Archives /// Development

The [Re]Presenting Halifax series revisits historical and contemporary maps, diagrams and other interpretive readings of the Halifax region. See my first post for the full aims of this project and more information about contributing to the series. HALIFAX - This is a continuation of last week's post about waterfront redevelopment. Similar to the plans presented last week, this post focuses on a plan commissioned for the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission during the early 1970s. Dubbed Harbour Plaza, this 1971 urban redevelopment plan reimagines the Dartmouth waterfront and ferry terminal. In contrast to the plans for Halifax revealed at the same time, this plan presents the redesign of the ferry terminal as a strategic urban project meant to reactivate the surrounding area. While this proposal never materialized, it shares some similar features to the new ferry terminal and Alderney Landing complex.

Co-written by Rachel Caroline Derrah HALIFAX - Fenwick Tower, the 40-years unfinished, 33-storey butt of the anti-development community's — nay, everyone's — jokes is going through an identity overhaul. And, if all goes according to the proposed plan, it's taking the city with it. For decades skeptical fingers have pointed in the building's direction, naming it a quintessential example of bad development — a living argument against changing Halifax's height restrictions. But Joe Metlege of Templeton Properties — 7-month owner of the infamous high-rise — aims to "flip that." He sees potential in Fenwick Tower to become an example of development gone right, envisioning fingers across the country pointed Halifax-bound, towards a new precedent in innovative renovation of the Le Corbusier-inspired 'tower in the park' design, which was prevalent in the 1960s and 70s and is widely critiqued for its brutality and context insensitivity. This Tuesday, March 9th, Templeton's application to amend the Municipal Planning Strategy and Peninsula Land Use By-law to allow for mixed-use re-development of the Fenwick site will come before Regional Council.

The [Re]Presenting Halifax series revisits historical and contemporary maps, diagrams and other interpretive readings of the Halifax region. See my first post for the full aims of this project and more information about contributing to the series. HALIFAX - In 1957, University of Toronto planning professor Gordon Stephenson released a report titled A Redevelopment Study of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Jointly funded by the City and the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), this study was commissioned after a series of unsuccessful slum clearance and redevelopment proposals for the peninsula in the early 1950s. Stephenson’s study, widely-known as The Stephenson Report, was a manual for urban renewal and regeneration achieved through slum clearance. Armed with "evidence" from the Report’s statistical surveys of social conditions, the city razed 16 acres of dense housing (more than the 8.8 acres recommended), displacing 1600 people and relocated them to the newly constructed Mulgrave Park housing project. The cleared land sat empty until the construction of Scotia Square in 1967.

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ST. JOHN'S - This should be a great opportunity for the community to gather, and discuss issues surrounding development in St. John's. The expert panel should give everyone a useful insight into ways we can ensure St. John's grows into the vibrant city we all want it to. This event is being organized by the good people at HappyCity.ca, who also organized a public forum on smart growth and urban sprawl last April. They have an online forum on their website to promote discussion regarding growth, and ...

The Nova Scotia Archives is pleased to share photos showcasing the changing faces of urban centers in Nova Scotia. You can learn more about the archives and explore thousands of photos, textual records, maps, art, and more on their website. Bird's eye view of Africville, showing its location on Bedford Basin, with north end Halifax and the Narrows in the background. Selections from Bob Brooks' Photographic Portrait of Africville in the 1960s. Bob Brooks created his photographic record of Africville, mostly in black and white, between about 1962 and 1965. His work appeared in Time Life, The Star Weekly, Sports Illustrated, Newsweek, McCall's, Harper's, Maclean's, Chatelaine, The London Times, Paris Match and National Geographic.

This is the second installment in a series that revisits historical and contemporary maps, diagrams and other interpretive readings of the Halifax region.  See my first post for the full aims of this project and more information about contributing to the series. HALIFAX - This map is a representation of the waterfront area, city centre, and suburbs of Halifax in 1835. Despite the passing of nearly 90 years since its founding, the original layout of the city remained intact in 1835. The only noticeable expansion is evident in the suburban growth in the north and south (Schmidtville), while paths to the west identify patterns for future expansion. The inclusion of plot size is one of the most distinguishing and legible features of this map. Within the original city centre, blocks are narrow, with the long edge running parallel to the water. The blocks follow a strong grid pattern, each being approximately 320 feet in length and 120 feet in width (98m x 37m), with 55-foot (17m) wide streets in between. Each block is then subdivided into 16 equal plots. The result is a fine grain and diverse urban fabric, as each plot is a mere 40 feet wide.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600" caption="The three buildings that would be demolished under the Fortis proposal"][/caption] ST. JOHN'S - Newfoundland and Labrador has seen great economic benefit from offshore oil and gas developments in recent years. For the first time (since Confederation), Newfoundland is a 'have' province. With the province awash in oil money, Premier Danny Williams assures us that investments will be made with a vision for the future, and that we will come out of the oil boom stronger then ever before. In St. John's, the hub of the province's oil driven economy, the lasting legacy of oil will come from the development which occurs during the boom. Long after the jobs and prosperity brought by oil leave, the buildings they helped construct will remain. Fortis Properties, one of the largest companies in Newfoundland, has recently made a proposal for a redevelopment in downtown St. John’s. Fortis currently owns a 12-story building on the corner of Water street and Harbour drive (pictured below). The proposal includes plans to demolish the three buildings next to their exiting building to construct a 15-story tower. The proposed site for this new tower is in the closest block to the harbour, which makes many worry about its potential effect on views in the downtown, and the St. John's skyline.