5,000 housing units proposed
Prospect Road traffic and environmental concerns expected to arise
A Halifax developer wants to build about 5,000 housing units in Halifax’s Exhibition Park lands.
In November 2015, the province sold the 44-hectare Exhibition Park lands to Banc Group Inc. The negotiated price was listed at $2.5 million, with the understanding Banc Properties will assume costs of any renovations, estimated to be $3 million.
Fathom Studio, on behalf of Banc, recently applied to HRM for this major housing development.
“I am concerned about the increase in proposed units, which has been creeping steadily upward,” said Coun. Patty Cuttell (Spryfield Sambro Loop - Prospect Road).
In 2021, the developer was looking at 1,844 units — a mix of semi-detached, townhomes and multi-unit buildings. At that time, in a letter to HRM, a representative at Fathom said it’s an ideal site for future development.
“The intent is to keep the Exhibition Park building while starting to develop the surrounding lands. Eventually, the plan needs to consider the removal of the existing building, though that is not part of the current short or medium term plans,” wrote Rob Leblanc, a senior planner with Fathom in the 2021 letter.
That proposal has grown to more than 5,000 units, and now the development will be larger than what is proposed for Port Wallace in Dartmouth (up to 4,900 units), Cuttell said.
PUBLIC CONSULTATION
There is not a lot of publicly available documentation on the development application yet. Cuttell introduced a notice of motion at Halifax regional council last week that there will be a request to initiate public participation on this development.
She said that once council approves the request for public consultation, more information on the development will be posted on the municipality’s website.
She said there will be a comprehensive neighbourhood planning process which will involve public engagement and detailed reviews of technical studies and plans.
TRAFFIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS
Cuttell said she expects many residents will be concerned about added traffic on an already busy Prospect Road as well as environmental concerns.
“We really need to understand the capacity of the infrastructure and what new infrastructure is needed, including transit, roads, sewer and water, as well as the capacity of the environment to sustainably absorb any new development,” Cuttell said. “It is not a bad location for some growth, but that growth needs to be balanced with what the area can accommodate.”
There’s a lot happening lately in this area.
Last August, Screen Nova Scotia, through its subsidiary, Screen Nova Studios Inc., announced it will be acquiring Crown land to build the province’s first purpose-built film and television soundstage. They selected a 10-hectare parcel of land adjacent to Exhibition Park on Highway 333.
Kartbahn opened an outdoor go-kart racetrack near Exhibition Park last spring.
Plus, there are plans in place for the redevelopment and expansion of the Ragged Lake Industrial Park.
“It’s going to be a big concern for the community, that’s for sure, because Prospect Road is already at capacity in terms of traffic so two of the most important things in terms of considering this are going to be a traffic study as well as an environmental impact study.”
Long Lake Provincial Park and the Drysdale Bog are in the neighbourhood.
Until these issues are figured out, “it’s proceed with caution,” said Cuttell.
FUTURE OPPORTUNITY SITE
This area is identified in the Regional Plan as a “regional opportunity site” for growth. It was when the development was projected to be housing for 4,300 new residents with a combination of townhouses and apartment buildings — but it has grown since then, said Cuttell.
Even though it’s outside the urban service boundary, because it was previously owned by the province, the current buildings are on the municipal system. Cuttell said work will be needed on the wastewater system there as well as roads, infrastructure and parkland.
Messages left with Fathom Studios and Banc were not returned.