Who hates downtown Halifax? Certainly not the thousands of people who head to Argyle Street for post-work drinks. Most definitely not the shoppers mobbing the Spring Garden Road shopping district. And unquestioningly, without a doubt, not the crowds that flock to the boardwalk every chance they get.
By all indications, regular Haligonians love downtown. And why shouldn’t they? It’s a lovely place, with wonderful views of the harbour, interesting architecture and shops and a fun mix of different slices of our community—office grunts rubbing elbows with university students, artists, blue-collar workers and the odd newspaper reporter.
But there is one group that hates downtown Halifax: the political and business establishment that runs this town.
The political and business leadership first set out to destroy downtown in the 1960s, when it decided to forever cut downtown off from the waterfront by building a six-lane expressway called Harbour Drive atop what is now the boardwalk. Only after the horrific Cogswell Interchange was built did a group of historic preservationists stop those plans; no one now thinks Harbour Drive was a good idea, but while the historic preservations are vilified as the enemy of an undefined, but vaunted, “progress,” the establishment suffered no consequences whatsoever from their very bad idea.
Frustrated at their first attempt, business and political groups moved on to a second plan: they’d kill downtown by subsidizing suburban development. Sure enough, Eaton’s, a Barrington Street anchor of downtown, moved out to the West End Mall. By the 1990s, the leaders of the former cities of Dartmouth and Halifax were outdoing each other in constructing the suburban business parks of Burnside and Bayers Lake, selling off below-market priced land. The big box districts sprung up, sucking the retail heart out of downtown. The same with office space: earlier this year, city council approved expansion of both BLIP and Burnside for new office buildings, which will rent for a fraction of the price of downtown offices.
Not satisfied with knocking it to the ground, the business elite decided to kick downtown while it was down: The Chamber of Commerce moved its headquarters out to Burnside, and the Chronicle-Herald, whose workers made the Argyle Street bar district possible, moved out to the rotary. Both moves deprived downtown shops of another set of customers, and also sent businesses a clear signal about which business districts matter and which don’t.
But now, business propagandists tell us, they love, love, love downtown, and they’re going to save it by having us pay for a shiny new convention centre. Blithely unaware of their hypocrisy while sitting in their new rotary office, Chronicle-Herald columnists Marilla Stephenson and Roger Taylor continue to rail against those who oppose the convention centre; Stephenson and Taylor would better serve their own reputations if they’d put out more trite columns about privatizing the sewage system and how to save point three of a cent on heating oil, and leave off about downtown altogether, at least until their employer apologizes and moves back downtown.
If it had any self-respect, the Chamber too would slink away and hide rather than offer up an opinion about downtown, yet here’s Chamber president Valerie Payn, drooling over the prospect of construction tenders for her members, issuing a press release saying we taxpayers need to pony up for the convention centre because “Investing in our urban core is long overdue.” But if the goddamned Chamber of Commerce won’t invest in the urban core, why should anyone else?
The establishment’s pro-convention centre argument basically comes down to “Downtown sucks!”—the empty lots and papered-over storefronts that the establishment itself caused to exist are held up as proof that, the huge numbers who actually like and use downtown notwithstanding, downtown sucks, so we better cough up $160 million.
“Downtown sucks!” probably isn’t the best marketing slogan, because it’s not make-believe convention-going business people from Toronto and Vancouver who will determine the future success of downtown, but rather everyday people in Cole Harbour, Bedford and Clayton Park: if they come downtown it will thrive; if not, it won’t.
And those suburbanites won’t be coming downtown to visit a convention centre, but they might come for the same reasons that those who already love downtown come: because it’s a pretty neat place.
This article appears in Oct 7-13, 2010.
The phrase “hits the nail on the head” comes to mind. Well said, Tim Bousquet.
In addition to being financially flawed (taxpayers should fork over $100 million so that private entrepreneurs can increase their revenues by $215 million?) the concept of the present convention center proposal has the cart firmly before the horse when it comes to not only downtown revitalization, but also the provincial economy. Having a shiny new expensive (partly underground) convention center will not be a magic formula that will attract vast quantities of convention business to Halifax, thus stimulating the provincial economy.
