[Halifax] Promenade Robie South | 90 m | 31 & 30 fl | U/C

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

You can tell they are fake renderings designed to persuade Council to approve the application by the excessive number of bicycles shown.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Colin May

No children in the neighbourhood !

Children are sooooo passé.

They can easily be replaced with more immigrants..........

Having said this, this is an interesting looking development.

[Jstaleness]

I really like it personally. If the street level brick work in the rendering is true, that will look great. I can only imagine the views from the top. Not unlike Fenwick I'm sure, but at least a different vantage point.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by Jstaleness

I really like it personally. If the street level brick work in the rendering is true, that will look great. I can only imagine the views from the top. Not unlike Fenwick I'm sure, but at least a different vantage point.

I tend to have a negative reaction to this architectural style because it's been so poorly done in Halifax in the past, with fake decorative elements and shoddy brickwork. But we have seen some nicer masonry on a few newer projects so maybe this will be different.

If they plan to use sandstone that is a good sign, though maybe unlikely. Concrete blocks can look fine too. It is the precast panels with fake mortar joints or even foam glue on type decorations that are really bad. I haven't gone through the planning documents to see what they've specified. Sometimes they don't specify what they will use ahead of time.

[eastcoastal]

Originally Posted by someone123

I tend to have a negative reaction to this architectural style because it's been so poorly done in Halifax in the past, with fake decorative elements and shoddy brickwork. But we have seen some nicer masonry on a few newer projects so maybe this will be different.

If they plan to use sandstone that is a good sign, though maybe unlikely. Concrete blocks can look fine too. It is the precast panels with fake mortar joints or even foam glue on type decorations that are really bad. I haven't gone through the planning documents to see what they've specified. Sometimes they don't specify what they will use ahead of time.

Agree - I also feel like we don't have a great track record for quality when it comes to application of this style. Crossing my fingers the details will be well done...

[j.graham]

Anyone know if there's any progress on this? Charger just opened in one of the spaces that is slated for demolition, so it must be a little ways away.

[someone123]

This one has been updated: https://www.halifax.ca/business/plan...arlton-streets

[mleblanc]

Originally Posted by someone123

This one has been updated: https://www.halifax.ca/business/plan...arlton-streets

They looked a lot better before... It's like they made them look 15 years older? Not sure about the art deco-ish shift.

But hey, at least now they are both 30+ floors. Can't wait to see the outrage on this one, the NIMBYs we're already rallying hard against the shorter one.

I do like this still. We need more "Vancouver" style buildings with podiums and height like this.

[teddifax]

I love these... a throwback to old architecture and actually has some design, way better than a lot that has been built lately. I hope this goes through...

[alps]

I am mainly excited about the additional housing units. We have seen the cost of living on the peninsula rising quickly and the best way to combat this is simply to build a lot more housing. And this is a great spot for it (in terms of walkability & access to transit).

I also like the big retail space along Robie. I wonder if an urban-format supermarket serving the Dalhousie-area population could work there.

Surprised they are proposing nearly as many parking spaces as there are residential units. Other developers on the peninsula have been moving away from this since existing garages are half empty, and they aren't cheap to build. A glut of parking could encourage residents to drive who otherwise wouldn't.

I'm glad that enormous drop-off area is hidden from the street.

[someone123]

Here is the Robie Street side. Lower floors will have a masonry veneer while upper floors on the tower will be precast:

[worldlyhaligonian]

The materials will be make or break on this one. Don't mind the Deco.

Although they are going to move the existing houses of quality, I can see people fighting this to the end (that being said, it is mostly student housing across on Robie and in the current houses.)

It is a perfect site for walkability and transit. The Robie corridor is going to be impressive if everything ends up getting built.

[beyeas]

Originally Posted by worldlyhaligonian

The materials will be make or break on this one. Don't mind the Deco.

Although they are going to move the existing houses of quality, I can see people fighting this to the end (that being said, it is mostly student housing across on Robie and in the current houses.)

It is a perfect site for walkability and transit. The Robie corridor is going to be impressive if everything ends up getting built.

I agree on the materials.

