NEWS BRIEFS Greater Halifax Partnership reports mixed data on Halifax construction market The Conference Board of Canada is projecting a Gross Domestic Product growth of three per cent in GDP for Hal- ifax in 2016 following on the heels of a positive year for the municipality’s econ- omy, according to the quarterly eco- nomic report released by the Greater Halifax Partnership. The report says housing starts in- creased by 57 per cent as of November 2015, compared to the same period in 2014, driven by historic levels of multiu- nit construction. From January to November, construc- tion began on 2,000 apartment style units, the third highest year on record. However, construction of single unit housing continued its multiyear slide falling 20 per cent to the end of Novem- ber compared to the same period in 2014. On the non-residential side, the an- nual value of construction grew 21 per cent in 2015. Growth was driven in par- ticular by commercial projects such as the Nova Centre and expansions at Dart- mouth Crossing. Strength in the con- struction sector is expected to continue in 2016. PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND Summerside Inspire Learning Centre construction underway Work has started on Summerside’s new Inspire Learning Centre, a three– storey building to replace the current li- brary and double its scale. The renovations for the project at the former downtown post office include a new elevator and energy efficiency up- grades. 22 – March 2016 — The Canadian Design and Construction Report CONSTRUCTION ACROSS CANADA The facility will include a library, mul- tipurpose meeting rooms, work stations and community space for business and entrepreneurial development and life- long learning. The Rotary Club of Summerside is raising $2 million for the project, which has received an $800,000 grant from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA). NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR government restructures. We are very anxiously waiting as a construction in- dustry to see what the result will be.” The hospital delay also has resulted in a slowdown in new housing construc- tion in Corner Brook, as new develop- ments hinge on that project. LeGrow says overall the construction industry is still humming along. “We’re still coming off a lot of larger projects and there are new projects on the hori- zon. It’s just a matter of setting priorities with the money that’s available,” he said. Construction starts at new Alt Hotel in downtown St. John’s after historic vault removed NLCA Outlook The Newfound and Labrador Con- struction Association (NLCA) expressed a positive outlook at the start of its an- nual conference in Corner Brook, despite tough financial times in the province. “There’s challenges, but we see it as being positive and moving forward,” NLCA chair Ed LeGrow told CBC News. “We’ve been through turbulent waters before, and I’m sure we can maintain our status quo.” LeGrow says the association is grow- ing with close to 700 members and the conference was a sold out event. There is concern however, about the construction delay of the Corner Brook hospital. “We all know we have been waiting on the hospital. It is very important,” Sandy Murphy, the NLCA’s western di- rector, was quoted as saying. “We also know right now it’s up in the air while the Construction has started for the new Alt Hotel in downtown St. John’s with the removal of one of the city’s last his- torical vaults. CBC reports that the brick and stone vault, on the grounds of the Marshall Brothers cellar (from the 1800s), was the only remaining structure on the site that once housed a warehouse, post office and the former Marshall Brothers store. Montreal based Groupe Germaine will now start building the hotel on the corner of Water St. and Job’s Cove near the east end of Harbour Dr. The four-storey, 148-room hotel should be completed in 2017. The company said in a statement it plans to move ahead with “respectful ar- chitectural planning” to ensure the out- line of the former cellar “will be incorporated into the hotel’s exterior landscaping and paving making it a cel- ebrated feature and effectively allowing the old and the new to coexist in har- mony.” In addition, the hotel will include a “feature wall” to display materials exca- vated from the cellar, as well as historical pictures and text.