The new owners of the Chronicle Herald building will be one of six groups competing to build a new World Trade and Convention Centre in Halifax.
Joe Ramia, director of Rank inc., confirmed they had put the Argyle street location forward as a possible site for the new centre. The building is expected to be demolished sometime after the Chronicle Herald moves to its new location near the Armdale Rotary in June.
Five other developers have also sent in bids: Hardman Group; Bird/Rideau Construction; Eastpen Inc.; Halifax Port Authority; and Anwyll Fogo Architects.
Details of the bids are confidential until the province and city evaluate them.
That should begin soon. HRM spokeswoman Deborah Story said a committee will review the bids and set up a short list. Then a request for proposal will be sent to the winning developer, and the two sides will begin discussing the project.
Storey said she couldn’t estimate how long the process would take but said the bids had not yet been reviewed.
Ramia also said his company did not put forward a bid to bring the national portrait gallery to Halifax, as had been previously speculated. Ramia said pursuing the portrait gallery was briefly considered but abandoned due to expense and other factors. Calgary is widely seen as the frontrunner to get the gallery.
“We were looking at it, but we did not,” said Robia. “We got jammed for time and things just didn’t happen.”
