[Halifax] The Olympic (1140 Barrington) | 26 m | 8 fl | U/C

[ArchAficionado]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Back to the project, as much as you might dislike the faux-Victorian mansard frosting and decorative window bays down low layered on to a typical HRM box apartment, it is still a damn site better than the Highfield Park Special built across the street from it on the north side, from back about 20 years ago when that was all HRM planning liked to allow.

100% agree. Probably the only thing that drab older building has going for it is that its units are probably 2x the square footage of the new build.

[ArchAficionado]

Originally Posted by worldlyhaligonian

This photo might not be the most recent, but it shows the potential of this area.



A tower on the Tim Horton's site would add great density to this area with transit and grocery stores.

This area has always felt like south downtown, even though there isn't anything of height immediately until you go up the hill to the Vuze (which I consider to be South end proper).

I just noticed it, but this pocket is really one of very few mid-density neighborhoods in the city, where there is a combination of townhomes, small apartment buildings, and midrises.

[someone123]

It is quite good overall and even has a stock of older apartment buildings like the one on Morris Street. A lot of the gems are on side streets, like the row along Smith St, which might be the longest uninterrupted Victorian row in the city.

But then again there were so many bad piecemeal demolitions and mediocre new builds, and there's always been a "two steps forward, one step back" feel. For example, the Maritime Command building got replaced by what looks like a wood frame 90s build of similar height. Even the trade of the brick row that used to have Taj Mahal for that midrise residential building was quite poor. It would have been such a nice stretch of old buildings running along South St.

[Arrdeeharharharbour]

PXL_20260729_160836536 by A.J. Forsythe, on Flickr


PXL_20260729_160642294 by A.J. Forsythe, on Flickr

[HfxGuy]

Originally Posted by Arrdeeharharharbour

PXL_20260729_160642294 by A.J. Forsythe, on Flickr

My god is it just me or does that look fantastic! Goes to show how high quality finishes can make or break a project. I feel like all I heard for the last two years was this building was going to be butt ugly. Hopefully the mansard roof finish ties in nicely with the brick.

[Arrdeeharharharbour]

Originally Posted by HfxGuy

My god is it just me or does that look fantastic! Goes to show how high quality finishes can make or break a project. I feel like all I heard for the last two years was this building was going to be butt ugly. Hopefully the mansard roof finish ties in nicely with the brick.

It's not just you. It looks and feels even better in person than the pics convey.

[worldlyhaligonian]

Originally Posted by HfxGuy

My god is it just me or does that look fantastic! Goes to show how high quality finishes can make or break a project. I feel like all I heard for the last two years was this building was going to be butt ugly. Hopefully the mansard roof finish ties in nicely with the brick.

I think the finishes exceeded everyone's expectation.

It sort of looks like a mix of San Francisco and european. Not bad!

[someone123]

I'd hazard a guess that while these are nicer materials, it's probably not an ultra luxury project with a wildly unusual budget. I don't agree with developers who say buildings have to be ugly to be financially viable (e.g., metal siding box on Jubilee), especially in today's housing market on the peninsula.

[Drybrain]

It definitely looks WAY better than I expected, up to the sixth floor, but the gigantic mansard-esque thing consuming the top two storeys is pretty weird.

[someone123]

I don't understand why so many building designs in Halifax are so complicated with strange roofs and mish-mashes of building materials. It seems like it would be more expensive and it looks worse. This building is far from the worst offender, and we have to wait and see what the roof cladding looks like, but I dunno.. why not just stick with the brick and a simple roof?

[Drybrain]

I'm pretty sure that in this case the intention was to mirror the design of the Victorian house next door, which was restored as part of this. I respect the intent but the execution is...odd.

[Arrdeeharharharbour]

Originally Posted by someone123

I'd hazard a guess that while these are nicer materials, it's probably not an ultra luxury project with a wildly unusual budget. I don't agree with developers who say buildings have to be ugly to be financially viable (e.g., metal siding box on Jubilee), especially in today's housing market on the peninsula.

Gladstone sale by A.J. Forsythe, on Flickr

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by Drybrain

It definitely looks WAY better than I expected, up to the sixth floor, but the gigantic mansard-esque thing consuming the top two storeys is pretty weird.

Yeah this. I like that they used brick, and the beveled corner is interesting but the roof looks strange and out of place for a building like this. If they wanted to mimic vintage buildings then maybe a flat roof with some decorative masonry work might have been a better choice. There are lots of examples that they could have drawn inspiration from, but I can see how that might increase costs.

That said, maybe it will look great when it’s finally finished. Definitely not the worst looking building in the area, as you can see one that looks like it was plucked from 1990s Clayton Park in one of the photos.