The Thiel family has proposed a massive new development on one of the blocks they own downtown, currently occupied by the RBC building. The proposal calls for 500,000 square feet of new construction, consisting of two towers, one a hotel, the other condos, and restoration of the heritage Merrill Lynch Building. The architectural renderings show an according-shaped pedestal that allows one of the buildings to reach over the old bank building.
The city has not yet received a development application for the property.
See more renderings of the proposal here. What do you think?
This article appears in Sep 26 – Oct 2, 2013.
Should fit in perfectly with that ugly assed library we’re getting.
Oh look another building for everyone around here to complain about, let’s make sure every single build downtown is exactly the same as all the others that are already there, empty and falling apart because that’s what makes Halifax such a thriving tourist destination….I mean that’s why we resist this stuff so much right, the old buildings are what bring people here right?
I don’t think anyone goes anywhere for “the buildings”, so sprinkling a few random pieces of shit here and there does nothing but give us something stupid to look at. Seriously, a few drab buildings never hurt anyone.
I don’t try to book rooms in Halifax, how badly does it really need another hotel?
Over at the skyscraper forum the reaction is overwhelmingly NEGATIVE
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread…
and : http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread…
Cue, the Heritage Trust and the View from the Hill wankers.
Ah, Cranky. Never change.
In seriousness–it’s a cool design, but a bit incoherent, visually. The accordion bit is especially dark and looming at street level.
And really, it should treat the heritage structures (besides the Merrill Lynch) a little more sensitively, with a better treatment than facadism. Heritage designation is intended to preserve buildings, not reduce them to a single wall, and Halifax has already proven itself pretty willing to tear down heritage in the past few years.
Hopefully a run through the Design Review and Heritage committees strengthen it, and it gets approved. (I’m positive it will be.)
This is absolute garbage
How about we do away with all the bureaucracy and bullshit (and Heritage Council) and go develop Shannon Park already?!
Does that make too much sense for some people?
We’re making these problems much harder than they have to be. Downtown DOES NOT NEED MORE DEVELOPMENT! At least not compared to other areas of Halifax. And how green is this building? The Captain doesn’t want any building built in a city core that doesn’t meet a LEED standard. It’s really the least we could hope for. I mean, any building constructed that doesn’t reflect the city it’s built in, and environmentally sustainable building practices, is only hurting the city in the long run.
More ugly hotels and condos?Fuck you! Thank you for flushing our future down the toilet.
Do it! and while you are doing it, ignore the clueless locals that would rather see derelict buildings instead of building cranes. thanks!
Halifax is going to be great once all the uninspired heritage fucks die off.
Have to wait for a few thousand old heritage trust people to die off first. Then you can have some tall buildings and nice things. Until then, shanty town it is.
Not directly related to this, but why on earth our power lines are not buried under ground during the new construction? No matter how neat and modern new building is — when crooked wooden utility poles with bunch of low hanging cables are sitting in front of it. Not a pretty sight.