[Halifax] SoHo Square (1212 Hollis) | 24 m | 7 fl | Completed

[Dmajackson]

New proposal for the corner of Hollis & South where in 2010 fire destroyed a row of Victorian townhouses. The Metlej's are proposing to construct a 7-storey, 63-unit residential building with 66 underground parking spaces. There will be 7 ground floor commercial pads ranging from 315 - 1635 sq ft. The building will be mostly clad in brick and glass with some wood trim. Amenity space will be located on the roof. In the public realm the building will be set-back from South Street to allow for patios and the sidewalk will be widened along Hollis Street.

Design Review Committee Report

[xanaxanax]

Thought this spot allowed for much taller, it should be much taller with residential. I thought I read on here waye saying he would support 14+ stories or something

[Drybrain]

The rendering is all covered in weird green and purple overlays—is that in the PDF or is my computer wonky?

Anyway, from what I can tell, I'm impressed—the front-facing facade looks like it might be a little too busy, but overall the materials and colours look good, and it works well along the sidewalk.

Of course I can't help but wish to get the row of Victorians back—a solid row of brick townhouses is extremely rare in Halifax, and that was probably the last best example. But I'm happy to see that the replacement won't be some tacky piece of junk.

[IanWatson]

Originally Posted by xanaxanax

Thought this spot allowed for much taller, it should be much taller with residential. I thought I read on here waye saying he would support 14+ stories or something

The Barrington South height precinct was amended recently and that site saw its maximum height increase from 13.7 m to 22 m. So this proposal is topping out what the recent amendments allowed.

This looks great in my opinion, and I'm really excited to see the sidewalks widened.

[xanaxanax]

OK thanks I was unclear with what happened with that, thought it was a lot more.

Maybe a building called The Gromit can be built somewhere close by on Hollis street and can have the Wallis and Gromit

[curnhalio]

Originally Posted by xanaxanax

Maybe a building called The Gromit can be built somewhere close by on Hollis street and can have the Wallis and Gromit

I think the only way that works is if it's built next door. Then you look at it from across the street and you see The Wallis, and The Gromit.

[counterfactual]

WHILE I SUPPORT DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT, I CANNOT SUPPORT THIS DEVELOPMENT FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS:

Too tall.

Will create a wind tunnel.

Will cast a shadow across the street.

Will bring too many people to area.

Will create traffic.

Will endanger me and my children. DANGER!

May devalue surrounding property.

Out of character with neighbourhood.

Fails to respect historical development of local area.

I don't like people.

I really, really, don't like people.

Or students.

Will block the sun from my urban garden.

One day, I *may* build something on an empty lot near here, and require a greater set back protruding 20ft into this property.




There, now. I've pretty much summarized the comments about this proposal at the first two public feedback sessions,. Can we thus skip those and put it directly to a vote?

[ILoveHalifax]

Originally Posted by counterfactual

WHILE I SUPPORT DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT, I CANNOT SUPPORT THIS DEVELOPMENT FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS:

Too tall.

Will create a wind tunnel.

Will cast a shadow across the street.

Will bring too many people to area.

Will create traffic.

Will endanger me and my children. DANGER!

May devalue surrounding property.

Out of character with neighbourhood.

Fails to respect historical development of local area.

I don't like people.

I really, really, don't like people.

Or students.

Will block the sun from my urban garden.

One day, I *may* build something on an empty lot near here, and require a greater set back protruding 20ft into this property.




There, now. I've pretty much summarized the comments about this proposal at the first two public feedback sessions,. Can we thus skip those and put it directly to a vote?

And it looks like the old apartment building at the corner of Bayers Rd and Connaught Ave.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by ILoveHalifax

And it looks like the old apartment building at the corner of Bayers Rd and Connaught Ave.

Like looking into a crystal ball and seeing what it will look like in 40 years...

[spaustin]

Looks like a good solid mid-rise. I like the mix of small commercial space at the ground floor. Great opportunity for a bunch of small businesses to add life to the corner. I lived in the Elmwood Hotel (yellow place on the corner) when the fire happened. Several years ago now! It will be great to see something happen here as the loss of the townhouses really punched a hole in the streetscape. I'm kind of surprised though that this isn't a much larger block-spanning proposal. It's my understanding that Galaxy Properties (owned by the Metlej clan) has bought up the whole block. Relieved that the old Elmwood Hotel isn't coming down, but I'm curious as to what their plans are for it.

