Maritime Centre

The Maritime Centre, in Downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, is an office building, home to the regional telecommunications company Bell Aliant (formerly the Maritime Telegraph and Telephone Company, after which it is named). The main entrance to the building sits on the prominent corner of Barrington Street and Spring Garden Road.

Maritime Centre
Northeastern facade
General information
StatusCompleted
Location1505 Barrington Street
Halifax, Nova Scotia
ClientMT&T
OwnerSlate Office REIT
Design and construction
Architect(s)Webb Zerafa Menkes Housden
DeveloperTrizec Equities
Website
maritimecentre.ca

History

The development was announced in May 1974 by joint proponents MT&T, which owned the land and would be the main tenant, and developer Trizec Equities. Construction was delayed by the discovery of a rock fault beneath the site, which compelled the developers to undertake costly remedial action to protect the adjacent St. Matthew's Church.[1]

The building is on the site of the former Capitol Theatre which was demolished in 1974 to make way for the construction of the present tower.[2]

In 1995, Trizec sold the complex, as well as the nearby Centennial Building, to Fortis Properties of St. John's, which paid C$42 million for the two buildings.[3]

On October 13, 2015, Fortis Inc. announced that it had sold its commercial real estate portfolio, including Maritime Centre, to Slate Office REIT.[4]

Design

The complex was designed by architects Webb Zerafa Menkes Housden of Toronto and Dumaresq and Byrne of Halifax.[5] Completed in 1977, the original structure had 14 storeys; another seven floors were added in 1988. The building stands at 78 metres and has 21 floors, including the two retail levels. It is notable for the strong wind tunnel effect it creates at street level.[6]

Maritime Centre was designed to avoid blocking the view from Citadel Hill to various parts of Halifax Harbour, hence the building's peculiar angle to the street.

The lower levels of the building were renovated from late 2019 to 2022. The plazas and steps in front of the building entrances, along Barrington Street, were replaced with expanded lobby, vestibule, and retail areas. The design of the expansion project was intended to improve pedestrian comfort on Barrington Street by breaking up high winds above street level.[7]

Further reading
  • Pacey, Elizabeth (1979). The Battle of Citadel Hill. Lancelot Press. ISBN 0-88999-101-4.

References
  1. "Rock fault delays Maritime Centre project". The 4th Estate. 20 February 1975. p. 3.
  2. Lauren Oostveen, "From the Vaults: The Capitol Theatre", Spacing Atlantic, October 17, 2009
  3. "Trizec sells two Halifax buildings". The Globe and Mail. 18 March 1995.
  4. "Fortis Completes Sale of Commercial Real Estate Portfolio" (Press release). Fortis Inc. June 30, 2015. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
  5. "$25 million Maritime Centre in Halifax follows Trizec formula". Canadian Building: 45. June 1974.
  6. Jamie Lee, "Wind issues an afterthought – architects" Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine, NovaNewsNet (Kings Journalism ), November 15, 2007
  7. "Maritime Centre 2.0: Reimagining the Streetscape of Halifax's Business Core" (PDF). Halifax Regional Council. WSP. 8 March 2018.
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