A developer has proposed building more than 5,800 housing units on the Halifax Exhibition Centre lands, but a councillor and some residents have concerns about the feasibility of such a large project.
Fathom Studio, on behalf of developer BANC Group, has asked the municipality to approve a mixed-use development on the 46-hectare space.
The Exhibition Park proposal includes a total of 5,867 residential units, with 28 multi-unit buildings between six and 24 storeys and 20 townhomes and stacked townhomes. The development would also include new public roads, infrastructure, and parkland.
In its proposal, Fathom Studio said the location — approximately 4.5 kilometres southwest of the Halifax Peninsula — was an “ideal area for future development.”
“The site is very close to municipal water and sewer services, it is on a major collector highway, it is close it is adjacent to the Ragged Lake Urban Reserve in the new Regional Plan, and it has no surrounding single family homes that would be impacted by it,” it said.
The municipality’s regional plan has identified the site as an “Opportunity Site for future mixed-use development with a range of housing options, supporting the increased demand for housing being experienced across the Municipality.”
Unanswered questions
During a council meeting Tuesday, councillors voted in favour of initiating the planning process by considering amendments to the municipality’s planning strategy to allow the project to move forward.
While Coun. Patty Cuttell of Spryfield-Sambro Loop-Prospect Road agrees that more housing is needed in the municipality, she has concerns about the scope of the project.
When it was initially pitched to council a couple of years ago, municipal staff had recommended 1,016 units for the site, or about nine units per acre. With the new proposal of more than 5,800 units, that brings the density to 51 or 52 units per acre.
“You’re looking at a very dense, urban centre — essentially a town,” she told council during a meeting Tuesday.
She said residents are concerned about increased traffic and congestion on Prospect Road, and noted that the proposal made no mention of schools or fire services in the area.
“There’s a lot of considerations that aren’t really identified in the initiation report that I think are … absolutely critical to consider if this is going to be a successful development,” she said.
Cuttell made a motion to defer initiating the planning process until council receives an update on already outstanding reports related to planning in the area, but her motion was defeated in a 10-7 vote.
Multiple councillors said during the meeting that many of Cuttell’s questions would be answered throughout the planning process, which would also include public participation program. The main motion ended up passing 13-4, with councillors Cuttell, Iona Stoddard, Sam Austin and Kathryn Morse voting against.
Community concerns
Some residents of the surrounding area said they were concerned about the proposal, highlighting existing traffic issues on Prospect Road and worries that increased traffic will make it worse.
Terence Bay resident T.J. Gerrior told Global News Tuesday that he thought the proposal was “disgraceful.” He said the area already suffers from traffic congestion and is concerned about the impact of such a large development.
“The traffic in the mornings is bad now — you can ask anyone who lives out here … it’s just traffic, non-stop,” he said. “So imagine when you add that many homes out here.”
Colleen Graves, who also lives in the area, said that she was worried about increased traffic congestion as well.
“If we had another route to get out of Prospect, then it might be good, but we don’t have another route, so it’s just going to add more traffic,” she said.
“We’ve been (asking) for a few years now for another route out of Prospect. And they keep adding subdivisions in, and we keep losing (the) ability to get out.”
Graves said this is an especially big concern after last year’s wildfires in Tantallon and Upper Hammonds Plains, where people had difficulty fleeing due to a lack of alternative routes.
Representatives of BANC Group and Fathom Studio were unavailable for comment Tuesday.