The first thing that I thought of when I saw the rendering was some of the buildings along Central Park West. It's like the San Remo without the taller podium!

[Drybrain]

I still find the insistence on a faux-historic style a little off-putting but I think this is way better than the last version. Cleaner and simpler. Some nice touches here, like the stylish enclosures on the balconies, and the ground-floor sconces. If it's built to a high standard it'll be nice.

Also pretty optimistic about the sidewalk level.

[pblaauw]

People on the 15th floor will be able to sit on their balconies and wave at the medevac pilots as they come and go from the IWK (and the Infirmary!)

[atbw]

Originally Posted by pblaauw

People on the 15th floor will be able to sit on their balconies and wave at the medevac pilots as they come and go from the IWK (and the Infirmary!)

Looking down on the helicopters would certainly be fun for anybody up in the penthouse. With this being 29 storeys and a little higher on the peninsula, this is going to have some really incredible views.

[someone123]

One planning issue I foresee is that Robie Street is going to become a much more important corridor, with many large buildings (e.g. new hospital) and a BRT line, but right now most of it is heritage homes.

I hope the area is more than just a bunch of Robie and Cunard type scenarios where the homes get neglected for a while then demolished en masse. It would be better to target development on less historic sites while encouraging high-quality preservation of the rest. And it would be good to retain a mix of building scales rather than just some blocks of purely residential use houses and then other blocks with a single new building.

Another aspect that the city hasn't been great about is managing a graceful transition to medium density commercial while preserving the best of what's already there. Carefully filling in setbacks and empty space on lots, plus doing commercial conversions of old houses while retaining their heritage appearance. Or simply moving some of the nicer historic homes around instead of tearing them all down.

SGR between Cathedral Lane and Robie lackluster too. It could be dramatically better than what it is. People usually counter this by saying that this land is mostly either parks or privately owned so nothing can be done, but the city has a lot of tools at its disposal (mostly density bonuses + development controls). A thoughtful redevelopment of the 3 properties between Cathedral Lane and Sacred Heart could have a big impact. Imagine if Cathedral Lane were an Argyle Street type setup with large patio areas, but with more of a restaurant/cafe rather than bar feel.

[Drybrain]

Originally Posted by someone123

I hope the area is more than just a bunch of Robie and Cunard type scenarios where the homes get neglected for a while then demolished en masse. It would be better to target development on less historic sites while encouraging high-quality preservation of the rest.

I agree, though unfortunately I don't think there's any consideration of this in the Centre Plan. Though the Robie/Cunard block was in pretty rough shape for a long time, and were clearly awaiting demolition. Whereas many of the more historic buildings on Robie appear to be in better shape and I presume homeowner-owned.

IIRC, the FAR on many sites on the west side of Robie is pretty low, and that alone may prevent the street from being torn up too much.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by Drybrain

I agree, though unfortunately I don't think there's any consideration of this in the Centre Plan. Though the Robie/Cunard block was in pretty rough shape for a long time, and were clearly awaiting demolition. Whereas many of the more historic buildings on Robie appear to be in better shape and I presume homeowner-owned.

IIRC, the FAR on many sites on the west side of Robie is pretty low, and that alone may prevent the street from being torn up too much.

I think a lot of it depends on land assembly. A block with 8 different owners who don't want to move is going to be hard to develop. One with a single landlord is easier.

The Centre Plan already seems outdated, which isn't surprising since it took so long to bring into effect. The city is growing faster now, with a shift toward urban infill, and some other planning decisions happened later or don't seem to have fully been baked into the Centre Plan (BRT plan, hospital development).

To me the Centre Plan peninsula map looks almost like a description of what the current development level is rather than a plan for the future that sets the direction for how the urban core will grow as Halifax evolves from the city of 400,000 that it was when the plan was created to the city of 600,000 that it may be around 2035. One factor that doesn't come up much is that the older parts of the downtown core are getting built out. 5 years from now there won't be a lot of surface lots left to develop downtown, and development pressure will tend to shift to adjacent areas. Cogswell may relieve some of that (if the demolition of the interchange ever actually happens...).

[MolteN]

I'm excited for this proposal, and I hope to see it go through.