The Halifax Port Authority is pulling the plug on the Cunard Centre.
On Thursday, the Port announced it is shutting down the centre as an event space, thanks to challenges stemming from Covid-19.
At 45,000 square feet, the Cunard Centre was one of the biggest event spaces in Halifax. RCR Hospitality Group ran the space for the Port Authority, using it for events and catering.
In a news release, RCR said it is focusing on the parts of its business that are recovering well, which are restaurants and catering. Although the company won’t operate the Cunard Centre anymore, it will continue to use the kitchen in the short term for catering.
Port Spokesperson Lane Farguson told Huddle it’s been 18 months since an event took place at the Cunard Centre. That prompted the Port Authority to reconsider how to best use the space.
Shuttering the Cunard Centre is significant, but Farguson points out the Port is now sitting on a choice piece of waterfront real estate.
“We’re looking at what options are available within that space. Because, the reality is, this is a large open space on the Halifax Peninsula with plenty of parking. So that’s a pretty unique property,” he says.
Farguson says the Port is open to transforming the space for almost any retail application.
“We’d be looking at what are some of the retail applications that can be used—possibly dividing up that space, depending on what demands there are in the market and what leases people are interested in signing,” he says. “Right now, it’s a blank canvas.”
Shutting down the Cunard Centre to entice new tenants isn’t the only major move the Port Authority has made over the last year.
Earlier this year, the Port shuffled the Seaport Farmers’ Market from its long-time home to make way for an innovation hub called the PIER.
