HomeDiagramsDatabaseMapsForum About
     

Go Back   SkyscraperPage Forum > Regional Sections > Canada > Atlantic Provinces > Halifax > Halifax Peninsula & Downtown Dartmouth


Reply

 
Thread Tools Display Modes
     
     
     
     
  #1  
Old Posted Feb 13, 2010, 7:58 PM
Jonovision's Avatar
Jonovision Jonovision is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Posts: 5,004
[Dartmouth] Seagate Residences | 56, 54, 21 m | 15, 14, 7 fl | Proposed

There has been a fair amount of talk about these lands over the past few weeks and now finally an article with real information about what will be happening. Sounds great to me! And the information meeting for this is Monday the 15th at 7pm in the auditorium at DHS.

Highrises planned in Starr area


By CHRIS LAMBIE Business Editor

A three-building residential de velopment proposed for down town Dartmouth that’s estimated to cost as much as $60 million is about to get a public airing.

Darrell Dixon’s plan includes building a seven-storey complex on Ochterloney Street, beside the former Greenvale School, which

Dexel Developments is tur ning into a complex of 36 loft-style apartments.

Dixon, who didn’t return calls Friday, also wants to build a 14-storey tower on the corner of Queen and Pine streets, and a 22-storey building on a vacant lot behind the former school off the Pine Street Extension.

“We want to get as many people living downtown as we can," said Coun. Gloria McCluskey (Dartmouth Centre).

A public information meeting on the project is slated for 7 p.m. Monday at Dartmouth High School.

Sobeys Land Holdings Ltd . owns the chunks of property where Dixon plans to erect the seven storey and 22-storey buildings.

“They were going to put a gro cery store there," McCluskey said. “They only did it because they thought that Atlantic Super sto re

was going to buy part of the Starr Manufacturing property. And, of course, (the city is) not selling the Starr property, so So beys dropped it."

A numbered Nova Scotia com pany headed by Dixon owns the other nearby property where he wants to build.

“This developer has the Sobeys land under agreement, so he has a purchase-and-sale agreement with them," said Mitch Dickey, a city planner.

Under the current zoning, Dix on could now construct a 24-unit building on each of the four lots. The buildings could be as tall as 21 metres.

But Dixon, a construction man ager who does work for Shannex,

wants to create about 300 units, Dickey said.

The developer hasn’t told the planner whether they’ll be apart ments or condominiums. “That’s something he’ll let the market de­cide," Dickey said.

Dixon is asking the city for an amendment to the municipal planning strategy that would al low the three buildings he’s pro posed.

“What guides us on that is com munity feedback," Dickey said.

A lot of low-rise buildings have gone up in downtown Dartmouth over the past decade, he said.

“Generally the feedback is not good on how they look or what their quality is like," Dickey said. Locals who have already com mented on Dixon’s plan want to make sure the project is attrac tive and of good quality, he said.

“He’s proposing very modern buildings. The renderings are at tractive," Dickey said.

“He’s proposing a more tradi tional design for the Ochterloney Street building — something that would complement Greenvale School with a brick finish on it. And then the other two buildings would be more modern and con temporary."

The downtown plan calls for pe destrian- friendly streets. It aims to ensure new development brings people off the sidewalk right into a business, Dickey said. The plan wants to promote “lively streetscapes . . . with a va riety of architecture," he said.

“At the sidewalk level, build ings should really not exceed three storeys in height. They would have to step back for any level above the third floor, and that’s what (Dixon’s) showing for this proposal."

The city will likely require him to have commercial space in the largest building, which abuts the former Starr Manufacturing site. Besides the former skate facto ry, levelled a decade ago, the site also borders the Shubenacadie Canal.

As part of his proposal, Dixon is offering to fund improvements to the public space called the Canal Greenway, which runs down Prince Albert Road from Sulli vans Pond to Halifax Harbour.

(clambie@herald.ca)
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #2  
Old Posted Feb 13, 2010, 8:31 PM
jasonashhh jasonashhh is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: dartmouth
Posts: 32
Wow what a boom that would be for the downtown area with Kings wharf already starting and this one that may start. If all goes well i could see downtown Dartmouth having more highrises then the Halifax downtown. I hope too see more projects coming into the Dartmouth side anyways seeing Halifax is just a reject. Lett herrrr flyyyy!
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #3  
Old Posted Feb 13, 2010, 9:37 PM
ZET ZET is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 60
Probaly best to rename this thread since that part of Pine Street is being renamed Irishtown Road fairly soon. ZET
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #4  
Old Posted Feb 13, 2010, 11:05 PM
hfx_chris hfx_chris is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Dartmouth, NS
Posts: 1,450
Quote:
Originally Posted by ZET View Post
Probaly best to rename this thread since that part of Pine Street is being renamed Irishtown Road fairly soon. ZET
That's silly and makes no sense what so ever.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #5  
Old Posted Feb 14, 2010, 1:03 AM
ZET ZET is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 60
Quote:
Originally Posted by hfx_chris View Post
That's silly and makes no sense what so ever.
http://www.halifax.ca/planning/docum...ctSheetPIM.pdf

