In today's Halifax Chronicle Herald, ROGER TAYLOR / Business Columnist says Halifax’s prosperity may not represent rest of N.S.. He indicated that LIVING AND WORKING in the booming Halifax area could lead one to falsely believe the Nova Scotia economy is booming.

Personally I think prosperity in the leading city of an area will inevitably benefit entire province/region. However, My question is, on this forum, I haven't seen a lot of discussions about projects and commerce in the HRM. Do you guys agree that Halifax's economy is booming?

Here is a list of construction projects compiled by the province: http://www.gov.ns.ca/finance/publish/conact/ca0602.pdf

quite a bit for the size .

If it is, I haven't noticed. It just seems normal to me. Any normal, western economy would seem "booming" when compared to the dismal state of many areas of the province. But of course, there r quite a few new housing developments; both condominium and detached home types.

I think roger taylor does get it right and there is actually a divide between the capital city and the rest of the province for the simple fact that nova scotia's capital region is the largest city in the region and province. When you think of many states and province the capital city is not the largest city and thus development may be a little different.
In the atlantic provinces 3 of the 4 provincial capitals are the largest cities. go south of the broader and in many cases the state capital is not the largest city. In canada there is a trend to have strong central governments and in halifax's case you have locals who tend to try to promote every single white elephant idea under the sun.
Economic growth according to Roger Taylor seemed to be heavier in the HRM then the rest of the province which is true. Economic growth is down in some areas because of local factors . An example is the strait of canso region and the Stora Papermill lockout/labour dispute. People might say it is only 600 jobs but it is actually much more then that and wider in effect. Stora is the biggest private user of nova scotia power electricity at 15 percent. When you take out the wood suppliers to stora including the people working in the woods and truckers for the wood for stora and the coal for the electric plant in the area you have negative growth for that area. Car dealers feel it, Restaurants
feel it but halifax does not feel it.

Halifax is a government based economy the rest of the province isnt .
Halifax's growth is based on real estate speculation. The rest of the province there is not much real estate speculation. Halifax's growth is based on a false reality.

The housing situation in pictou county which is halfway between halifax and the strait of canso is stable with some housing developments but nothing like halifax. The prices are rising and real estate is not long on the market as far as homes but lot sales are not increasing. You have little contruction projects like a new wal mart and a couple of hotel/convention centres which is good for the area but not on the scale of dartmouth crossing and the residential development in the HRM.

The thing is though you look at some of the proposed industrial projects in the northern nova scotia area and the situation may change .
A container terminal in melford guysborough county. A LNG plant in richmond county and methane coal gas developement in pictou and coumberland counties could account for some huge economic growth that extends beyond
building big box stores and residential developments. Heavy contruction for those projects take a little longer then condos and have much greater value in economic growth and tax revenues then retail and residential development.

Jim jones

http://www.unitedgulf.ca/finalconcept.pdf I dont know if this is posted before or not. soory to go of topic

The maximum height of all buildings in the downtown is controlled to ensure that no building can be seen from the parade square of the Citadel. On the Texparksite, the maximum possible height is 285ft.
Disgusting! Give us some HEIGHT!! We should have at least one building downtown in the 300-500ft range.

For Atlantic Canada, yes Halifax is I guess booming. The last boom (so to speak) happened in the early 70's when a flurry of 10 to 20 story apts, Hotels, and office bldgs where constructed. Someone coming from Toronto, Calgary, Las Vagas, or the Gulf Coast would say what boom. I love whats going on here right now but it will fizzle as the interest rates creep up and the economy slows.

Well, the last "boom" was in the mid-late 80s. During that period the downtown pretty much doubled in size and Halifax was one of the fastest growing cities in Canada.

In absolute terms there is not a lot of construction in Halifax but in relative terms the changes at times are comparable to what is happening in some much larger cities. To put things in perspective, Halifax has seven or eight significant buildings being constructed within a relatively small core area right now. Given Halifax's relatively small size that's equivalent to about 100 buildings going up in Toronto.

Well, the last "boom" was in the mid-late 80s. During that period the downtown pretty much doubled in size and Halifax was one of the fastest growing cities in Canada.

In absolute terms there is not a lot of construction in Halifax but in relative terms the changes at times are comparable to what is happening in some much larger cities. To put things in perspective, Halifax has seven or eight significant buildings being constructed within a relatively small core area right now. Given Halifax's relatively small size that's equivalent to about 100 buildings going up in Toronto.