The approach ought rather to be to invest in the many indigenous proposals (stabilizing funding for NSCAD university, a municipal center for the performing arts, an aquarium on the waterfront, a partnership with a university on a stadium, investments in the creative economy, a sound stage for the film and television industry … the list goes on and on) that will serve the city, the province, and its citizens. Projects that tap into indigenous activity, ideas, expertise, talent, and creativity. Projects that will create products, services, and activities for Nova Scotians, that can be exported to the world, and that will attract people to Nova Scotia. Projects that make Halifax an attractive place, full of dynamic people involved in engaging activities that other people would like to see, participate in, invest in, and admire. Building a convention center and hoping they will come is not a formula for real economic revitalization: it’s wishful thinking. It’s old economics grasping at increasingly outmoded ideas.
Turn the development formula around (horse, then cart) to create actual economic progress.
Agreed, C. Majka. Your examples of how to otherwise spend that money are excellent. A Halifax that is first and foremost a terrific place to live will naturally draw visitors to it, not the other way around. And Valerie Payn’s ridiculously hypocritical statement “investing in our urban core is long overdue” is sadly laughable.
One more time I am startled by Tim’s clear-headed writing in crisp simple language. I love lots of things about our town but the benefit of having such a great reporter and writer to just plain call it straight is wonderful.
Not since Joseph Howe has Halifax had such a brilliant newspaperman.
I think it is the lack of residential development downtown that has stymied growth, since the dark ages of suburbanism anyway – much of that hangs on the heritage crusaders you drool over in this piece Tim.
They wish to keep everything at six stories or less in the downtown core and force any larger more ambitious developments to the outskirts of the city to “save the view”… to Clayton Park for example, near these very same business parks and industrial parks you lament in this piece.
Suburbanism was an American model for progress that was a mistake made by virtually every city on the continent – it doesn’t reflect Halifax in and unto itself, but instead more of a societal shift that occurred after the second World War and the increasing adoption of the automobile.
If you really want Downtown to thrive Tim, tell the obstructionists to get out of the way the next time a developer wants to spend tens of millions of dollars of their own money on condos and apartments – it is these developers who are now leading the charge to save our downtown. This is the progress that modern day people want to see in our city.
People living downtown, who will frequent the businesses that would open up downtown once there is a market for their goods. You quite rightly state, it won’t be the suburbanites riding transit downtown just to patronize a business that is also open in Colby Village, or Clayton Park, or Bedford.
If it were a private developer building an 18 story apartment building on the old Chronicle Herald lands, would you and your kind be so vehemently against it too? Is it really just the fact it is public money subsidizing a convention centre? Or is it the fact there is an 18 story building that will infringe on the view of Imperial Oil in Dartmouth that has your knickers in knots? Which is it? Choose a side, and let the rest of us get down to work, not dwelling on mistakes of the past, but making the very best future for Halifax that we can – while we still can.
Tim, reading your articles the last few months (because you’ve been flogging these topics a lot) reaffirms to me that there are still people who GET IT in this city. As both a resident and a former business owner Downtown (I was an owner of one of those papered-up shops you mention), THANK YOU.
Of course, that silly convention centre will probably happen anyway. But when it does not get the ROI that people seem to expect, hopefully your advice will be heeded for a proper “Plan B”.
Excellent article, Tim, and a very thoughtful comment from C.Majka. You both speak the truth, and possess a rationale that we could use a lot more of in this town.
Nice of you to say something nice about downtown for a change, Tim. Was there an editorial board meeting this week where someone reminded people that The Coast’s existence depends on ad revenue from downtown businesses? I see at least two Coast articles today extolling the virtues of downtown.
Are you really going to lecture the Herald, a province-wide daily, for moving out of the downtown when the Coast (whose existence depends on downtown business ad revenues) is tucked away on Cunard street? What gives you the moral high ground exactly? As far as anyone is concerned, the Coast should point the finger to itself first. How many years did the Coast spend in a downtown location compared to the Herald and the Chamber exactly?
