7177 Quinpool Rd is new and different for the city as a tall, narrow tower with decorative offset balconies. The jury's still out on how it will ultimately look but I could see it impacting the local culture somewhat around what kind of buildings people want or feel are appropriate in different places. The new library built a decade or so ago had an impact on the acceptance of modern architectural styles.
There was a group of people who were traumatized by 60's/70's projects like Fenwick and the Maritime Centre and basically viewed highrises as concrete blobs to be minimized (ironically they often pushed for planning rules that encouraged uglier squat buildings). They would assume that an area like the Northwest Arm would look best with as little development as possible. I think that perception is becoming less common now, and NS is mostly wilderness and small towns or villages so hopefully people can eventually accept that it can be interesting and useful to urbanize a small number of these natural settings.
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