Just a reminder that HRM by Design Public Forums begin tonight. I have heard the heritage folk are trying to bring out as many people as they can so if you can show please do we can't let these heritage poeple control this city.

Unfortunately I couldn't make it.

But I would love to know what was discussed, and the turnout!

Unfortunately I couldn't make it.

But I would love to know what was discussed, and the turnout!

Yeah, same here!

And also hfx_chris, I see you a lot on the comments pages on the daily news website. I go by the name Jeff. Some of those people just don't have a clue do they? One person I saw a comment by on there said we should just stop all development altogether because she doesnt think this city can handle any more people. So shallow minded :ohno:

I know its painful to read some of those comments. Its make realize how many dumb people there are out there.

Hi Jeff, I recall your name!

I get so discouraged reading the comments on the daily news... so many people just don't get how the world works, how cities grow.
I can only hope that those folks on the daily news website who are so anti-progress are in the minority.

So, HaliGuy, were you at the public forum tonight???

I heard they presented some 3D models of the city at one point. Those would be interesting to see.

I could not attend because I'm 4000+ kilometres away. Meetings like this will never have a perfect subsection of society because some groups have the time and means to attend and others don't. There's a reason why you always see old people at council meetings.

Hi Jeff, I recall your name!

I get so discouraged reading the comments on the daily news... so many people just don't get how the world works, how cities grow.
I can only hope that those folks on the daily news website who are so anti-progress are in the minority.

So, HaliGuy, were you at the public forum tonight???

Yes, I was able to attend and was very impressed. There were a lot of people there more than I thought there would be and there was a very positive vibe to the whole thing. I was very impressed to what they have come with and if this does come into being it will dramically change this city for the better. There will be no amibigutiy to what can go where, cutting down on the amount of time to start a development. Another positive thing to note is that there were a lot of developers there and a few got up to speak and said they liked what they have seen.

Will vision for revamped downtown Halifax ever come to fruition?

Developers’ designs for downtown wow packed public meeting
By AMY PUGSLEY FRASER City Hall Reporter | 5:57 PM

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It was standing room only Monday night as more than 500 people turned out for a public meeting on the future design of downtown Halifax.

From large-scale developers and heritage representatives to architecture students and lawyers involved in development fights before the Utility and Review Board, they all came to help city hall define a vision for the downtown.

But judging from the more than two dozen people who rushed the microphones at the end of the presentation — catapulting the meeting into an unplanned third hour — the desire to change Halifax already exists. It’s the lack of speed in implementation that had tongues wagging.

"I love what you are doing, but the chances of you getting this through are absolutely nil," Ted Worthington told the planners who clustered on the stage at a reception hall in Pier 21.

The planning and development process can freeze buildings in development limbo for two years, he said.

"God bless the developers. They’re still here. But I don’t think they’re going to be here much longer."

Many in the crowd applauded when colour slides revealed plans culled from previous meetings and imagined by a Toronto group called Office For Urbanism.

They showed a city with tree-lined boulevards and interesting street-level building entrances, all neatly tucked into newly defined downtown precincts named Arts & Entertainment, Seawall or Financial, to cite a few.

More emphasis would also be placed on promoting and linking existing green spaces with their surrounding areas, like Cornwallis Square by the Westin hotel and Waterfront Plazas along the harbour.

The most neck-craning and the biggest cheer occurred when designers promoted the removal of the Cogswell Street interchange in favour of a new area for the city’s taller financial-oriented buildings.

"That’s pretty cool," a young man in the crowd said aloud, turning to his partner to smile.

Away from the prying eyes of Citadel Hill’s far-reaching view-plane legislation, the concrete jungle could be the perfect place to start a playground of office buildings, representatives from the Office For Urbanism said.

That concept was greeted with hope by a veteran Halifax developer who built the award-winning Bishop’s Landing condos on the waterfront.

"Halifax is a bit of an upside-down city right now," Jim Spatz of Southwest Properties told the group.

"You can build a whole bunch of stuff on the periphery. But we need to stop looking at everything happening outside the peninsula."

The group has come up with three distinct plans to handle the expected influx of buildings to the downtown.

In one scenario, the tall buildings are shoehorned into that Cogswell financial district or, in another, spread out in lower-storeyed buildings at the base of the Aliant building.

But not everyone was convinced that the scenarios — and the public workshops that will follow today and Wednesday — will provide all the answers.

"Is it clear that we don’t have to accept any of the plans?" said Phil Pacey, president of Heritage Trust.

Something has to be done to Halifax soon, stressed Harold Madi, a consultant with Office For Urbanism. He says the city is missing out on a resurgence experienced in other North American downtowns.

"Halifax hasn’t had a lot going on lately," he told the group.

And while he says it’s great that the waterfront entices thousands of visitors to stroll alongside the harbour every summer, "two blocks up on Barrington Street, it’s empty," he said.

He said implementing Office For Urbanism’s plan, which urban design maestro Andy Fillmore of Halifax Regional Municipality promised would be before council "one year from now," would be the biggest challenge.

And while a faster approval process, based on clearer guidelines, would help, the plan doesn’t promote everyone doing the same thing.

"This isn’t about shrink-wrapping the downtown," Mr. Madi said.

