Purdy's Wharf is an office complex in Halifax,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Built over the water at the edge of

Halifax Harbour Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality. Halifax largely owes its existence to the harbour, being one of the largest and deepest ice-free natural harbo ...

and resting on

pilings A deep foundation is a type of foundation (architecture), foundation that transfers building loads to the earth farther down from the surface than a shallow foundation does to a subsurface layer or a range of depths. A pile or piling is a ...

, it consists of two office towers, and a smaller office structure called Purdy's Landing. The complex is located along the Halifax Waterfront Boardwalk.

History

The complex was developed by J.W. Lindsay Enterprises. Construction began in 1983. The first phase opened in May 1985. In January 1987, the developers announced that a second phase would be built. This was completed in 1989, coinciding with the beginning of the early 1990s recession, which hurt the real estate market and contributed to the complex suffering from a 35.2 per cent vacancy rate in 1990. In January 1999,

Olympia and York Olympia & York (also spelled as Olympia and York, abbreviated as O&Y) was a major international property development firm based in Toronto, Canada. The firm built major financial office complexes including Canary Wharf in London, the World Fina ...

purchased a 47.5 per cent stake in the development for C$39.9 million. At that time, GWL Realty Advisors owned 47.5 per cent while J.W. Lindsay owned the remaining five per cent. In early 2000, J.W. Lindsay sold their share of the complex to the other two co-owners, who each increased their ownership shares to 50 per cent. In July 2005, Olympia and York sold their 50 per cent stake to GWL Realty Advisors for C$63.0 million.

Design

Purdy's Wharf consists of two office towers, a four-storey building called Purdy's Landing, a seven-storey

multistorey car park A multistorey car park (British and Singapore English) or parking garage (American English), also called a multistory, parking building, parking structure, parkade (mainly Canadian), parking ramp, parking deck or indoor parking, is a build ...

, and outdoor spaces including a wharf and green space. Purdy's Landing is commonly referred to as the "Xerox building", due to a large

Xerox Xerox Holdings Corporation (; also known simply as Xerox) is an American corporation that sells print and electronic document, digital document products and services in more than 160 countries. Xerox is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut (ha ...

sign that used to hang on the exterior of the building.

Pedway Pedways (short for pedestrian walkways) are elevated or underground walkways, often connecting urban high-rises to each other, other buildings, or the street. They provide quick and comfortable movement from building to building, away from traff ...

s connect the complex to

Casino Nova Scotia Casino Nova Scotia is located in Nova Scotia, Canada, and has locations in Halifax and Sydney. Steelman Partners designed Casino Nova Scotia and its sister casino Sydney Casino. Halifax casino The Casino Nova Scotia opened a temporary location ...

and the

Downtown Halifax Link The Downtown Halifax Link system is a network of climate-controlled pedways (pedestrian tunnels and skywalks) connecting various office buildings, hotels, parkades, and entertainment venues around downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is simila ...

system. Purdy's Wharf has a unique, energy-efficient cooling system that works by circulating sea water through a

heat exchanger A heat exchanger is a system used to transfer heat between a source and a working fluid. Heat exchangers are used in both cooling and heating processes. The fluids may be separated by a solid wall to prevent mixing or they may be in direct conta ...

system with the building's cooling water. The colder sea water chills the building's cooling water, which is then circulated through the buildings.Seawater Cooling System for Buildings

''Natural Resources Canada: The Office of Energy Efficiency (OEE)''
Modified October 9, 2005; Retrieved June 3, 2008.

Transport

The complex is located within walking distance of the main

Halifax Transit Halifax Transit is a Canadian public transport service operating buses and ferries in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Founded as Metro Transit in March 1981, the agency runs two ferry routes, 66 conventional bus routes (including corridor, local, and expre ...

bus terminal, Scotia Square Terminal, via an enclosed footbridge spanning the

Cogswell Interchange The Cogswell Interchange is a multi-level highway interchange in downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It was built as the first stage of a greater scheme for an elevated freeway, called Harbour Drive, which would have run south through downtown ...

. It is also a short walk from the Halifax Ferry Terminal.

References

External links

Purdy's WharfLive Webcam of Halifax Harbour with Purdy's WharfJW Lindsay Enterprises LimitedShore Tilbe Irwin & Partners
{{coord, 44, 39, 7.75, N, 63, 34, 27.54, W, region:CA, display=title 1989 establishments in Nova Scotia Office buildings completed in 1989 Buildings and structures in Halifax, Nova Scotia Postmodern architecture in Canada

History

Design

Transport

See also

References

External links