That's good to know; are they all in the DT area?

That's good to know; are they all in the DT area?

Well, their more all in the penninsular area. Theres only 1 i know of downtown and thats the salter st. development next to the 4 points.

Well, their more all in the penninsular area. Theres only 1 i know of downtown and thats the salter st. development next to the 4 points.

Where is the penisula area, south of DT?

Depends on what you consider "downtown". Most new construction is going to be located in areas around the periphery of the downtown because that is where land is available. There are a few holes downtown but they are mostly spoken for. The only really big one I haven't seen plans for is the one just above the Herald building.

In Halifax today I would say that the downtown includes everything from Cogswell to Bishop Street or so, and from the waterfront up to South Park Street. "Core" neighbourhoods nearby include the old part of the South End, the Western end of Spring Garden Road, and the central part of the North End. The "old South" goes from the water to Queen Street and over to Inglis. Spring Garden Road continues from South Park up to Robie. As for the North End, it's debatable but it is quite dense up to North Street and beyond, in as far as Windsor or so, although the outer parts are mostly just houses/rowhouses.

Haligonian, do you consider the construction of 1801, purdy's, Founders, and WTC doubling of Downtown Halifax??? It definitly added to office space but didnt double downtown....

1801, Purdy's, Founder's, building next to that, a couple of hotels (the two around Market/Brunswick and the waterfront hotel, now a Marriott), Park Lane, Cornwallis House, City Centre Atlantic, Charterhouse, probably Cogswell Tower, that white office building close to the Citadel, One Government Place...

By "that white office building close to the Citadel", r u referring to the one next to the metro centre, with the outdoor terreces on the roof? Man I hate that building. I find it boring and generic, and it doesn't fit the character of Hfx. And it just isn't that attractive period, for that matter. Looks more suitable for suburban LA or Miami.

Yes. I agree that it's not great.

Well I think you have to look at the time era in which it was built. They didn't think of those things in the sevenities.

I think they built it that way to get around the height restrictions. If you look at the viewplane maps, there's a viewplane crossing over the north end of the lot but not the southern end.

Yes, the form was almost certainly decided by the height restrictions. It is similar to the Maritime Centre in that respect. However, a lot of people also have a problem with the colouring and materials. Those could have been better, although they definitely were a product of the 80s.

Where is there no "Sticky" posts on the Eastern Provinces sub-forum?

Maybe we should have a Halifax developments thread like on SSP. That site seems to have a much busier ATCan section than here, and I think the developments thread is a big part of it.

Sounds good. I can't post there because I don't have a non-web-based email lol

Maybe we should have a Halifax developments thread like on SSP. That site seems to have a much busier ATCan section than here, and I think the developments thread is a big part of it.

Waht is SSP, man?

^ Holy shit! I had no idea that there were so many people around here that have never even heard of it. www.skyscraperpage.com

Sounds good. I can't post there because I don't have a non-web-based email lol
Don't all internet service providers include an email account with their service? Many include several. If not, just try to get a free trail of a dialup service like AOL, and use the email included with that to open your account.

^ Holy shit! I had no idea that there were so many people around here that have never even heard of it. www.skyscraperpage.com

Thanks man. I linked there but it seems to be a Western provinces forum mostly.... There were only two threads for Atlantic.

Hey you're right, that's really weird! What the heck happened to everything? I know they have pretty agressive prunning there to keep useless content from building up too much, but that's crazy! I remember visiting the Hfx developments thread there and being amazed by the huge size of it, something like 900 posts spaning several years.

Edit: According to SS1, all u have to do is adjust the timeframe in the display options. After setting it for "from the beginning" I saw a full page of threads. Also, the developments thread is in the city compilations section.

Hey you're right, that's really weird! What the heck happened to everything? I know they have pretty agressive prunning there to keep useless content from building up too much, but that's crazy! I remember visiting the Hfx developments thread there and being amazed by the huge size of it, something like 900 posts spaning several years.

Edit: According to SS1, all u have to do is adjust the timeframe in the display options. After setting it for "from the beginning" I saw a full page of threads. Also, the developments thread is in the city compilations section.

No worries guys, I have the link bookmarked for that thread :)

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=1091&page=47

47 pages of Halifax discussion. enjoy :cheers:

"Is Halifax's economy really booming?"