Hey Chris, I'm not making this stuff up. It was originally reported by Bedford DJ. Sounds better than Pine St extension. ZET
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #6  
Old Posted Feb 14, 2010, 4:57 PM
Jonovision's Avatar
Jonovision Jonovision is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Posts: 5,004
That is true. I forgot about the rename. Can a moderator change the name please.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #7  
Old Posted Feb 15, 2010, 4:00 AM
hfx_chris hfx_chris is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Dartmouth, NS
Posts: 1,450
Quote:
Originally Posted by ZET View Post
Hey Chris, I'm not making this stuff up. It was originally reported by Bedford DJ. Sounds better than Pine St extension. ZET
I never said you were. And I don't know one Dartmouth resident who ever refers to this two block section of road as Pine Street Extension - that may be its name on paper, but in normal use it's just Pine Street - which sounds a hell of a lot better than Irishtown Road.

Reply With Quote
     
     
  #8  
Old Posted Feb 13, 2010, 11:10 PM
Dmajackson's Avatar
Dmajackson Dmajackson is offline
Moderator
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: B3K Halifax, NS
Posts: 9,310
Quote:
Originally Posted by ZET View Post
Probaly best to rename this thread since that part of Pine Street is being renamed Irishtown Road fairly soon. ZET
Fairly soon in the case means tomorrow ...
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #9  
Old Posted Feb 17, 2010, 3:15 AM
Dmajackson's Avatar
Dmajackson Dmajackson is offline
Moderator
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: B3K Halifax, NS
Posts: 9,310
I have a hard time imagining a 23 storey building in Dartmouth. There are no comparable heights on that side of the harbour to get a scale for the project.

That being said if it is of high quality and has setbacks then the buildings might look great in the background of Dartmouth's ever expanding skyline.

I guess two questions I have for whoever attended the meeting is will most of the lots be covered by a base for the taller buildings? and if I'm not mistaken these lots are at a bottom of a steep hill so how much of the taller building would be hidden from the local streets/waterfront?
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #10  
Old Posted Feb 17, 2010, 12:34 PM
fenwick16 fenwick16 is offline
Honored Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Toronto area (ex-Nova Scotian)
Posts: 5,558
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bedford_DJ View Post
I have a hard time imagining a 23 storey building in Dartmouth. There are no comparable heights on that side of the harbour to get a scale for the project.

That being said if it is of high quality and has setbacks then the buildings might look great in the background of Dartmouth's ever expanding skyline.

I guess two questions I have for whoever attended the meeting is will most of the lots be covered by a base for the taller buildings? and if I'm not mistaken these lots are at a bottom of a steep hill so how much of the taller building would be hidden from the local streets/waterfront?
There is Queen Square which is a 18 story office building. Since office buildings have higher storey heights (usually about 13-15 feet per story for an office building versus about 10 feet per storey for an apartment building) this would be equivalent to about a 24 storey apartment building.

I just hope that new developments in Dartmouth will be built a bit more aesthetically pleasing than the Queen Square.

Last edited by fenwick16; Apr 24, 2010 at 2:25 PM.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #11  
Old Posted Feb 17, 2010, 1:44 PM
JET JET is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,811
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bedford_DJ View Post