Mr. Fillmore said design guidelines for architects and planners will be considered in the next phase of the project.

Ironically, the last public meeting to attract such a crowd was a contentious battle at Cole Harbour Place in February 2004, when the city announced a wide-scale development moratorium so that it could start implementing a regional plan to control and direct the way the city was expanding.

HRM by Design is a project stemming from the regional plan.

It’s tasked with "bringing clarity and predictability to the development approval process and articulating an urban design strategy that inspires high-quality development, vibrant public spaces and enriched urban living in HRM’s regional centre," the city outlined in a recent release.

For more information on the city’s plans for the downtown, click on www.halifax.ca/capitaldistrict/RegionalCentreUrbanDesignStudy.html.

http://www.thechronicleherald.ca/Front/858318.html

I was there as well monday night and then i attended one of the workshops this afternoon. I am inspired by the amount of people who have turned out. 500 people! that's unheard of in Halifax for a public meeting. I am very impressed with the work from Office for Urbanism. They've done an absolutely amazing job.
Todays workshop was quite interesting as well. We formed into groups of about 10 and discussed the the scenarios presented as well as the 10 big ideas. After hearing back from all the groups there was a fairly good consensus (with maybe one of two not in favor) on scenario 3 or an alteration of scenario 3. This one involved putting a financial highrise district on top of the cogswell interchange, a few slender towers down around the texpark and waterfront wearhouse sites. As well as a few slender residential towers over around cornwallis park and the old power plant. There were even a few groups that said they wanted the envelope pushed in the cogswell area and allow for taller slender towers to rise above the ramparts bylaw.
The two largest consensus of the session was that, what really matters in the design quality and the quality of life the new buildings would create as oppose to how tall they are. The other overwhelming consensus was that the city has to TEAR DOWN the cogswell street interchange NOW!!! And at the end it almost sounded like Jennifer Keismat (the lead consultant) was thinking of proposing that exact thing to council tomorrow night at the closing session.
I urge you all to attend tomorrow night cause I have a feeling some big things are going to happen!

Realistically, if they want to redevelop the interchange lands soon after this planning process is complete they need to be tearing the interchange itself down right now.

It would be nice if council would be proactive for once. I don't have very high hopes but it does seem like there is a shift happening and more and more people are expecting real action.

So I thought maybe they might mention something about this at regional council tonight. But of course when I turned it on, all they were talking about was the bloody cat bylaw.
When will they realize there's more important things, like tearing down that interchange and building skyscrapers! :D

I was there, I was very impressed by their plans. Unfortunately I couldn't/can't make it to any of the workshops (school/work), but I'm glad they seem to have a bit more clout lately (there were councilors present at this forum, unlike the last time I went).

I was at the workshop last night. I thought it went very well. There seems to be a consensus for more hieght. People really want to see taller buildings.

Development process hindering economic progress: premier
ANDREA MACDONALD
The Daily News

HRM's development process is too sluggish, Premier Rodney MacDonald said yesterday, suggesting the city is hindering progress in a burgeoning financial centre.

MacDonald made the remarks after the unveiling of Nova Scotia Business Inc.'s new five-year plan in Dartmouth. He was responding to reporters' questions about his call for a financial-services building in Halifax.

The premier said the last thing he wants to see is business being held up because of timelines for a new building and told reporters that government is doing everything possible to make room for other financial companies looking here.

"I do not want to see projects being held up because of a lack of space," MacDonald said.

Asked if metro's development process was too slow, he replied: "I would say yes," and added that appropriate planning is necessary to balance heritage with growth.

MacDonald mentioned the shortage of Class A buildings in downtown Halifax and said he had wanted to assure New York finance companies considering expanding here that that will change.

Government won't necessarily build the buildings, but is willing to work with others, he said.

The premier first floated the idea of a financial office tower or cluster of buildings last week and said he's been working with Halifax Regional Municipality to ensure the city's planning process doesn't delay development.

HRM spokesman John O'Brien has said city staff is assembling a list of potential sites that could be developed without lengthy public hearings.

More people are recognizing that this snails pace approval process needs to be fixed. Pressure from the province to do something to change the process might just be what we need, especially with Rodney's financial district idea he keeps floating.

Twisted Sisters wins review board decision!

A major downtown development can go ahead, The Daily News has learned.

A decision to be released Thursday afternoon by the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board will rule in favour of United Gulf Development's so-called Twisted Sisters project.

The 27-storey towers is slated to be built on the former Texpark site in downtown Halifax..

The project was given approval by Halifax regional council last year, however, it was appealed by heritage groups to the review board and through the court system. The developers have now won both decisions.
http://www.hfxnews.ca/index.cfm?sid=62158&sc=89

OMG!

:banana: This is great news! I wonder what will happen next... will it get appealed again.. if not I wonder when construction will begin?

:dance:

:pepper: :banana: :cucumber:

I don't think they will appeal again. This is their third loss in a row (council, NS court, URB).

This decision makes me a bit more upbeat about the prospects of the downtown. The building's not under construction yet, but if built it will be a major project that will really reshape the area and make it feel much more modern, rather than just blending into the background. In terms of overall size it's probably close to Purdy's Wharf.