YES. It could be much, much better if every goddamn time a developer wanted to build almost anything they didn’t half to spend years debating the right to build in Halifax. :ohno:

the economy of halifax is booming on real estate speculation which is the same trend in much of the united states. That economic factor is slowing dramatically in the states and halifax will eventually feel that as well.
The only place in canada that will buck the US trend is alberta and that is because of the worldwide demand for oil and petrochemicals that alberta has in great supply.

jim jones

According to the HRM’s building permit states for the last 6 months (new development for next year) I see no slowing down in greater Halifax. Not too much can happen in the US that’s going to shake Halifax, maybe 20 years ago but not now. :angel:

Yes, highly speculative construction such as office buildings with established tenants and condo developments that have been mostly sold before ground is even broken. :|

Wasn't it Scotia Bank that introduced Canada's first no-money-down mortgage a few months ago?

That's the first step toward a US-style real estate bubble (i.e., fuelled by excessive debt); but even so Canada's about a decade behind the US as far as "easy money" goes, so there shouldn't be the same kind of price slowdown for at least a few more years—or if there is, it will be more the result of consumer perception than market realities.

I mentioned this on another thread where I took a lot of heat for mentioning unemployment outside the HRM, but I'm curious to know about two things:

Do you think that Halifax's present economic upswing will filter into other parts of NS as well—or even into some of the more "underprivileged" parts of the HRM (e.g., across the bridge)?

When do you think some of that money will find its way into infrastructure improvements? There are roads that could use some work (and there are some missing signs that would make visitors' lives a lot easier were they to be replaced), and a light-rail system in the core and along main arterials (Bedford Highway, out to the airport) could be really lovely.

Wasn't it Scotia Bank that introduced Canada's first no-money-down mortgage a few months ago?

That's the first step toward a US-style real estate bubble (i.e., fuelled by excessive debt); but even so Canada's about a decade behind the US as far as "easy money" goes, so there shouldn't be the same kind of price slowdown for at least a few more years—or if there is, it will be more the result of consumer perception than market realities.

I mentioned this on another thread where I took a lot of heat for mentioning unemployment outside the HRM, but I'm curious to know about two things:

Do you think that Halifax's present economic upswing will filter into other parts of NS as well—or even into some of the more "underprivileged" parts of the HRM (e.g., across the bridge)?

When do you think some of that money will find its way into infrastructure improvements? There are roads that could use some work (and there are some missing signs that would make visitors' lives a lot easier were they to be replaced), and a light-rail system in the core and along main arterials (Bedford Highway, out to the airport) could be really lovely.


I do think that the stronger Halifax gets ecomically the better the whole region will become. I think things such as the Commomwealth Games if Halifax gets them will have a great affect on not just Halifax but the whole Atlantic region. It will also benefit North Dartmouth which I assume is the depressed area you are reffering, because that is where the staduim is planned for.

There are also some mega projects that are in works around the province such as the 4 billion dollar petro chemical plant planned on the eastern shore of NS.

Wasn't it Scotia Bank that introduced Canada's first no-money-down mortgage a few months ago?

That's the first step toward a US-style real estate bubble (i.e., fuelled by excessive debt); but even so Canada's about a decade behind the US as far as "easy money" goes, so there shouldn't be the same kind of price slowdown for at least a few more years—or if there is, it will be more the result of consumer perception than market realities.

I mentioned this on another thread where I took a lot of heat for mentioning unemployment outside the HRM, but I'm curious to know about two things:

Do you think that Halifax's present economic upswing will filter into other parts of NS as well—or even into some of the more "underprivileged" parts of the HRM (e.g., across the bridge)?

When do you think some of that money will find its way into infrastructure improvements? There are roads that could use some work (and there are some missing signs that would make visitors' lives a lot easier were they to be replaced), and a light-rail system in the core and along main arterials (Bedford Highway, out to the airport) could be really lovely.

All cities have rundown parts. Dartmouth on average does well(Burnside for example.)

Nova Scotia's overall unemployment rate is around the national average. Usually around 7%, however parts of the province are much higher(Western NS, Cape Breton)

All cities have rundown parts. Dartmouth on average does well(Burnside for example.)