The Chamber’s mandate includes all businesses in HRM. When they were in the downtown area, the criticism was that they favoured downtown. When they moved outside it, the criticism is that they’re against it. How about just looking at the stuff they do for everyone instead of where they’re doing it from? I guess that would make too much sense for this piece though.
From one side of your mouth, you praise the virtues of downtown and all it has to offer, from shops to bars to restaurants and the boardwalk. From the other side of your mouth, you call the folks who support the convention center ‘business propagandists’ and elites. Are you ignoring the fact that almost all the businesses, bars, restaurants, and the waterfront commission are supporting the convention center? Aren’t those the same people you just praised for providing such an oh-so-lovely downtown experience for everyone in HRM? How can you turn around and call them ‘propagandists’ two paragraphs later?
Right on Tim.
I could never understand pessimism about Halifax’s downtown. In my eyes it’s a wonderful place to be. Walking home along the boardwalk, especially, is one the happiest parts of my day. Sure, Barrington street could use some work, but it hardly makes the downtown a lame horse.
@dartmouthy: Why do buildings need to be 18 storeys? I would say the most postive development in downtown Halifax has been Bishop’s landing, and it’s what, 6 storeys? One of the big differences I’ve noticed between Barrington street (dead) and Spring Garden Road (hecka popular) is that the former is perpetually shaded. There is something grim and dehumanizing about walking the grim, dark, and cold canyon of buildings that are too tall for the width of their street.
JWC stop drinking Tims purple cool-aid.
After living here in Edmonton for the past little while now, downtown Halifax doesn’t seems deserted or desolate at all! Not by a long shot. Check out Jasper Ave after 6 pm… Edmonton’s main street through the heart of downtown, and no one’s around for miles. They don’t call it Deadmonton for nothing. Then again, south of the river in the university area and along Whyte Ave is usually pretty bustling. It’s not always all about downtown – other inner-city non-downtown areas can be cool too.
Plenty of plans in place to help improve the situation here, too, mind you, but with so much wide open land here in “Big Sky Country,” selling more compact Euro-style urban living can be a tough sell. LRT expansion is coming soon and hopefully our relatively progressive mayor will be re-elected in the upcoming elections. A progressive, decisive mayor… refreshing thought, eh?
Also, just throwing this out there: perhaps a de-amalgamation of at least several parts of HRM, for places like Sheet Harbour, might not be a bad idea. Give them the Guysborough County.
issmat, dude, the Coast is downtown. What are you smoking?
I like downtown Halifax too. And as a conference go-er to other cities across the nation – it’s very true that conference centres/goers just aren’t the solution for a downtown. They are external to a downtown vibe and enjoy the vibe when they’re there, but do not create it.
I wish they would stop using the conference centre as the messiah for downtown. It just will not be. If we need one and a business case can be made, great, but it should be NOT my money as taxpayer paying for it.
Downtown Halifax is a great place to be. Even before I lived here, it was a destination for the music, the pubs, the small city vibe and for some unique shopping. As Majka points out – other development will help the downtown grow, not simply bringing in suits who’ll go to a bar for a bit.
And, as a side note, for most conferences I’ve been to in the last several years, it’s becoming more and more the norm to NOT bring your family to them.
We need to celebrate our own community. Focus on quality of life for our residents. Make it an attractive place to be and live. That’s what will lead to economic growth. Not the artificial construction, using our own $, and then not even reaping the rewards from it. But we sure will be stuck with the losses if/when it fails.
Hi Hipp5,
I agree completely that Bishop’s landing has been a positive development, it has brought much needed youth, vigor, and pedestrian traffic to a previously dead section of the waterfront.
Not every development has to be 18 stories high, of course – a mix of different types of developments are needed, whether they are 6 stories, or 66 stories shouldn’t make a difference, as long as they help to create a sense of integrity within the area.
Bishop’s Landing in particular is a very very large lot, in comparison to the pre-existing blocks available for development downtown, it is many times larger. Perhaps that is why they could make a profit from a six story development. If Bishops Landing had been 25 stories instead, we would have several thousand more people living downtown, significantly more tax dollars being delivered to the municipality, and even more people looking to buy goods and services from businesses downtown. If it were 25 stories it could have taken up 1/6 of the site and have the same impact, and the rest of the lot could have been converted to an outdoor amphitheater or parkland. Is this a bad thing?
