Development Rumours

[Hali87]

I think this was a different incarnation of that proposal (not sure which one is more recent):


Source

[resetcbu1]

Originally Posted by someone123

One of the most useful, practical things the Heritage Trust could do would be to lobby for some kind of program to do relocations similar to what happened with the Morris House..

It would be great to see that.... and maybe all into one area too, kind of a little heritage district full of all od Victorian style houses that could even become a sort of destination.The problem with that is finding an area in the urban core with enough land to accomodate something like that and cost, Uniacke square, if de-comisioned would be pretty good spot considering the existing neighborhood is already very much full of victorian homes maybe?

What is the deal with "The Square" anyway ? Is it owned or leased by the goverment? what are the future plans for it?

I am noy a big fan of the public housing being in conentrated in one big project like that , there are many better ways of dealing with subsidised housing....

[someone123]

Originally Posted by Hali87

I think this was a different incarnation of that proposal (not sure which one is more recent)

That's the one. I am pretty sure it's more recent, but I don't know anything about the plans for the site.

Another interesting rendering is the one for the rear of the Green Lantern building (it came out back when the UG building was a possibility too). There were a bunch of articles about plans to work on the building and I think the city even budgeted for some heritage district funding for the renos but, like with the NFB building, nothing has actually happened yet. If these projects do happen they will have a dramatic impact on the street.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by resetcbu1

I am noy a big fan of the public housing being in conentrated in one big project like that , there are many better ways of dealing with subsidised housing....

I think this is generally accepted today, but wasn't well-understood when Uniacke Square was first built. If you read accounts from the 50's and 60's, people thought about social problems in terms of a need for modern buildings and infrastructure. It turns out that's only one part of the equation. Probably the easiest part, but on its own it doesn't mean much because people destroy whatever you build for them if there isn't a good social order and sense of community (not suggesting that this necessarily happened in Uniacke Square, but it definitely did in some US housing projects).

I don't know much about the legal status of housing like Uniacke Square, or if there are plans to do anything with it. The St. Pat's-Alexandra site would be a good place to build some new mixed housing to replace the Uniacke Square townhouses.

[beyeas]

Originally Posted by Hali87

I think this was a different incarnation of that proposal (not sure which one is more recent):


Source

yeah that's the one I was thinking of. A MUCH better design, and fits in much better with the building next to it. That roof on the previous version is hideous.

[Jonovision]

When I walked by needs yesterday both of the signs had been taken down.

[someone123]

There was an article in ANS tonight about the Jazz condos. Apparently the plan now is to build Jazz after another as of yet undisclosed "huge" condo project somewhere in the city. For now Polycorp is working on Q Lofts.

[RyeJay]

Originally Posted by someone123

There was an article in ANS tonight about the Jazz condos. Apparently the plan now is to build Jazz after another as of yet undisclosed "huge" condo project somewhere in the city. For now Polycorp is working on Q Lofts.

Well..."huge" will hopefully mean at least 20-storeys.

[someone123]

I'll be happy even if it is another midrise building for the North End. Those are all starting to add up and make a difference.

Hopefully we will soon see a start on St. Joseph's and some of the other projects around there.

[Dmajackson]

Originally Posted by someone123

There was an article in ANS tonight about the Jazz condos. Apparently the plan now is to build Jazz after another as of yet undisclosed "huge" condo project somewhere in the city. For now Polycorp is working on Q Lofts.

Sounds good. Does Pete Polley still post on this forum?

[Jstaleness]

Originally Posted by Dmajackson

Sounds good. Does Pete Polley still post on this forum?

I'm certain that I saw his name in red "banned" when I was looking at old threads. *edit* I may have noticed someone else with a similar name. Pete is still blue as per his posts in the Jazz threads.

[someone123]

The was an article in ANS tonight about the tech startup incubator that has moved into the upper floors of the former TD Building on Spring Garden Road. The plan is for them to stay there for 3-4 years until the block is redeveloped. TEAL architects are working on the new plan and it's supposed to be ready in June. It's supposed to have some unusual lighting installations and/or video screens and have a Times Square/Hong Kong sort of feel.

