Willow Tree highrise stalls as Halifax council requests new report

Despite hours of public hearings and debate, it seems Halifax Regional Council is no closer to making a decision on a controversial downtown development.

Council reconvened on Wednesday only hours after a lengthy public hearing on Tuesday night to discuss and debate the proposed Willow Tree development.

The issue that has consumed so much of council’s time is the height of the planned building.

READ MORE: Halifax holds public hearing on Willow Tree development

City staff have recommended the building be restricted to 20 storeys, a figure that would bring it into line with the municipality’s yet-to-be passed Centre Plan — a document that will dictate municipal planning and land use bylaws in Halifax.

But the developer disagrees.

APL Properties, operated by Armco Capital, has argued that 25 storeys is the lowest they can go. But they need special approval by the council to be allowed to do it.

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“If council wants to allow 25 storeys, the right way to do that is through a comprehensive public process to explore higher heights with a similar volume to what’s already proposed in the Centre Plan in all the key gateways, not as a one-off,” said Deputy Mayor Waye Mason, councillor for Halifax South Downtown, on Wednesday.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "If council wants to allow 25 storeys, the right way to do that is through a comprehensive public process to explore higher heights with a similar volume to what's already proposed in the Centre Plan in all the key gateways, not as a one-off," said Deputy Mayor Waye Mason, councillor for Halifax South Downtown, on Wednesday.

The developer says that in exchange for the increased height, they would provide 10 affordable housing units.

It’s a proposal that piqued the interest of Shawn Cleary, councillor for Halifax West Armdale.

On Tuesday, he asked for a supplementary staff report to look into the issue of adding affordable housing units to the structure and delaying council’s decision.

“The proposal is that this corner would be limited to 20 storeys. But the developer would have to provide some community benefit,” he said.

“If we approve those 20 storeys today because this application came in before the Centre Plan is adopted, then they will get the 20 storeys and we get nothing as a community.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "If we approve those 20 storeys today because this application came in before the Centre Plan is adopted, then they will get the 20 storeys and we get nothing as a community."

WATCH: Halifax developer not backing down from fight over building height

2:10 Halifax developer not backing down from fight over building height

It’s a move that shifted the focus of the building’s proposed physical height to its ability to impact the community.

Joachim Stroink, a spokesperson for Armco and former MLA, said that’s exactly what the company is hoping to do.

“We think this is a great thing for this development. This gives us an opportunity really, to listen to the community and make sure the public benefit is the right one for the community,” he said.

The supplementary report is expected to be brought to council by March 20 at the latest.