In other cities (like in NYC, and Chicago) a developer who wants to build over 10 or 20 stories must dedicate parts of the lot (or project) for things that create a common good – outdoor spaces, art, fountains etc.
Barrington Street a cold dead canyon? Really? Most of the buildings on the street ARE under six stories – should we convert it into prairies instead so that we always see the sun?
Narrow sidewalks, heavy traffic, a lack of pedestrian amenities, no trees, and boarded up businesses lend much more to a grim and dehumanizing atmosphere in my opinion… The street could be filled with 70 story buildings, and with proper setbacks the average pedestrian wouldn’t even notice what was above the first three floors in the first place. The lack of sun stems more from the orientation of the street (SW-NE)… Spring Garden Road basically faces NW and so it gains more sun exposure by nature.
In any other city, like Downtown New York for example, you can have gigantic office buildings directly next to the oldest buildings in the city – and they live in harmony. They don’t drive away tourists, they don’t dehumanize the area. I think to say so is absolutely ridiculous. Unless you plan on building underground like in THX-1138, up is always preferable to out!
Ralmn,
I stand corrected. You got me on a technicality. I guess if we look at actual municipal district boundaries, The Coast would fall just inside it on the North End. In fact, for the laymen in Halifax who are unaware of voting district boundaries, that area is commonly lumped in with the North End.
99% of people who refer to ‘downtown’ are talking about the downtown core. Taking into consideration all the sites Tim is mentioning in this piece, I also assume he’s talking about the downtown core – the actual business and entertainment hub of the city.
Given that the intent of the article is referring to the downtown core, The Coast can hardly claim they’re located in ‘Downtown Halifax’ with a straight face, and less so can they stand on the pedestal and lecture others for abandoning downtown.
Tim can’t even hold the charade together for a couple of paragraphs before reverting to his true feelings about downtown and everyone in it by labeling all business owners downtown and those interested in helping them ‘elitists’ and ‘propagandists’.
dartmouthy, you raise some interesting ideas, all of which are addressed by HRM By Design, i.e. set-backs, massing, streetscapes, mixed-use, integration of new & old, bonus zoning. HRMBD is not the retrograde,”heritage at all costs”program many think it is. If allowed to work, and not overruled by Council at every turn (which seems to be happening), it should have an excellent effect on our downtown.
It seems like everybody is reluctant to mention the one glaring thing that downtown Halifax is missing. Every world class city, including Moncton, has strip clubs downtown.
Erotic entertainment and prostitution is a big driver for conventions and vice-versa. Surprisingly, the fear of AIDS has done little to discourage convention delegates from buying sex. Even more surprisingly, dentist conventions are claimed to be the biggest money makers for prostitutes. Don’t take my word for it. Here’s a quote from an article about a New Jersey dentist’s convention held in Vegas:
“This is the big one,” pimp Marlon “The Pearl” Evans said. “We don’t see this kind of action from anyone else all year–the electronics-industry convention, the auto show, insurance seminars, no one. The average car dealer or pet-store owner in town for a convention might treat himself to a piece if he thinks he can spare it, but he doesn’t have what we in the business call ‘dentist money.'”
Like it or not, without a downtown strip club or a police-friendly attitude towards prostitution, Halifax just can’t play in the same convention league as the big boys.
My apologies. It turns out that dentist quote was from a bogus source.
However, there are hundreds of serious studies on prostitution and conventions. There’s no question that they go hand-in-hand. If we’re going to start seeing thousands of new delegates at the new convention center, we better get ready for a big increase in Halifax’s sex industry.
Halifax isn’t Toronto,
That’s a pretty desperate stab at comedy, coming from such a serious and mature person such as you, isn’t it? lol đŸ˜‰
Hey Westerngirl,
No, I think HRMBD is the best piece of urban design legislation we’ve had so far… though if anything, it still places some strange limitations on building height, if only to appease the unappeasable heritage group types. 230 feet at the tallest? Thats what, 20 storeys? Do we really want to limit the amount of money the municipality can collect in property taxes? I think a better plan is to force developers to place more emphasis on the public good – if you can build a 70 story building, you’d better provide some awesome public amenities. Simple as that.
