Provincial housing minister John Lohr has used his new approval powers to push through two major development projects in the Halifax Regional Municipality.
On June 30, Lohr announced he had approved two development agreements that will fast-track the construction of more than 1,000 homes in the city.
Lohr approved the projects under new rules his government passed in March that take development decisions in specific areas of the city away from the HRM and give them to the Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister.
The first of Lohr’s new approvals is a massive redevelopment of the former Penhorn Mall property in Dartmouth.
The plan is for a mixed-use community that spans nine blocks and includes about 860 apartments and 45 townhouse units. It will also have commercial space on the ground floor of several apartment buildings.
Part of the development is an active transportation network with a trail next to the Circumferential Highway connecting Penhorn Lake to Portland Street, and a central public park.
Clayton Developments and Crombie REIT are behind the proposed development. It will be the second major project from Clayton the province has approved since it created the special planning areas in March.
The first was 373 affordable housing units in the Southdale-Mount Hope area of Dartmouth. Lohr approved that project just two days after he was given his new approval powers.
Lohr’s second approval will fast-track development in the Indigo Shores special planning area of Sackville.
It will allow Armco Capital to develop 150 lots identified in the Margeson Drive Master Plan. Initially, the development in the Indigo Shores subdivision was limited to 25 lots per year. As part of his approval, Lohr removed the bylaw imposing that limit.
None of the units approved in either the Indigo Shores or Penhorn Mall developments will be explicitly set aside as affordable housing.
However, the HRM will receive 12 percent of the appraised value of the Penhorn site from the developer that it can put towards affordable housing and community art or cultural spaces. The appraisal of the land isn’t finished but the province claims it will generate millions of dollars.
FASTER APPROVALS, LESS PUBLIC INPUT
In March, the province designated nine “special planning areas” in the HRM where it took control of development approvals from the municipality.
The province created the special areas based on a recommendation from the Executive Panel on Housing. The areas have the potential to hold as many as 23,000 housing units. Meanwhile, Halifax faces a housing deficit of about 17,000 units.
Taking approval powers away from the municipality in those areas will, in theory, allow construction to happen faster. However, the accelerated timelines mean projects get pushed through without public hearings or engagement.
“Overcoming this housing crisis is going to take a unified approach, creative solutions and a willingness to do things differently,” Lohr explained in a June 30 statement. “Our population is growing, and these special planning areas are an example of how the elimination of red tape and working in partnership with HRM and the development community will help thousands of people access housing faster.”
**This story originally appeared on Huddle. Trevor Nichols is the Associate Editor.