[Drybrain]

Originally Posted by spaustin

I lived in the Elmwood Hotel (yellow place on the corner) when the fire happened. Several years ago now! It will be great to see something happen here as the loss of the townhouses really punched a hole in the streetscape. I'm kind of surprised though that this isn't a much larger block-spanning proposal. It's my understanding that Galaxy Properties (owned by the Metlej clan) has bought up the whole block. Relieved that the old Elmwood Hotel isn't coming down, but I'm curious as to what their plans are for it.

I actually have some friends who just a couple of months ago moved into the Elmwood. It's a bit on the run-down side, but it's still a pretty cool building inside--lots of original features and architectural details. I think it'd be an ideal condo conversion or high-end rental if renovated, as long as they added some soundproofing.

If Galaxy does own it, it may be safe--there was a Chronicle Herald story right after the fire in which Tony Metlej said he'd bought the townhouses specifically because he liked them, and no intention of demolishing and redeveloping the property. Bit of a shame that the fire happened here, of all places--the block was probably safe in his hands.

In any case, if he owns the Elmwood, maybe he feels the same about it. I could see a reno'd Elmwood and this new project doing wonders for the park area.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by Drybrain

I actually have some friends who just a couple of months ago moved into the Elmwood. It's a bit on the run-down side, but it's still a pretty cool building inside--lots of original features and architectural details. I think it'd be an ideal condo conversion or high-end rental if renovated, as long as they added some soundproofing.

And then there would be a protest march in the park railing against the eviction of the poor tenants and decrying the gentrification of the area. With full coverage in the Coast, of course.

[ILoveHalifax]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

And then there would be a protest march in the park railing against the eviction of the poor tenants and decrying the gentrification of the area. With full coverage in the Coast, of course.

If only we had left the city like it was back in the 40s and 50s with large areas of slums everywhere, everything would be perfect.

[JET]

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v...type=2&theater
in looking at this video and website, there were a lot of stone buildings that were lost. There is a picture on this website of the Pentagon building from the side opposite the 'prow'. It was an impressive building, so many old stone building were razed to make cogswell, quite a shame.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by JET

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v...type=2&theater
in looking at this video and website, there were a lot of stone buildings that were lost. There is a picture on this website of the Pentagon building from the side opposite the 'prow'. It was an impressive building, so many old stone building were razed to make cogswell, quite a shame.

I didn't notice anything related to the Pentagon, perhaps I missed it. The only stone-like building I saw was the one right on the water at the foot of George St, which was not related to Cogswell.

Most of what they show was not in any way remarkable, just old even at the time of the photos.

[someone123]

I liked the rows more but this looks OK.

Brick rows are a smaller percentage of the housing stock in Halifax than they are in, say, Toronto, but I wouldn't call them extremely rare. There are a few around Brunswick St/Portland Pl in the North End, Jubilee, and parts of the North End/Central Halifax (often painted or stucco). The Hydrostone rows are also pretty nice. I can think of a bunch of other little sets of brick rows and townhouses around the city.

I do think that there isn't a good sense of the rarity of some of these building types or their impact of the character of the city. For example, I could see some decent pre-war masonry buildings coming down on Spring Garden Road even though they are only maybe 20% of the building stock at this point and could pretty easily be conserved. I think the root cause of this is that, in practice, the decision on whether or not to save buildings is happening piecemeal and is mostly driven by and expected to be bankrolled by individual property owners. The municipal and provincial governments should do a better job of coordinating heritage preservation and supporting owners of heritage buildings with tax breaks in recognition of the fact that part of their investment is primarily of public rather than private benefit. Right now this public benefit is not being valued correctly and a tiny public cost is being turned into proportionately much larger, optional private cost. It's pretty obvious why the system doesn't work well.

[someone123]

Rendering from the report:

[JET]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

I didn't notice anything related to the Pentagon, perhaps I missed it. The only stone-like building I saw was the one right on the water at the foot of George St, which was not related to Cogswell.

Most of what they show was not in any way remarkable, just old even at the time of the photos.

on the main page with the photos, they are grouped in years. In the fourth set of photos, 2010, on the right side of the page, fourth row from the bottom, is the other , wide side, of the pentagon. Reminds me of the back side of the Flatiron building in NY, much different than the narrow end.
You weren't impressed by Saint Mary's School Barrington Street?, that was a lovely building.

[counterfactual]

I like it. I think they've integrated the brick and glass nicely.

[Colin May]

Originally Posted by someone123

Rendering from the report:

Has anyone else noticed the number of condo units with blinds down during sunny days ?
Discuss