[Halifax] The Sister Sites | 2X29 m | 2X9 floors | Completed

[RyeJay]

It would be nice if this project began immediately, as to not let the library get too far ahead

[someone123]

Site prep for the first building is going to start in a matter of days. They will be tearing down a couple of buildings and then excavation will take about 6 months. It sounds like the plan is to begin excavation on the second building around the time they start working on footings for the first. There are going to be 520 parking spaces in total so presumably they have a fair amount of digging to do.

It will be great to see these under construction at the same time as the library. I think it will be very good to have Spring Garden Road seamlessly integrated into the surrounding neighbourhoods instead of being surrounded by a ring of surface lots as it was 10 years ago. The added population density, retail spaces, and amenities are also going to have a big positive impact.

[Nilan8888]

Site prep for the first building is going to start in a matter of days. They will be tearing down a couple of buildings and then excavation will take about 6 months. It sounds like the plan is to begin excavation on the second building around the time they start working on footings for the first. There are going to be 520 parking spaces in total so presumably they have a fair amount of digging to do.

So is that confirmed then? So far I've been hearing talk of breaking ground on the Sister Sites with caveats to the extent that they might not even get built, so it would be good to know that this is finally a definite.

[someone123]

This was a statement from the developer to the effect that he has permits in hand and plans to begin work in a matter of days. Not sure who was saying they might not get built. To me it seems like the whole development has progressed relatively quickly and routinely.

For all the attention the taller buildings get, I think this project is going to have a roughly equally large impact on the city. It is important to get population densities up and to have consistently built up neighbourhoods without big empty lots.

[eastcoastal]

Originally Posted by someone123

... I think it will be very good to have Spring Garden Road seamlessly integrated into the surrounding neighbourhoods instead of being surrounded by a ring of surface lots as it was 10 years ago. The added population density, retail spaces, and amenities are also going to have a big positive impact.

The conversion of these parking lots to retail and residential should be a marked improvement for much of the Spring Garden area. Combined with Trillium and City Centre, I hope to see the population increase support a more robust, and larger, services economy in the immediate area - things that are geared toward those who live there, not visit from other parts of the city once a week or from out of town even less often. I would expect that could lead to more population, and then significant pressure for more office space.

Perhaps I'm just being overly optimistic, but I feel like we're just about to ease past the tipping point.

[RyeJay]

Park Lane Mall will certainly be happy.

[Hali87]

Originally Posted by eastcoastal

The conversion of these parking lots to retail and residential should be a marked improvement for much of the Spring Garden area. Combined with Trillium and City Centre, I hope to see the population increase support a more robust, and larger, services economy in the immediate area - things that are geared toward those who live there, not visit from other parts of the city once a week or from out of town even less often. I would expect that could lead to more population, and then significant pressure for more office space.

Perhaps I'm just being overly optimistic, but I feel like we're just about to ease past the tipping point.

Consider that the Vic (recently completed), All Saints development (U/C), Fenwick redevelopment (?), YMCA/CBC redevelopment (?), and St. Mary's Basilica development (planned) are all also within a few blocks of Spring Garden/Queen, and I think the redevelopment between SGR and Doyle is also supposed to include residential. I think the bustle of Spring Garden will spill onto streets like Queen, Clyde, and South Park, creating more of a defined urban village rather than just a main street plus a couple perpendicular blocks to the north. Also, the Nova Centre (which again is supposed to include residential) will be 2 blocks away from Spring Garden/Grafton.

[teddifax]

Originally Posted by Hali87

Consider that the Vic (recently completed), All Saints development (U/C), Fenwick redevelopment (?), YMCA/CBC redevelopment (?), and St. Mary's Basilica development (planned) are all also within a few blocks of Spring Garden/Queen, and I think the redevelopment between SGR and Doyle is also supposed to include residential. I think the bustle of Spring Garden will spill onto streets like Queen, Clyde, and South Park, creating more of a defined urban village rather than just a main street plus a couple perpendicular blocks to the north. Also, the Nova Centre (which again is supposed to include residential) will be 2 blocks away from Spring Garden/Grafton.

Is the Nova Ctr having a residential component? I thought there were 2 office towers and a hotel! So there would be a tower for a hotel, an office tower and a residential tower?

[Phalanx]

The plan is/was for it to be office/hotel. Plan B was to convert some of the office space to residential if tenants couldn't be found.

[Hali87]

The residential component is not consistently mentioned in statements from the developer, but in the most recent public meeting, "residences" was listed as a component. I'm guessing it would be integrated into the hotel tower (like at Salter's Gate).

[RyeJay]

edit.

[Jonovision]

Just walked by the site. Barricades were up on Queen and were in the process of being set up on Birmingham and Brenton. I suspect that house will be coming down next week.

[kph06]

Excavation is imminent, fencing and barricades are going up.

[bluenoser]

Excellent news! I can't wait to see another crane across the street from the library one. With these two developments along with the chickeburger, this area will be unbelievably different in a couple of years.