Excellent points made by Tim and the countless other commentors on here. It’s great to see that there are people here in the city bringing thoughtful discussion to the issue.
There was once downtown Gottingen St and downtown Barrington St. The was a Met, 2 Woolworth’s, Evans (or Allan’s) hardware store, Glubes furniture, sally shop, sally shoes, tip top tailors, green lantern, Reitman’s, Eaton’s, woods, zellers people’s credit jewelers, Leon neinah’s jewelers as well as the capitol, paramount, vogue, casino, family, and garrik theaters and the list goes on. It was a bustling place with shoppers particularly at Christmas then the shopping malls killed it. Now the big box stores in what is a shopping village is killing the malls. You will never revive the downtown. Office buildings are used 8 to 4 then the people go home turning the area over to the bar patrons. There is nothing there to draw the majority of the people. Go look in Wal-Mart and you’ll see the people that used to stroll Barrington and gottingen and shop. Sadly Downtown is long gone and no investment will revive it. And believe me I miss it nothing can compare to walking along the street, looking into windows and going in to shop.
Hey the best way to build the d-town population, build a grocery store. Also look at what was called Downtown Dartmouth. There’s nothing there. The same with Central Dartmouth. There is a lack of good shopping and most have to get into a car to find one. Its just bad planning.
How is building a convention center and “hoping they will come” any different from building a soundstage (already done, and failed, BTW), an aquarium, etc and hoping some other “they” will come?
Bousquet’s attitude towards development is such that I am surprised he even agreed to continue working for the Coast once they abandoned the downtown building that now houses the E&C for a new shiny building outside of the core near North Park St. But I guess he did so because of an economic imperative – the same as the Herald did as their business and employment shrank, and the same as the Chamber did when they needed more space but not a proportionate increase in cost. Hypocrisy, thy name is Tim.
To somehow shed tears because major shopping destinations are no longer downtown is to shed tears over something which is a fundamental change in society. Post-WWII, people bought cars and moved to the suburbs as their standard of living rose. Thus, the rise of the shopping center and the death of traditional downtowns. But other cities have redeveloped downtown successfully with a mix of office, residential, restaurants, bars, and entertainment venues. This may or may not include a convention center. Downtown Halifax has the advantage of a tourist area adjacent to downtown, namely our Disney-fied waterfront. A CC thus makes some sense for such a location. Though having experienced our waterfront recently, I am starting to think that Harbour Drive wasn’t such a bad idea — it would eliminate the stop and crawl traffic and the hucksters that populate the faux-heritage building along the waterfront.
IMO the only way you will evere bring that downtown back, is to figure out how to make it a place to LIVE & WORK.
If more people actually lived there, they would by their very presence , require shops & those that are there now would do better business, which in turn would get other people interested in putting their business there.
But with an 8-4 crowd that disappears for the most part, ticket nazi’s on every corner…these things drive people away.
It drove me away, the girl i’m now seeing used to live right downtown, & we both live in the country & wouldn’t return there again, the way it is now… for love or money.
Having come from Regina Saskatchewan, where our downtown is in even rougher shape than Halifax’s (even less housing, no shopping at all, little culture, 2-3 pubs, and much worse crime rate), when I arrived in Halifax, downtown was the only sane choice. I found a 2 bedroom apartment, that although on the expensive side, saves me so much, on account of me not having to pay for transportation, vehicle upkeep, and gas. Superstore and Petes is a short 15-20 minute walk, or 7 dollar cab ride. I still go out often to restaurantes, bars, and pubs. I love living downtown.
However, having now lived here when the Uni’s were out, I noticed how dead downtown got. Right now the universities and schools are the only thing that continue to give downtown halifax it’s famous “nightlife”. A convention center really seems like the last thing any young adult living downtown needs.
