Grainery Lofts
Rendering of the Grainery Lofts upon completion
New apartments! Featuring high end finishes and appliances, floor to ceiling windows, fitness facilities and views of a gargantuan concrete structure that can withstand a nuclear fallout and was probably used as the set for the movie the ‘Book of Eli’ starring Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman and Mila Kunis (who is one of my favorite people to stare at on my TV and has really progressed since her ‘That 70′s Show’ days). But I digress.
We’ve all seen the mysterious grain elevator eerily looming over the venerable luxury of the Halifax South End, and wondered… what the hell does that thing do, and will anyone ever develop anything around it? Apparently the answer is yes. Not only is Southwest Properties well in the process of building a 6 storey, 113 apartment complex directly next to the grain elevator, but they are also employing some rather forward thinking methods from an environmental perspective.
The Grainery Lofts building under construction on South Bland Street
The building is called the Grainery Lofts, and will be the first residential building in Atlantic Canada to receive the LEED Gold certification (the second highest available). This means that many considerations were… well… taken into consideration when putting the project together, one of which was using recycled materials from old buildings around the city. Also, tenants will be able to monitor their own energy consumption by logging onto a website and checking the electrical and water usage for their suite. The LEED certification is more common in newly constructed commercial properties, as corporate tenants often must meet certain environmentally friendly criteria in their office spaces, but it is a trend that will likely continue to develop in the residential sector as well.
Grainery Lofts building with the grain elevator looming in the background
I’m glad to see this development happening and I hope that its proximity to what is arguably the ugliest landmark in HRM does not cause problems with filling the units. One of the main reasons why I like this development is that Southwest chose to find what little land is still available in the heart of the peninsula and build UP on it, instead of continuing to add to the suburban sprawl. Don’t get me wrong, there’s lots of demand for the suburbs and they serve their purpose, but there’s already plenty of developers working on those. It’s great to see a building going up downtown, despite the potential risks posed by it’s next door neighbor. The overall location however is ideal, and these higher end units will be great choices for young professionals working downtown as well as international students considering that SMU is just up the road.
Back view of Grainery Lofts in close proximity to the grain elevator
Occupancy is expected for 2012, and I hope to see this project succeed. I am also curious if perhaps Southwest is thinking long-term with this development – the grain elevator will hopefully be torn down at some point, leaving some prime South End real estate behind. When and if this happens, Southwest will already have a foothold in the area, and can make a play at acquiring the newly available land right away. Or maybe that will never happen. Who knows… your thoughts?
