• City Hall
  • Province House
  • Education
  • Environment
  • Investigation
  • Journalism
  • Commentary
  • @Tim_Bousquet
  • Log In

Halifax Examiner

An independent, adversarial news site in Halifax, NS

  • Home
  • About
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Commenting policy
  • Archives
  • Contact us
  • Subscribe
  • Donate
  • Manage your account
  • Swag
You are here: Home / City Hall / The convention centre opening date is delayed… again.

The convention centre opening date is delayed… again.

October 4, 2016 By Tim Bousquet 5 Comments

Construction of the hotel above the convention centre is nowhere near completion, and an operator of the hotel has not been announced. Photo: Halifax Examiner

Construction of the hotel above the convention centre is nowhere near completion, and an operator of the hotel has not been announced. Photo: Halifax Examiner

The Halifax Convention Centre will not open as scheduled on April 1. A new opening date has not yet been established, but at least seven national and international conventions that have been booked into the convention centre are affected — Trade Centre Limited representatives are working for alternative arrangements, including rebooking the conventions into the existing convention centre.

Completion of the convention centre was delayed once before. In December 2014, developer Joe Ramia announced that the scheduled January 1, 2016 “substantial completion” date of Nova Centre would be pushed back to September 30, 2016, with the convention centre component ready by January 1, 2017. That date was subsequently revised to April 1, 2017.

I walked around the building yesterday and realized that with winter weather approaching and much of the exterior of the building still open to the elements, there is no way construction could be finished by April.

Besides the convention centre, the hotel component of Nova Centre is also behind schedule. An operator of the hotel still hasn’t been announced, and it strikes me as unlikely that an operator could agree to a lease and get the hotel operational in less than six months.

I’ve asked Trade Centre Limited for comment, and will speak with councillors and city staff at today’s city council meeting.

More to come.

Updated, 11:50am:

I’ve received the following response from TCL spokesperson Suzanne Fougere:

Based on the information we have, and in the interest of ensuring those impacted have appropriate notice, we have begun discussions with national and international clients booked in the new convention centre in the spring. We’ve started working with them on alternatives, which includes relocating them to the existing WTCC if they choose. There are a total of seven national and international events (April-June) that are directly impacted. Steps are underway to get confirmation of the construction timeline from the developer.

As it relates to the hotel partner, we look forward to that announcement from the developer once those details are finalized.

Filed Under: City Hall, Featured, News, Province House Tagged With: Convention centre, delay, Joe Ramia, Nova Centre, Suzanne Fougere, TCL, Trade Centre Limited

About Tim Bousquet

Tim Bousquet is the editor and publisher of the Halifax Examiner. email: [email protected]; Twitter

Comments

  1. gordohfx says

    October 4, 2016 at 9:56 am

    And Scott Ferguson is chuckling softly in his fancy Manhattan apartment….

    Log in to Reply
  2. davidmorash says

    October 4, 2016 at 10:17 am

    Are there any fines related to missing yet another completion date? I’m assuming we will get some more innovative world class bullshit about this but I would like to see some actual penalties applied.

    Log in to Reply
  3. Mary Ann McGrath says

    October 4, 2016 at 11:06 am

    I wonder what the excuse will be this time, and it can’t be labour issues – there are literally 100’s of unemployed tradesmen in HRM, courtesy of the melt-down in the Alberta oil patch.

    Log in to Reply
  4. Jeff Warnica says

    October 4, 2016 at 5:37 pm

    I’d wager that Ramia had as much success at strong arming the general contractor and suppliers as does SMU football when they play in Upper Canada.

    Log in to Reply
  5. John Cascadden says

    October 4, 2016 at 5:46 pm

    A crystal ball is not a good event scheduling tool…. most developers know this.

    Log in to Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

The Tideline, with Tara Thorne

Brian Borcherdt. Photo: Anna Edwards-Borcherdt

Brian Borcherdt came of age in Yarmouth in the 1990s. When he arrived in Halifax, the city’s famous music scene was already waning, and worse, the music he made was rejected by the cool kids anyway. After decades away from Nova Scotia, he and his young family have settled in the Annapolis Valley, where he’ll zoom in to chat with Tara about his band Holy Fuck’s endlessly delayed tour, creating the Dependent Music collective, and the freedom and excitement of the improvised music he’s making now. Plus: Bringing events back in 2021.

The Tideline is advertising-free and subscriber-supported. It’s also a very good deal at just $5 a month. Click here to support The Tideline.

Uncover: Dead Wrong

In 1995, Brenda Way was brutally murdered behind a Dartmouth apartment building. In 1999, Glen Assoun was found guilty of the murder. He served 17 years in prison, but steadfastly maintained his innocence. In 2019, Glen Assoun was fully exonerated.

Halifax Examiner founder and investigative journalist Tim Bousquet has followed the story of Glen Assoun's wrongful conviction for over five years. Now, Bousquet tells that story as host of Season 7 of the CBC podcast series Uncover: Dead Wrong.

Click here to go to listen to the podcast, or search for CBC Uncover on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or any other podcast aggregator.

About the Halifax Examiner

Examiner folk The Halifax Examiner was founded by investigative reporter Tim Bousquet, and now includes a growing collection of writers, contributors, and staff. Left to right: Joan Baxter, Stephen Kimber, Linda Pannozzo, Erica Butler, Jennifer Henderson, Iris the Amazing, Tim Bousquet, Evelyn C. White, El Jones, Philip Moscovitch More about the Examiner.

Sign up for email notification

Sign up to receive email notification of new posts on the Halifax Examiner. Note: signing up for email notification of new posts is NOT subscribing to the Halifax Examiner. To subscribe, click here.

Recent posts

  • COVID update: team sport competitions can resume; 4 new cases announced in Nova Scotia on Friday, Jan. 22 January 22, 2021
  • Three times in the last year, violent men have been driving look-alike police cars January 22, 2021
  • Stirring the pot: more Canadians cooking with cannabis during pandemic January 22, 2021
  • Neighbours appeal approval of Halifax development where demolition started before eviction was complete January 21, 2021
  • 2 cases of COVID-19 announced in Nova Scotia on Thursday, Jan. 21 January 21, 2021

Commenting policy

All comments on the Halifax Examiner are subject to our commenting policy. You can view our commenting policy here.

Copyright © 2021