The Chronicle Herald thru its staff writers are in the business of promoting the financial interests of some of its buddies in the Halifax Greater Partnership
who stand to benefit from the short term big bucks to be made building this and the consequences of putting “all our taxpayer eggs in one basket” in this case the fickle convention center business which is dependent on such feasibility factors as future high oil prices to fly people here and to a lesser extent-deterence realities such as world epidemic outbreaks and terrorism tactics are not being taken into account in its long term viability.
This money would be better spent developing a province wide economy that is not dependent on oil.
dartmouthy – few people want to live in a highrise or even buy an apartment in the sky. Families want a seperate space. Peninsula Halifax has gone from a population of 95,000 in 1960 to 65,000 today. Can you tell us why that has happened ?
Who will build high rises at todays cost and who can afford to rent/own ?
Metro is not New York or Toronto and never will be. We are a small town and always will be.
Young people like you are not having kids, those that do have one and therefore spend less money here. I have yet to hear any sensible reasons from HRMBD or you or the Fusion crowd as to how we will increase the peninsula population. The spenders have fled to the suburbs, office development outside the core continues apace because land is sheaper and parking is free.
Barrington has been held back by speculators dreaming of big office towers and government tenants and the dreams are not going to come true The province is bust, we have a small population and have no clout at the federal level.
Drop over to see Stephen Lund at NS Business Inc and ask him when he expects the $70,000 a year jobs for 2,000 people in the financial industry are arriving and where they are coming from.
And then ask Joe Ramia who is going to pay $30-40 a sq ft for the office tower.
What happened to twisted sisters ? According to you ‘dartmouthy’ such buidings can be scattered around downtown Halifax and full of people.
Which planet do you live on , or is it something you eat ?
Just because your business is not located downtown, it does not mean you are anti-downtown. I would even suggest that the location of The Coast is not downtown but on the boarderline of what we call the North end.
The Chamber for example represents businesses in all of HRM. As such, being located in Dartmouth rather than downtown makes sense to a lot of people. The Chamber holds probably the better part of half of their events in the downtown core supporting the downtown businesses that are members.
I do not live or work in downtown but I fully support a thriving and functioning city. I would love to have a new convention center built, I would love to see the old buildings restore, I would love to see more affordable housing created so more people would move downtown but I don’t for a minuite suggest to others that because they do not live or work there are not entitled to supporting or opposing the development.
Part of the problem we have in this city is that there is the us against them mentality. Whomever shouts the loudest must be right because that is what the media focuses on. This is nonsense. Having reporters or columnists that continually demonstrate thier inability to be objective is an epidemic in this country and even more so in the US.
Let’s stop the us versus them, the extreme right or left mentality and focus on what is best fit. We have more in common than not and that is what needs focusing on.
Hi Joeblow,
You are right that peninsular Halifax population as a whole has dropped, but the majority of that change has been in the Quinpool Connaught area, population downtown has actually been on this rise. And perhaps families don’t want apartments (though I dispute that), but at a time when single people outnumber married couples for the first time in this countries history, this is less and less of a concern.
Of course this has happened because of the rise of the suburbs – Halifax should be trying to reverse this trend. The gutting of the population within walking distance of the downtown should be a concern – it has only exacerbated the problems related to businesses moving out to the suburbs, and lessening the population downtown even more.
LOL.
Thanks for pointing out that we are not Toronto or NYC, though I still don’t understand why we cannot strive to achieve a higher density of people living downtown in an effort to support the retail and business potential of the area. In such a tax strapped place, civic-ally and provincially as you point out (and as is common knowledge) surely you would agree that the more people we have living downtown, the more likely it is existing businesses will thrive, not just survive?… and also, the more likely new businesses have the demand and market to open in the first place.
You want a solution to increase population downtown? More high rises. We aren’t going to get it through single family homes – there is no room, and the dnmesity is much too low to make a difference even if there were room. People who live downtown don’t need parking – they don’t necessarily need a car!
I am 30, and a father of an (almost) 10 year old, so I guess I break your mold, and Statistics Canadas’… If there were rental units availible in Downtown Halifax in a highrise built within the past 25 years, you’d better believe I’d give them some consideration. A mix of rentals, condos, co-ops, each with an affordible housing componenet, is needed downtown to enable the transformation of Barrington, and to stimulate downtown as a whole.
