1660 Hollis Street, Halifax, NS

The future Agency Art Lofts is a truly mixed-use building repositioning strategy. This ideally located property will feature exposed concrete surfaces, best-in-class floor-to-floor heights, waterfront views, and five newly-modernized elevators servicing the building’s two internal towers. In addition, the podium of the building is being completely rethought under the design direction of award winning Fathom Studios, and will feature original art throughout. Built in the 1970s, the midcentury-designed Centennial Building was one of Halifax’s first high-rise buildings, standing 14 storeys tall and centrally located downtown. But when acquired by Sidewalk, this office tower was nearly 40 percent vacant— having lost tenants to newly built A-class properties—and in desperate need of a new vision. So we looked beyond its tired facade to uncover the building’s fundamental features: concrete columns and 11.5 ft – 16.5 ft ceilings. It’s a case study of the value of retention and adaptation over demolition, and preserving a building’s embodied energy.