128 replies to this topic

[Nparker]

I do not think any of that is visible other than to those on the penthouse floor

I know, that's the worst part. They're paying to have to stare at that ugliness...or were you saying this tongue-in-cheek?

[HB]

No that was a serious observation

[Holden West]

Straight up bathtubs or perhaps shower stalls?

 

 

 

 

Regular horizontal bathtub that you lay in not sure what a straight up tub is

 

 

Yo, homes, a straight up tub is just a regular old tub that's keepin' it real, man.

[Szeven]

The kitchen finishing looks too cheap to be residential.

[Hotel Mike]

Was it ever considered to put in those glass bricks on the street level to reflect some light in, in keeping with some of the downtown heritage street scape?

[HB]

If they did that they would be letting  light to an area that will have no access. A concrete wall has been built in the basement completely isolating the under sidewalk area from the building .This is the reason they are removing the lids and sidewalk and back filling it  with material. It would look good though as you say if they put those purple prisms in a back lit them from below

[concorde]

I really hate the use of HardiePlank® in an urban setting (photos 6 & 8 above). It looks OK in the 'burbs, but seems terribly out of place on this building. Could they not have used brick to face the inside of that roof top parapet wall?

Brick is roughly four times the price of hardieplank

 

Does anyone know the expected completion date, its looking like a few months away from the pics

[Nparker]

Brick is roughly four times the price of hardieplank

So you're saying there was no salvageable brick available from the entire renovation of the NEH that could have been used as a decorative finishing treatment inside the parapet walls?

[concorde]

So you're saying there was no salvageable brick available from the entire renovation of the NEH that could have been used as a decorative finishing treatment inside the parapet walls?

No, there was no salvaged brick that I know of

 

and even if you salvaged the brick and cleaned it, it will actually cost you more than new.  Also just think about this how long does it take to install a brick versus install 1 piece of hardieplank, probably around the same, but hardie you covered 50 times the area for the same labour.

 

the chinese buildings on Pandora will follow the same concept with one extra floor (could be 2 I forget) of hardi on top of heritage 3 storey buildings.  Reason:  cost.  Since you asked the question, yes there is tons of brick salvageable brick available from that job

[Nparker]

Nickel & diming cost saving on such "heritage" projects today is leaving a cheap and nasty legacy for the future. What's the point of preservation if the end product is second-rate?

Edited by Nparker, 09 January 2014 - 09:41 PM.

[Mike K.]

I dunno, Lefevre could cut corners in a million places but he's managed to keep things legit throughout most the building. If he chooses to go with hardiplank in an area only visible to one or two tenants I don't think that's such a big deal. These restorations are risky, expensive and any one of them could make Lefevre lose his shirt, and if it wasn't for him this building would still be harbouring rats and waiting to crumble in an earthquake.

[HB]

Some of the comments I am reading about re-using bricks are incorrect. They are reusing them and yes they have cleaned them. Its easy to guess at whats going on but I for one have had a first hand look at the reconstruction of this building and a few others in town since the first day. If you have any more guesses about whats going on in the building bring it on I may well have photos to disprove the guesses as below.

 

Behind that hardiplank is a wall of brick .

 

There was some salvaged brick. It is being used right now to cover the elevator shaft on the rooftop so that it doesnt look like an ugly cement box such as the one on the roof of the Promontory.

 

The pictures I posted show salvaged bricks in the basement.

 

It shows salvaged bricks on the roof being added to the outside of teh elevator shaft under the blue tarp

Another picture taken from the roof of a building across the street shows the brick walls go above the roofline and are hidden behind the hardiplank on the new 5th floor.

 

 

I would also like to ad that in my books LeFevre is a local hero and I for one am proud of a guy like that who uses his own money to help preserve heritage buildings in this city Without him, his money and his dedication there would still be more derelict death traps around.

 

He helps the local economy by hiring tradesmen and women from the area as well as purchasing from local businesses and more importantly he is revivng run down buildings and giving them life as well as place for people and businesses to locate.

 

So in the end I say "so what"...he used some hardi plank in an area that no one except for the tenent who lives there will ever see

Edited by History Buff, 09 January 2014 - 10:50 PM.

[Sparky]

LeFevre is one of our customers. Class act.

[HB]

Here is an picture where it is quite apparent that bricks were cleaned and reused on the side of the building. Yep these too were cleaned and re-used.

Oh and look...you can not see the hardi-plank.

 

 

[Nparker]

Even more reason that they shouldn't have cheaped out and stuck the residents with hardieplank view out their windows.

[VicHockeyFan]

Any opinions on Hardieplank, NParker?  

[Nparker]

You betcha. Fine in suburban, residential application. Tolerable in some contemporary low-rise urban residential construction. Cheap, tacky & out of place in the rehabilitation of Victorian era urban buildings.

[Mike K.]

The New England Hotel will indeed become a residential building, but with a twist.

 

The office component has been dropped in favour of 22 microloft rentals of 250-350 square feet. Now you can try before you buy (at the Janion!)

 

Commercial space will be leased on the ground floor and completion for the New England is only months away now.

 

So History Buff's photos depicting kitchenettes and full bathrooms all over the place were indeed indicative of residential space and not office/commercial.

[VicHockeyFan]

The office component has been dropped in favour of 22 microloft rentals of 250-350 square feet. Now you can try before you buy (at the Janion!)

 

Ah, it'll be interesting to see what these rent for.  I'm afraid that if they don't have cool appliances and fixtures like the Janion, they might not rent well.  If they are just a small version of a mediocre rental, people will dislike them, in favour of larger units.

 

This May 2013 article says rentals.

[Szeven]

I see the article also says shared laundry. Definitely look forward to seeing the prices and occupancy.