After a year of construction, our building is now home for hundreds of employees.
October-November 2011 Update (PDF)
As we enter the summer, the interior of the building is really starting to come together.
Work stations have been installed in more than half of the building and offices are being equipped with telephones and other electronics. The elevator lifts are installed and running, but the glass-backed cabs will be installed at a later date, after workers have finished using them for transporting materials to the upper floors of the building.
June-July 2011 Update (PDF)
Great progress is being made on the building’s interior transformation. Crew members are installing carpet in various areas of the building along with the first 100 work stations. Wall partitions and workstations for the offices are being delivered to the construction site and installed.
March-April 2011 Update (PDF)
Crew members are continuing to finish the exterior of the building. Neighbours can expect to see aluminum panels installed over the coming weeks, which will cover up the exterior Blueskin waterproofing membrane. Also, crew members are installing raised framing, called mullion caps, around the sections of exterior glass. These provide a pleasing visual detail to the architecture.
January-February 2011 Update (PDF)
The exterior glass is all up and aluminum panels are nearing completion.
Ground preparation is underway for the main entrance from Lower Water Street. Passersby will notice a lot of heavy equipment there. Also, the last of the debris has been moved across the road to the former “Pit” parking lot. It will be paved in the spring.
On Aug 31, a 300-ton crane lifted six air-handling units – the largest weighing in at 7,700 kilograms (about the weight of three luxury SUVs) – onto the building’s roof. The six Engineered Air units have a combined airflow capacity of more than 21,500 litres per second.
On July 15, a 200-tonne crane lifted several 5,400 kilogram staircases six stories high and lowered them through the roof and into position in the atrium area at the centre of the building. It was pretty spectacular to watch. You can see more photos in the image gallery on our project web page.
Things are well on track with the ongoing installation of the curtain wall outside of the building. The massive glass sheets – 15 feet high and eight to 10 feet wide – continue to be mounted on the boardwalk side, and workers are prepping the Lower Water Street side for more installation. We expect to have the building fully enclosed with glass and aluminum by September.
Great progress is being made on the building’s transformation. We now have our first completely glassed wall on the north side facing Bishop’s Landing. Portions of the Lower Water Street and harbour sides are also complete. Workers will continue to install the massive glass sheets – 15 feet high and eight to 10 feet wide – until its completion. Progress is on track to be finished by the fall.
The sleek, modern look of the new offices has begun to take shape with the installation of glass curtain wall along the northern end of the building, facing Bishop’s Landing. These massive glass sheets – 15 feet high and eight to 10 feet wide – are a major step in the building’s transformation.
A major step in the building’s transformation is underway. Workers are preparing to install massive glass sheets – 15 feet high and eight to 10 feet wide – on the exterior walls. The glass was selected in collaboration with our LEED consultant, Enermodal Engineering, for its reflectivity and thermal characteristics. The panels will maximize the use of natural lighting in the offices and give the building a sleek modern look.
The cutting of window openings in the harbourside wall is well underway. Over the coming weeks, a large roof-to-ground opening will be cut in the centre of the harbourside wall. This will be for the glass atrium that will bring daylight to the central part of the building.
Workers have begun cutting window openings in the harbourside wall. The cuts will extend all the way from the ground to the roofline, and each will be approximately 10 to 12 feet wide. These large windows will maximize the use of natural light, which is an important environmental component of the building.
We started September with a large concrete pour for a floor slab. That brought about 20 cement trucks to the site on Sept 1. Most of September’s action will take place inside the building, where workers will continue to install piles – drilled, not driven – and structural steel. Openings will be cut on the harbour side toward the end of the month.
Transformation of the old power station is proceeding quickly. The 1944 Section on the north side of the property has been completely demolished.
In the first week of August, workers began taking off the top two floors of what was the plant’s control room, bringing it down to the Lower Water Street level on the west side of the property. This is where the main entrance of the new building will be constructed. The electrical and mechanical rooms below street level will remain and become part of the new building.
Demolition is underway on the north side of the property on what we refer to as the 1944 Section, so named because it was built in – you guessed it – 1944.
On July 8, workers began bringing down a section of the northwest wall, allowing passersby a view into the interior of the building. During the week of July 13, the roof will be taken down. More walls will come down during the following two weeks. Structural steel will be installed for the floors, new roof, and a naturally lit atrium.
Spring has finally sprung and construction at Lower Water Street is moving along! You will continue to see an increase in activities both inside and outside of the building.
Interior demolition activities continue including the removal of an overhead crane, floor slabs, walls and catwalks. The interior of the building is now looking a lot less cluttered. You may have noticed that openings in the exterior wall have appeared and will become more prominent over the next few months.
Construction is on schedule with the demolition of the “1944” section on the north end of the building during the month of June.
Signs are currently being designed to show the renderings of the finished office facility. There will be two views, one showing the Lower Water Street side and one showing the Boardwalk side of the building. They will be installed on the fencing at the site early this month.
The interior demolition that began in January continues. Construction traffic will be steady between 7am and 5pm, with 25 workers onsite. Once the interior of the building has been cleared, work on the exterior will begin. This should begin in late spring 2009, as a portion of the north side exterior wall is removed. We will provide more information as this part of the project draws closer. The project site has regular security maintenance. A full-time security presence is posted at the north side of the building.
In order to ensure our neighbours have the most up-to-date information, we have created this webpage to provide an overview of the project, including construction updates. The building has a unique history and our employees are excited about contributing to its future. We hope you will visit this website for information or to look at some of the photos of the building; past and present.
In late December 2008, the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board approved a project to redevelop the former Nova Scotia Power generating station on Lower Water Street between Morris Street and Terminal Road. The project also has the required development permit from Halifax Regional Municipality. The renovated building will be the new corporate office for employees of Nova Scotia Power Inc., as well as NS Power's parentcompany, Emera Inc.
The old power plant will be transformed into a modern, sustainably operated complex - consistent with best environmental practices as well as the community's aspirations for new development on the waterfront.
Renovations are scheduled to be complete by January 2011. Over the next two years, we will make sure our neighbours have current information about the project and our progress - especially about any project-related changes in activity in the neighbourhood. Our employees are looking forward to working in this new facility on the waterfront - and becoming your neighbours.
Interior demolition activities are scheduled to begin January 16, 2009. It means increased truck traffic in and out of the site - primarily between 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., when construction crews will be working on site.