I guess two questions I have for whoever attended the meeting is will most of the lots be covered by a base for the taller buildings? and if I'm not mistaken these lots are at a bottom of a steep hill so how much of the taller building would be hidden from the local streets/waterfront?
It looked like the nine story building would cover most of the lot on Ochterloney (not such a great thing, if true), the 23 story building would have a base that would cover the entire lot of the old bowling alley, with maybe shops on the main floor facing the canal grreenway. The builing looked fairly wide east-to-west. The laundromat/parking lot (14 story building looked to fill the entire lot. Some one mentioned mentioned that the top of the tall builing was the same height as the top of brightwood. The main floor of the tall bulding is probably the same level as the surface at the kings wharf lands, and some ppalces would have a good view of it; if it doesn't get reduced in height. My main cocern was the crowding on Greenvale; a bit tight and looming. JET
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #12  
Old Posted Feb 17, 2010, 5:50 PM
hfx_chris hfx_chris is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Dartmouth, NS
Posts: 1,450
Agreed, Greenvale would be squished... that's a huge shame, I'm seriously considering this building...
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #13  
Old Posted Feb 17, 2010, 6:13 PM
JET JET is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,811
Quote:
Originally Posted by hfx_chris View Post
Agreed, Greenvale would be squished... that's a huge shame, I'm seriously considering this building...
As jonovision mentioned, the pictures for the three buildings were only preliminary. He probably shot for big expecting they would need to be pared down. Greenvale and the canal area are a primary focus of any proposals being considered. I noted that some of the lofts at greenvale will have patios on the east side facing Cobb park. JET
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #14  
Old Posted Feb 18, 2010, 2:15 PM
canada90's Avatar
canada90 canada90 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 18
is there any photos or visualations..? how this project will look like
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #15  
Old Posted Feb 18, 2010, 2:37 PM
JET JET is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,811
Quote:
Originally Posted by canada90 View Post
is there any photos or visualations..? how this project will look like
There were some at the meeting, and Mitch Dickey from planning had mentioned trying to post them on the city website. There wasn't a drawing showing how all the buildings would fit on the lots, which would have helped.
PS Welcome to the Forum. JET

Last edited by JET; Feb 18, 2010 at 4:23 PM.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #16  
Old Posted Feb 18, 2010, 3:48 PM
Empire's Avatar
Empire Empire is offline
Salty Town
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Halifax
Posts: 2,060
Quote:
Originally Posted by canada90 View Post
is there any photos or visualations..? how this project will look like
The 14 & 23 storey buildings are far too basic. Granted they are only sketches at this point but they don't instill any confidence that they will be great looking buildings. I think this is a huge mistake by the developer. The reference to glass curtain wall is not obvious. There is a similarity to nearby Seacoast tower which is all bad. If he is really trying to build a 23 storey building in a two storey neighbourhood then I feel the approach is way off base. The 14 & 23 storey buildings are identical in design (whatever that is)?

I think the developer would have a much greater chance of getting the taller buildings approved if they looked like some of the buildings on Central Park West in New York. Much less detail of course but more of that type of design than just a box like the ugly buildings beside MicMac Mall.
__________________
Salty Town

Last edited by Empire; Feb 18, 2010 at 4:05 PM.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #17  
Old Posted Feb 18, 2010, 4:35 PM
Jonovision's Avatar
Jonovision Jonovision is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Posts: 5,004
Quote:
Originally Posted by Empire View Post
I think the developer would have a much greater chance of getting the taller buildings approved if they looked like some of the buildings on Central Park West in New York. Much less detail of course but more of that type of design than just a box like the ugly buildings beside MicMac Mall.
I think the reference to the Horizon towers is a bit far. Those are drab concrete boxes. This proposal is calling for curved glass towers full of balconies. Much much better then the towers by MicMac. And I think towers similar to those along Central Park in NYC would feel much more heavy and dominant in the area. Glass at least reflects the sky and has less of an impact. Big stone towers would feel like giant monoliths.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #18  
Old Posted Feb 18, 2010, 4:58 PM
Empire's Avatar
Empire Empire is offline
Salty Town
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Halifax
Posts: 2,060
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jonovision View Post
I think the reference to the Horizon towers is a bit far. Those are drab concrete boxes. This proposal is calling for curved glass towers full of balconies. Much much better then the towers by MicMac. And I think towers similar to those along Central Park in NYC would feel much more heavy and dominant in the area. Glass at least reflects the sky and has less of an impact. Big stone towers would feel like giant monoliths.
They may be calling for curved glass towers but they were showing square precast boxes.
__________________
Salty Town
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #19  
Old Posted Feb 18, 2010, 5:41 PM
JET JET is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,811
Quote:
Originally Posted by Empire View Post
They may be calling for curved glass towers but they were showing square precast boxes.
Empire, were we at the same meeting? The tall building was anything but a square box. It seemed too big for the space, but the design was fine. JET
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #20  
Old Posted Jun 3, 2010, 5:18 PM
FuzzyWuz FuzzyWuz is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 350
Before it became clear that it would be a park I was imagining the starr site would look great with a hydrostone market type development. I imagined it running along the newly opened up section of canal with the public able to walk its length as they window shopped. Three to five stories with commercial on the ground floor and condos or apartments above.
Reply With Quote
     
     
This discussion thread continues

Use the page links to the lower-right to go to the next page for additional posts
 
 
Reply

Go Back   SkyscraperPage Forum > Regional Sections > Canada > Atlantic Provinces > Halifax > Halifax Peninsula & Downtown Dartmouth
Forum Jump


Thread Tools
Display Modes

Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 8:29 AM.

     
SkyscraperPage.com - Archive - Privacy Statement - Top

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.