I am looking forward to seeing the plans. There has been a lengthy debate on this forum about preserving some of the buildings, etc. but it is impossible to judge the value of the new proposal before we see what it is like. If it's interesting and there are some concessions to saving parts of the old buildings (they don't have to stay on the site, and they don't need to be 100% preserved) then it might be really positive for the street. I hope it is not just a mini-Yonge-Dundas project -- lighting and video screens can add interest, but people in Halifax are not going to like giant ads.

[Drybrain]

Originally Posted by someone123

The was an article in ANS tonight about the tech startup incubator that has moved into the upper floors of the former TD Building on Spring Garden Road. The plan is for them to stay there for 3-4 years until the block is redeveloped. TEAL architects are working on the new plan and it's supposed to be ready in June. It's supposed to have some unusual lighting installations and/or video screens and have a Times Square/Hong Kong sort of feel.

I am looking forward to seeing the plans. There has been a lengthy debate on this forum about preserving some of the buildings, etc. but it is impossible to judge the value of the new proposal before we see what it is like. If it's interesting and there are some concessions to saving parts of the old buildings (they don't have to stay on the site, and they don't need to be 100% preserved) then it might be really positive for the street. I hope it is not just a mini-Yonge-Dundas project -- lighting and video screens can add interest, but people in Halifax are not going to like giant ads.

Huh. I didn't know there was a tech incubator up there. That's cool. And, I might add, unlikely to exist in a pricier new construction, unless the space was subsidized in some way. That's part of the economic, rather than just aesthetic, argument for keeping old buildings around.

I agree the existing structures don't need to be 100 per cent preserved. A development is definitely possible that builds to the rear of the eastward ones, the TD Building is kind of meh, and I'm sure some imaginative architect could do something clever with BMO (it's a huge building after all).

Video screens do make me wary though. Times Square/Piccadilly Circus is one thing, but unless you can do that kind of scale it just looks cheap. I really dislike Yonge-Dundas as a public space, partly due to the video screens. (The Jesus/Allah guys screaming at each other might also have something to do with it).

[someone123]

The Dal arts program received a $10M donation today. They will be using some of this money to renovate the Dal Arts Centre (the building with the Rebecca Cohn auditorium): http://thechronicleherald.ca/artslif...ng-arts-school

[someone123]

An article about office development in ANS tonight mentioned the possibility that the Royal Bank Building on George Street could be converted to residential. Seems like a pretty good outcome for that building, particularly if they're able to open it up a little more at street level.

[Haligonian88]

Originally Posted by someone123

An article about office development in ANS tonight mentioned the possibility that the Royal Bank Building on George Street could be converted to residential. Seems like a pretty good outcome for that building, particularly if they're able to open it up a little more at street level.

Here's the building:

https://maps.google.ca/maps?ie=UTF-8...d=0CKQBEPwSMAE

It would take a lot of money to make this into an attractive residential building but with so many people working in the adjacent buildings I think it would make sense to look at converting it.

[Empire]

Originally Posted by Haligonian88

Here's the building:

https://maps.google.ca/maps?ie=UTF-8...d=0CKQBEPwSMAE

It would take a lot of money to make this into an attractive residential building but with so many people working in the adjacent buildings I think it would make sense to look at converting it.

It's unlikeley you would see much difference on the outside. I hope it remains for commercial / financial use.

[Nifta]

Yeah, it would be a shame as this is definitely the 'Financial/Business Core' of the city.

I'm all for more housing downtown, but not at the expense of existing commercial activities. If everything downtown becomes Residential then downtown becomes The Suburbs

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by Nifta

Yeah, it would be a shame as this is definitely the 'Financial/Business Core' of the city.

I'm all for more housing downtown, but not at the expense of existing commercial activities. If everything downtown becomes Residential then downtown becomes The Suburbs

You hear people every day stating with a straight face that "they" (whomever "they" are) should move the downtown to the suburbs to address the traffic problem of people trying to get to work. Like I said, there are a lot of stupid people out there.