Lake Loon Estates, new multi-use development, expected to break ground soon

A large development that’s been in the works for years is almost ready to break ground in Westphal, Nova Scotia.

“The opportunity was there and I thought it was a good opportunity for this neighbourhood and I just jumped on it,”developer Mohsen Teimouri said Wednesday.

Right now, Lake Loon Estates is in the early stages, but soon a mixed-use development will bring townhouses, condos and two apartment buildings to the property.

“A lot of heavy development started back in the 70’s and continues in Cole Harbour, Portland Estates, Russell Lake. A lot of developments with a mixed use of townhouses, single homes and condos,” said real estate agent Brenda Kielbratowski.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "A lot of heavy development started back in the 70's and continues in Cole Harbour, Portland Estates, Russell Lake. A lot of developments with a mixed use of townhouses, single homes and condos," said real estate agent Brenda Kielbratowski.

“On the Westphal side, this is the very first big development we’ve ever had.”

There were a lot of hurdles for the developer to cross in the past two years. The property was originally zoned for commercial use, but city council decided to re-zone the area and allow the residential development.

“It sort of falls along the whole thinking of creating complete communities,” said Lorelei Nicoll, Councillor for District 4.

“You have a lot of amenities there already so a lot of people can walk to those amenities so that development, it works well that way.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "You have a lot of amenities there already so a lot of people can walk to those amenities so that development, it works well that way."

Just down the street from Lake Loon Estates is 30-minute Hit. The gym only opened their doors three days ago,and is seeing the potential with the planned development.

“I think it’s going to bring in a lot more members, which is good for us. It’s so convenient with us being just down the road, they could probably walk here,” said co-owner Michelle Ruggles.

When the project was first proposed there was some concern about whether nearby Lake Loon could handle the new development.  The areas councillor says there will be a 20-foot buffer of trees around the lake and the developer says storm water runoff will be handled properly.

“We have to make sure that we are not going to disturb the lake as it is,” said Teimouri.

“It’s a beautiful lake and people love it. We want to keep it clean and the way it is”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It's a beautiful lake and people love it. We want to keep it clean and the way it is"

The project is still dealing with one piece of red-tape, getting the final building permit is in place. Once that happens, construction could start within days.