I’m sorry your maturity level precludes the possibility of having a productive discussion like this that doesn’t devolve into snarky commentary on “what I’m eating”. Hey why offer my opinion, you are the expert and very wise, and you’ll simply begin name calling when I offer an opinion on a message board, right Joe Blow? lol. Get real.
Why wouldn’t we want to emulate the things that have worked in NYC? They have the highest transit ridership in the world, per capita – and that is per capita of almost 10,000,000 citizens. I’m sorry you are old and bitter and don’t want any change – I’m sorry that your predetermined notions of smart growth and your knee jerk reaction to my feelings about the Heritage trust have clouded your vision as to what is possible for the other people, like me, who have more than two or three decades left in this world.
Joe blow,
You are aware that the more population we can concentrate in one area, the more efficiently city services are used right?
You are aware the higher the density, the more tax dollars are paid to the city for the same physical plot of land and services rendered to that land, right?
You are aware that if you have 10 single family homes on a block, or an apartment building with 500 units on a block, that the city gains much more from the apartment building, right?
Yes, I want the landscape full of apartment buildings and condos. I want a mix of income levels, supported by government, through development agreements that incorporate affordable housing as a percentage of units sold. I want public amenities incorporated as a part of these developments.
Spenders? You think the people with three kids can afford to be spenders? lol. The ones with the most disposable income are white collar singles. The same target demographic who would rent downtown, or buy a condo downtown. They do exist, I am one of them I guess.
Obstructionists, on message boards and in the real world, have been instrumental in quashing and minimizing any and all development in Halifax ever since the days of Harbor Drive. As you stated earlier, I’m not entirely sure Harbor Drive was a bad idea either, I have been in that crawl that is Lower Water.
That being said, more people living downtown who can walk to a grocery store, who don’t need to own a car, are preferable to the alternative. They use transit. They don’t necessarily create these traffic crawls, it is the suburbanites we have to blame for that.
Our city’s future in fact is Dependant on development. You are right we have very little federal support as a province, let alone a city. The only income the city has, unlike American cities, is through property tax. That is why being as pro development as the market will support is essential. When an opportunity comes by we can’t afford to debate it ad infinitum until the developer decides to move to a friendlier construction climate.
We do have population growth in this city – and there is a significant proportion of the population who would choose to live downtown, if only there were more options.
When was the last time you seriously looked at living downtown Joe Blow? You speak as if it was recently, but I don’t think that is the case.
I was looking all this past summer, looking to move for September 1st. I work at the IWK and it would be very convenient for me to have a place downtown. You know what I found Joe Blow? Unless you are in the market for a waiting list or a run down student rental in the south end (or an incredibly overpriced antiquated flat without laundry facilities) you cannot find a place to live Downtown. So I ended up finding a place in Downtown Dartmouth, that is close enough to Downtown, that I still don’t need a car. Take a look on rent donkey… there is about 50 apartments availible right now… lol. That is not a large amount of vacancies for the downtown of a city with almost 400,000 people.
By your logic I guess that means that there is no availability because there is no demand. Now, maybe I should be asking what planet YOU are from. This is an under supply and a developer who can afford to wade through all the heritage group/save the view/anti-development bullshit would be rewarded in the end. But that is the problem. There is precedence now, and any developer out there knows it.
Who hates Downtown? People like you Joe Blow. Thanks from everyone who would like Halifax to be a success. Your, and others counterproductive narrative, is what kills downtown.
“The Chamber of Commerce moved its headquarters out to Burnside, and the Chronicle-Herald, whose workers made the Argyle Street bar district possible, moved out to the rotary…”
To use Tim’s fave insult towards people with other views of downtown: A little math, please. How many Herald and CoC employees are there, altogether? Not enough to make the “Argyle Street Bar District possible,” I’d venture.
I used to drink with Herald employees. I distinctly remember being outnumbered by other people at Argyle Street bars. But perhaps all those others thousands of people over the years were Chamber employees.
Or perhaps Tim’s reliving some kind of “glory daze.” I don’t know.
But please fire him before he writes again.