Fenwick Place

Fenwick Place is a Dalhousie University student residence in the south end of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, currently housing approximately 400 students.

History

Construction

Commonly (and erroneously) known as Fenwick Tower or Fenwick Towers, Fenwick Place was completed in 1971, and is the tallest building in Halifax at 98 metres and 33 stories, and the tallest residential structure built east of Montreal. Fenwick Place occupies a property between Fenwick Street and South Street; it takes its name from Fenwick Street which in turn honours Sir William Fenwick Williams, former Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia.

At the time the building was being built, the developer boldly touted as the largest residential project east of Toronto. Once financial problems set in, the goal seemed unreachable and Fenwick Place was sold off to Dalhousie University for $5.25 million CAD as a student residence.cite web| title = The Buildings of Dalhousie University: An Illustrated History| work = | publisher = Dalhousie Archives Digital Collections| url = http://www.library.dal.ca/duasc/buildings/Fenwick.htm|accessdate = 2008-09-29] cite news| last = Proctor| first = Steve| title = For sale: N.S.’s tallest building| language = English| publisher = Halifax Chronicle-Herald| date = 13/06/08| accessdate = 2008-09-29] During construction, Hurricane Beth filled the elevator shafts with seventeen feet of water. When the first residents began to move in in 1971, complaints were made of apartments missing heat, windows, and other furnishings or amenities.

Hurricane Juan

On the night of September 28, 2003, Hurricane Juan hit Halifax, forcing all Fenwick residents to the building's basement overnight. Windows in several apartments shattered and the contents of some these apartments were blown out onto the ground below. Residents were evacuated from approximately one week up to 8 weeks, depending on the damage and repair time to their individual apartments. Unlike most private landlords and other universities in the area, Dalhousie paid for all displaced students and families to be housed in hotels until the green light was given to return. [cite web| title = Students will soon return to Fenwick Place| publisher = Dalhousie University| date = 03/10/03| url = http://communicationsandmarketing.dal.ca/media/2003/2003-10-03.html.html| format = Press release| accessdate = 2008-09-29]

Current condition

In April 2007 several international exchange students contacted CTV Atlantic regarding the level of disrepair and cleanliness issues on their floors. CTV aired a report, explaining the students position and allowing management to explain themselves. Following complaints, the university housing organization held meetings in order to work towards improving the condition of the building. [cite video| title = International Incident| medium = Television news| publisher = CTV Atlantic| location = Halifax, Nova Scotia| year2 = 2007] Conversely, a 2008 Metro Halifax article voiced a student who praised the building as a "fine place to live". [cite news| last = Tattrie| first = John| title = Dalhousie U puts Fenwick Place up for sale| language = English| publisher = Metro Halifax| date = 19/09/08 | url = http://www.novascotiabusinessjournal.com/index.cfm?sid=173086&sc=107| accessdate = 2008-09-29]

ale

In 2008, the university hired a firm to move towards the sale of the building. Spokespeople downplayed the possibility that the building might be demolished, citing the rarity of a building this tall in Halifax, coupled with the difficulty in building a new one. They also suggested a refurbishment would be much more likely, and that a sale would take some time to go through, given the size and complexity of the project.

Description

Elevators

There are four elevators in the building. One is an express elevator, permitting access to only the basement, lobby, and uppermost floors. Another features doors on either end of the cabin, and is often used as a service elevator. The two remaining are regular elevators servicing all floors. All elevators in Fenwick use the older-style thermally-activated buttons. There is no "up" button on most floors. To go up to another floor, users must catch an elevator on its way down, or walk up flights of stairs. This is to facilitate quicker movement down to the main level.

Floors

Fenwick Place consists of 33 stories, not including an additional elevator control room at the top, also containing a east-facing webcam run by the Chebucto Community Net. The 32nd and 33rd floors are used for international exchange students, as well as hearing and speech clinics associated with the School of Human Communication Disorders, which also occupies the "PR" floor (the first underground floor). The 31st floor, which lacks direct elevator access, contains mechanical rooms. The 30th floor contain storage areas which jut down to the floor below in some places. The 29th floor down to the 16th floor are apartment-style living.

There is an unmarked floor between the 15th and 16th floors which contains boilers and the like. There is no direct elevator access to this floor. Like many buildings, there is no official or marked 13th floor. Hence, the only floors whose marked number does not match the actual story of the building are the 14th and 15th floors. They are actually the 13th and 14th stories, respectively. The 15th floor down to the 2nd floor, are apartment-style living.

The main floor consists of the reception area, offices, the main foyer, and the entrance to Fenwick Street. The basement contains the aforementioned "PR" level, as well as three parking levels; "P1" (nearest to ground), "P2", and "P3".

Mythology

Local lore suggests that the top two floors of the building were designed to contain a swimming pool, however the pool was never completed; again local lore suggests that engineers and architects never took into account the weight of water in the pool, so it was unable to be filled. The top-floor swimming pool is one of the more popular myths about Fenwick Place. In fact, after taking over the project, Dalhousie decided that the cost of installing repeater pumps throughout the building to pump the water to the top would be prohibitively expensive, and scrapped the idea of the pool before construction reached that phase.

Other common false myths about Fenwick Place include::* that not all the bedrooms have windows:* that the developer committed suicide :* that the building sways so dramatically in the wind that water in the toilets sloshes (in fact, the building sways 5 inches in 80 mph wind, 3 inches less the building code regulations in Halifax)

References

External links

* [http://www.dal.ca/housing Dalhousie Housing]
* [http://webcam.chebucto.net/ Fenwick Place rooftop webcam]