Nova Scotia's overall unemployment rate is around the national average. Usually around 7%, however parts of the province are much higher(Western NS, Cape Breton)

I think NS's is 6.9, or is it 6.8? I know it's lower than the national average. But that's beside the point, The entire region does well when Halifax does well. The only thing is, that we do have to help them, giving them the ability to create market value. Corporations such as NSBC and the such are doing that, by helping the stawberry maker make jam and sell it for 3 buck a pound, instead of selling strawberrys for .90 cents a pound to Smuckers, who in turn makes the Jam and sells it in Halifax for 5 because it's an import. It allows natural resourse industries, become finished goods industries, and opens them up to sell to a stronger urban core. Instead of the Urbanite buying Smuckers for 5 bucks, they buy a Valley farmers jam for 3 bucks. Strawberrys being an example, and not the focus of my point. Dartmouth would and is starting to notice the advantages of a stronger core, that Kings wharf project is going to big things. Once Bedford has a more consistant direct route to DT Hali, then the Bedford waterfront is going to go crazy, they're already prepping, you can see it on the Beford highway... I digress, yes a more vibrant Halifax means a stronger outside economy.

~C
(sorry about the ramble, I checked this after work, and my mind took control of my fingers and kind of went crazy)

All cities have rundown parts. Dartmouth on average does well(Burnside for example.)

Nova Scotia's overall unemployment rate is around the national average. )

It is great to have such a low unemployment rate.

On the other hand, it seems to me that HFX /HRM need to attract more companies and more high-skill, high-paying jobs.

It is great to have such a low unemployment rate.

On the other hand, it seems to me that HFX /HRM need to attract more companies and more high-skill, high-paying jobs.


True... and there has been a lot of companies setting up shop here lately with higher paying jobs... Reseach and Motion being one of them.

True... and there has been a lot of companies setting up shop here lately with higher paying jobs... Reseach and Motion being one of them.


There has been lots of announcements like these lately.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/9001877.html

^The importance of a local financial services sector cannot be understated. Its good news indeed.

^The importance of a local financial services sector cannot be understated. Its good news indeed.

Yes indeed. ARe there any bank headquartered in HFX or regional HDQ?

Yes indeed. ARe there any bank headquartered in HFX or regional HDQ?

Yes all the major Canaidian banks have their Atlantic regional offiices headquatered in Halifax. As well two of the major banks were founded in Halifax but are now headquatered in Toronto.

The Bank of Canada also has it's regional office here. Central Trust and Maritime Life are a couple more financial companies that uses to be here, but Central Trust went out of business in the 90s and ML moved to Toronto a couple of years ago (became a part of Manulife).

Maritime Life didn't really "move to Toronto". As far as I know, most people who worked for Maritime Life here simply work for Manulife now. I know that their IT department for example was somehow restructured, but no jobs were lost.

I believe Maritime Life was owned by John Hancock, and that company was acquired by Manulife.

Jobs go begging - where are workers?

By The Daily News


When it comes to employment, this province can no longer be referred to as "Nova Scarcity." Statistics Canada's latest unemployment figures indicate that the jobless rate for Nova Scotia last month was 7.4 per cent - a 30-year low, and only about a percentage point higher than the national average of 6.3 per cent.

HRM fares even better. The municipality's 4.9 per cent rate over three months outshines that of bigger cities such as Montreal (7.9 per cent), Toronto (6.9) and Ottawa (5.6).

Western cities such as Calgary (2.8 per cent), Saskatoon (3.1) and Edmonton (3.8) continue to have the lowest unemployment rates in Canada. But HRM isn't all that far behind Vancouver (4.3).

These numbers suggest that Nova Scotia is far from a wasteland for job seekers. Indeed, as reported elsewhere in today's paper, "Help Wanted" signs are sprouting like mushrooms throughout metro.

People from Atlantic Canada are streaming to Alberta and other points west, where jobs of all sorts go begging. Yet some businesses in this region are hurting for workers, too.

Earlier this month, an Irving-owned recruiting website put a brochure called Coming Home to a Career in Atlantic Canada into Alberta newspapers. It was an Atlantic answer to the job fairs Alberta employers have run in this region.

On the surface, all this is good news. It suggests that Nova Scotia is on its way to becoming - in a modest way - a "have" province.

There are a few caveats, though.

Nova Scotia has 12,000 jobs that have not been filled for four months or more. Why do those jobs remain vacant? Is our economy creating jobs faster than they can be filled? Are the available jobs not desirable? Are too many people going elsewhere? Or do we simply not have enough qualified workers here?

Those questions need to be answered before more brochures are sent out west.

Halifax seems to be a great place! With all those new proposals with a definitve style, im gonna be there for the next year studing at the NSCAD, didnt know so much about the city before but this forum helped a lot!"