[Dmajackson]

Work set to begin on Mary Ann project
November 28, 2012 - 7:24pm BY REMO ZACCAGNA BUSINESS REPORTER

Work on a downtown mixed-use development project is expected to begin within the next 10 days.

On Wednesday, barricades and fencing was in the initial stages of being erected around what is colloquially known as the Mary Ann lot, a 33,869-square-foot property bounded by Birmingham, Queen and Clyde streets.

A building will be demolished and excavation is slated to start within the next several days, said Wadih Fares, head of W.M. Fares Group.

...

(rzaccagna@herald.ca)

Read More: thechronicleherald.ca

[someone123]

Originally Posted by eastcoastal

Perhaps I'm just being overly optimistic, but I feel like we're just about to ease past the tipping point.

I don't really believe in "build it and they will come", but I do think there are "tipping points" where neighbourhoods enter into virtuous cycles: they improve, so they attract more people and businesses, then they get even better, and so on. This is limited by the strength of the local economy relative to other places (you have to have people who can move in and contribute to the economy) but lately Halifax has had a relatively good economy so that obstacle has been less important than in the past. In the future Halifax might even have a great economy; it might be the place where you find a great job rather than the city you have to take a pay cut to live in.

Part of why I like all this development so much is that I want to see busy neighbourhoods that look nice, and I think the city has great "bones" that allow for good neighbourhoods. I also think that it will make a big difference if Halifax can offer some urban neighbourhoods that are competitive with those of major North American cities. The best and brightest younger people now seem overwhelmingly interested in urban living. They're not going to move to cities that are limited to cookie cutter suburbia and weekends spent shopping at Wal-Mart. One day I hope that Halifax will be a true "major city" in the sense that it will be a well-known magnet for talented people and businesses to locate because it offers great quality of life.

[Hali87]

Originally Posted by someone123

I also think that it will make a big difference if Halifax can offer some urban neighbourhoods that are competitive with those of major North American cities. The best and brightest younger people now seem overwhelmingly interested in urban living. They're not going to move to cities that are limited to cookie cutter suburbia and weekends spent shopping at Wal-Mart. One day I hope that Halifax will be a true "major city" in the sense that it will be a well-known magnet for talented people and businesses to locate because it offers great quality of life.

Halifax is already starting to gain this sort of reputation. Though we lack things like an IKEA or a major league sports franchise, that's really about it. Based on what I've seen and heard, most urban-oriented young people would prefer to live in Halifax over anywhere else in Atlantic Canada (with maybe a handful choosing St. John's), anywhere in Ontario outside of the Ottawa area or Toronto proper (with a handful choosing London or Waterloo, mostly for work), or anywhere in the West other than Vancouver, Calgary, and possibly Victoria. The quality of life, urban environment, and availability of things to do that appeal to the 19-35yo demographic are actually considerably better in Halifax than in most Canadian cities of <2,000,000. The two things really keeping our growth in check, I think, are the historically lower wages/salaries (although as you pointed out, this has been changing) and our geographical isolation.

[RyeJay]

Originally Posted by Hali87

Based on what I've seen and heard, most urban-oriented young people would prefer to live in Halifax over anywhere else in Atlantic Canada (with maybe a handful choosing St. John's)

There are non-urban-oriented youth?

[Wishblade]

Originally Posted by RyeJay

There are non-urban-oriented youth?

Believe it or not their out there. I know several people in their 20's who prefer country living. I don't question them, but I certainly don't understand the appeal. The valley for instance is a nice place to visit but I would never want to live there.

[Hali87]

Originally Posted by RyeJay

There are non-urban-oriented youth?

Absolutely, and the fact that you didn't realize this says a lot about your experiences and why you have the opinions that you do. Most of the people aged 20-30 that I've met in the BC interior absolutely HATE cities (rather dogmatically, I'd say) and it would be hard to convince them to visit anywhere bigger than say Vernon (which is about the size and scale of Bedford-Sackville). The same goes for most (but not all) of that same demographic that I've met in rural Newfoundland, rural Alberta, and to a much lesser degree, rural NS (in most of rural NS I would say that there is a preference for a quieter/more outdoorsy lifestyle as well as an appreciation of cities; Cape Breton is the exception). One of the only Canadian cities that I've heard nearly universally good things about from people my age is, believe it or not, Thunder Bay. It comes down largely to where a person grew up (if they grew up in truck drivin', fishin' and huntin' lands where drunk driving is socially acceptable and things like homosexuality and cultural diversity are not, they either learned to Love it or Hate it), and it also comes down to the concept of positive vs. negative freedom: in rural areas there is a much bigger sense that you are "free to do whatever you want", while in good urban areas the sense is that you "have the options to do whatever you want", which is a subtle but very significant difference. But yes, a LOT of young people choose to live in the country, you probably just haven't met them yet.

Also, there are certainly people our age who choose the suburban lifestyle, for example, if they drive and have kids it's pretty much a no-brainer in my experience.