and haven't been cancelled as it appears to be. I've noticed there are two dumpsters placed on Duckworth next to the Mix development.

I walked past a couple construction workers under the MIX scaffolding the other day fighting over where they'd left the caution tape 😅

[Horsell]

Yes, I noticed that second dumpster as well plus some activity on the western side of the building. I wonder that the demolition permit is really for, whether it is for the whole building or just some portion. It might be a positive step or, heaven forbid, it might be a way to take the whole thing down and limit their liabilities from the standpoint of a vacant building. Let’s hope not, we don’t need another empty hole downtown.

One of the main reasons this building is still standing, and correct me if I’m wrong, is that to rebuild new on that site would have meant a four story height restriction. I know there was a lot of discussion of that and perhaps all the municipal plan amendments have been taken care of to increase the height, in which case demo and rebuild could make the most sense.

While the building has (had) some character, it probably can’t be confused as being “historic” because it really isn’t all THAT old, by historic building standards.
IF the plan is to move forward with the project, renovated or new, I can’t wait to see it happen, but if this is another case of “secret deals” down in the Bunker just to end up with a hole in the ground then some serious questions need to be asked and people need to be held accountable. Seems pretty hush hush to be buried in a table in an agenda

[niccanning]

IMHO - I've always thought Mix and Marconi were a scheme to allow for the parking garage. Mix especially never seemed viable and the design specs seemed like a half-assed front.

[Horsell]

I tried to dig up some recent news regarding The Hardman Group of Halifax, developers of this property and this popped up. Interesting.
http://thechronicleherald.ca/busines...of-unpaid-loan

[Marty_Mcfly]

In all honesty I'm not a fan of empty lots downtown either, but this would be the exception (NewTel building). Tear it down, if multiple developers can't find a way to work around the site limitations (rot, leaks, the weird floor offset), it's not worth the eyesore anymore. Council should consider being generous with this lot; if demo'd they should allow a higher-density/height structure to replace it.

[jthetzel]

Dave Lane mentioned that the demolition permit is for internal work ( https://twitter.com/jthetzel/status/625762622068129792 ). That alone does not shed light on what is ultimately to become of the site, but it will probably still be there tomorrow.

[Architype]

Originally Posted by jthetzel

Dave Lane mentioned that the demolition permit is for internal work ( https://twitter.com/jthetzel/status/625762622068129792 ). That alone does not shed light on what is ultimately to become of the site, but it will probably still be there tomorrow.

That's interesting, maybe they are going to demolish the building from the inside, so it will just collapse on its own, but it's more likely just that some interior demolition is required. The city should just permit a building of equal density on this site.

[Horsell]

I drove by there yesterday and noticed a lot of yellow bags in the dumpster, which to me would indicate the removal of hazardous material. Perhaps this is a positive sign because you wouldn’t bother disturbing that stuff unless you were serious about moving forward. Consider me glass half full!

[Gandelf]

I don't think this property is getting torn down.. My understanding is that the project is moving ahead and an announcement is imminent. Hope to see a construction sign up soon!

[Horsell]

Well I guess we now have our good news announcement about at least part of this development, the MIX portion.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfou...tals-1.3188152

Some time ago the website had changed a lot of their references to being a rental property and I think this really makes sense for that location. Obviously for the developer it is more of a long term commitment than condos so I guess they had to do what they had to do to line up funding and/or partners.