Maritime Centre Redesign

Site Plan Approval Application

Maritime Centre is home to the Atlantic region’s rapidly expanding pre-eminent tech start-up hub. Anchored by the leadership of Volta Labs which is currently scaling up to 60,000 square feet of space, some of the most exciting businesses, new ideas, job creation and innovations are coming from within the Maritime Centre’s walls daily. Volta is tripling in size to become the cornerstone of the innovation district in Halifax. This new purpose-built space will be a true super hub for the technology industry to work and connect in Downtown Halifax.

Last fall (2016) SLATE’s team of planners and architects at WSP and A49 presented a preliminary schematic design package to Halifax’s Design Review Committee (DRC) for their consideration.

As the process of review has evolved, DRC and City staff provided helpful feedback and our team has made a number of design amendments and improvements. We look forward to engaging with the public and stakeholders through the City of Halifax’s process of public consultation in the coming weeks.

The Maritime Centre redesign brings new light to a bright corner in Halifax, refreshing the façade of this iconic downtown building by enhancing the streetscape, and as importantly, incorporating new wind mitigation measures to improve the sidewalk comfort for the thousands of pedestrians that walk past the building every week. The new Barrington Street entranceway design also enhances the building’s visual connection with Spring Garden Road.

Central to supporting this important project is the needed garage expansion, which will enable 100 new parking spaces. The project redesign and investment being made by SLATE hinges on the added parking space, an asset that is also needed in this growing area of downtown Halifax. An exit-only garage doorway is incorporated into the Salter and Granville Street side of the building. The traffic study confirms this design aspect will not have any significant impact on the traffic performance of streets or intersections near the site.

Design Rational Package