Halifax Regional Council will review a major development proposal for the Strawberry Hill Street area.
The proposal includes 14 new buildings between 8 and 42 storeys, creating 3,656 units.
“This is a very small part of addressing the housing crisis,” says Rob LeBlanc, director of planning for Fathom Studio, an architecture firm in Dartmouth.
As of 2023, the housing shortage was estimated at about 20,000 units and was still growing, according to the city’s website.
“The city, the province and the feds recognize this is a giant problem, and we’re trying to kickstart to get a lot more housing built,” says LeBlanc.
LeBlanc says the proposal will likely go through, but some changes are possible.
The council will review the plan at the Halifax Regional Council meeting on Tuesday.
If the plan is approved, LeBlanc says it could be two years before construction begins. If you only have one crane in the area while building, and each building of that size could take three years, then it could be 15 to 20 years before construction is finished, he says.
Fathom Studio applied for the buildings on behalf of a group of property owners in the area, including:
- Dynamic Properties Company Limited
- EASTSIDE 2008 EQUITIES INC.
- 9404678 CANADA INC.
- 3224829 NOVA SCOTIA LIMITED
LeBlanc says the city has 11 “growth opportunity” sites. The city did not know what future developers may want to do, so it set up a “less rigid framework” to propose development projects, like this one, on the growth sites, he says.
They plan to create a pedestrian friendly space, making sure the sidewalks are wide, having roadside parking, high quality outdoor lighting, street furnishings and public spaces. The public spaces, like the buildings, still have to be designed, he says.
A certain percentage of the ground floor of those buildings has to be commercial, too. LeBlanc says that could also mean the buildings accommodate several storeys of office space.
It’s also important that the development is close to major roadways, shops and schools so people don’t have to use their cars all the time, he says.
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