[Image-1] Rats are a problem. And not one you can just ignore and hope they go away, because—spoiler!—they won’t. The vermin have always invaded Halifax holes, and new construction seems to be pushing the critters further north and into new homes. But are rats really all that bad? We sat down with a local rattus […]
Development
Posted inNews + Opinion
Why does Barrington Street remain barren?
[Image-1] In the TD bank at the corner of Spring Garden Road and Birmingham Street, there is a mural-sized photograph of nearby Barrington Street, taken on a warm spring day in 1944. It shows sidewalks crowded with civilians, uniformed CWACs and soldiers on leave. Bright red trolleys roll amongst the cars, flags and awnings hang […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Not in my backyard
[Image-1] Halifax has seen more than its fair share of live music venue closures in recent years. The reasons for closure are complex and diverse, ranging from regulations that can best be described as “hostile to business,” to economic factors revolving around people being unable to spend all night paying $6 per drink in a […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Development and the views from Citadel Hill
Developers are constrained by them. Tourists are lured by them. The city is shaped by them. But how exactly do the protected views from Citadel Hill work? At last you can see. A video information service from PLANifax and The Coast.
Posted inNews + Opinion
Ridiculous development approved out of spite
[Image-1] “We see petitions on a number of occasions. If we listened or agreed with petitions then there’d never be a convention centre.”—councilor Stephen Adams “Hand gestures are OK as long as you use all fingers.” —mayor Mike Savage “It doesn’t meet any of our design guidelines, guys. It doesn’t meet ANY of our design […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Blue balls on Grafton Street
[Image-1] The good news is we all have an extra year to buy our convention centre-warming gifts, now that the Nova Centre isn’t going to be what we asked for, when we asked for it. A week ago the news broke that the Ivany tower dream project which is the Nova Centre is delayed nearly […]
Posted inArts + Music
The party’s over for CBC’s inadvertent incubator
We know that CBC is shrinking. For decades we’ve heard of seemingly endless cuts to the federal funding that keeps our public radio and television services alive. In Halifax, the fact will be hard to deny when the iconic, Art Deco CBC Radio building at Sackville and South Park Streets succumbs to the wrecking ball […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Ghosts of Barrington
Silhouettes flicker on the pale white of St. Paul’s Church, shadows lit by the floodlights of Grand Parade. On a foggy Friday night, they’ve paid $10 each to gather for a dramatic tour of Halifax’s spookiest haunts. Yarns are spun of shipwrecked sailors and vengeful spirits. Here, overlooking Barrington Street, the tour guide turns to […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Financial thriller
[Image-1] “Councillor Walker has both my interest and my sympathy now,” —Barry Dalrymple, on Walker’s Canada Games Centre woes. “If council agreed with every petition they got, there’d be no convention centre,” —Steve Adams, on the thousands of people against the development on Wellington. “Bring this out in the open.” —Reg Rankin, about the Blue […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Developments would be towering over the Common
[Image-1] Two closely-linked developments at the intersection of Robie Street and Quinpool Road are currently working their way through the municipal planning process labyrinth. It’s early days, but what’s being proposed could dramatically alter one of Halifax’s most visible corners. The Armco-owned APL Properties Ltd. is trying to build two towers, 12 and 28 storeys, […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
City doesn’t know best, says Quinpool developer
[Image-1] If the city tells you to change the dimensions of your multi-million dollar development, you would probably go ahead and make those changes. That’s why you’re lame. Not like those rebels with sort-of-a-cause APL Properties, who instead chose to ignore city council’s recommendations on their 22-storey Quinpool Road proposal and re-submit the exact same […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Nova Centre takes over Grafton Street
Already notorious, Tuesday night at council the Nova Centre development project assumed even greater infamy. City council voted—unanimously except for Jennifer Watts—to amend current land-use bylaws governing the zone where the convention centre will be erected (currently an iconic hole in the ground across from Durty Nelly’s and The Seahorse). That could mean losing a […]