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General Construction Updates

adamyyc said:
at the risk of sounding like a NIMBY, this building is actually part of what gives Inglewood its character and charm. It’s part of why people want to visit and live there. The loss of this building would be pretty significant.
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Nah this is awful all around. There's enough to complain about here that doing so doesn't make you a nimby.
 
I used to live in Inglewood for many years (and own a few businesses there too). I'm always sad to see any building with character get demolished but sadly this building has had a slumlord running it into the ground for years now. Sadly the root of the issue is that the slumlords are incentivized to do stuff like this and suffer zero consequences (and make a pretty penny while they're at it).
 
Agreed, I never want to see those beautiful buildings go, something needs to be done about the landlords. In that community alone, there's pretty much 4 that dominant that whole area (of the commercials spots) and pretty much all of them are waiting to cash in. There's only one landlord that actually cares about maintaining the integrity of the community and those historic buildings.
 
Disappointing about Gresham Block, that building looks to be in pretty rough shape though, there really isn't much worth saving. Too bad it was allowed to get to such a state! Every time I went to Silk Road I felt like I was going to fall through the floor lol. Who owns it?
 
There is absolutely much worth saving (how many new brick buildings of this scale are being built?). Whether anyone wants to pony up the money for it is the question.

In the CBC article there was talk about plumbing leaks and the heating failing, and a lack of AC, but there's no reason that can't all be fixed.
 
I get that the current building is in a sad state of affairs so the numbers to maintain in probably don't make sense anymore, but it would be easier to swallow if there was some incentive or desire to rebuild buildings in the same format or aesthetic as the doomed heritage buildings. You see buildings in Europe that were bombarded during war, rebuilt in the same style, and people can't even tell the difference. Do that!

I feel like there's a pretty obvious formula to what makes these historical neighborhoods so likeable and charming...so even if it's just something simple as the mandating/incentivizing the use of brick and stone on the facades of buildings along 9th ave, it would help maintain the atmosphere. The Merlin Block in Inglewood is a decent attempt at this. While a new-ish building (2003) and not a rebuild, they designed the facade to fit into the historical aesthetic of the neighborhood. It's not quite to the same level of craft as before, and yes, it's historicist and "fake"...but it works.

Merlin-Block.jpg
 
Refurbished heritage structures should command greater rents than faux heritage fronted stucco boxes. The only reason, in my opinion, to demolish vs refurbishment is the potential of developing a high rise in its place and that's a symptom of heritage zoning. The one exception is imminent collapse which should be able to circumnavigate the permitting process.
 
DiscoStu said:
I get that the current building is in a sad state of affairs so the numbers to maintain in probably don't make sense anymore, but it would be easier to swallow if there was some incentive or desire to rebuild buildings in the same format or aesthetic as the doomed heritage buildings. You see buildings in Europe that were bombarded during war, rebuilt in the same style, and people can't even tell the difference. Do that!

I feel like there's a pretty obvious formula to what makes these historical neighborhoods so likeable and charming...so even if it's just something simple as the mandating/incentivizing the use of brick and stone on the facades of buildings along 9th ave, it would help maintain the atmosphere. The Merlin Block in Inglewood is a decent attempt at this. While a new-ish building (2003) and not a rebuild, they designed the facade to fit into the historical aesthetic of the neighborhood. It's not quite to the same level of craft as before, and yes, it's historicist and "fake"...but it works.

Merlin-Block.jpg
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Agreed. Other cities in Canada do this quite well. Ottawa, for example, has very robust historical protections in its downtown areas which ensure that historically significant buildings are protected, and that new developments fit into the aesthetic of the area. For example, they mandate a lot of red brick as that is a common building material in old buildings in the area. There are also several new developments which incorporate old buildings into the ground level in a very nice way. For example, see The Met.

I see no reason why Calgary can't do the same.

EDIT: They're also doing a cool one here, with an old brick warehouse.
 
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The building wasn't incorporated. It was demolished with only the outside facades retained for use in the new tower. Facades are the public interface so very easy and dangerous to call it preservation or retaining old buildings. In general, these retained facades are structural masonry walls while the Gresham Block is more likely a brick veneer on a wood frame. It would have to disssembled and reassembled.
 
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