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The Steele Auto Group has bought and is demolishing 17 homes in order to expand the parking lot at its Honda dealership on Robie Street. Company CEO Rob Steele has refused repeated requests to meet with neighbours, including to discuss ways to save the last house slated for demolition—the purple house on the corner of May and Robie. The following is an open letter from one of those neighbours, the Ecology Action Centre.
Dear Mr. Steele:
Welcome to the neighbourhood. We’re sorry you had to knock down so much of it, but we understand your reason, which is to make room to sell as many cars and make as much money as possible.
Because you refused to meet or talk to your new neighbours, you don’t know why we wanted to save perfectly good homes you tore down to put up your parking lot.
Halifax as a whole won’t suffer greatly from your relentless pursuit of self-interest, but it would suffer a very great deal if other businesses made decisions similar to yours in many other neighbourhoods. What makes Halifax what it is would soon be lost, just as what makes our neighbourhood special is being lost.
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Mr. Steele, you irreparably damaged the character of one small neighbourhood, and your disregard of your neighbours told us in no uncertain terms that you could not care less. You still have an opportunity to redeem that reputation. The purple house on the corner of Robie and May is scheduled for demolition. Stop it.
We have found, over years of dealing with government, business, and other organizations, that most fit in one of three categories. There are those that honestly care about their community, understand that they are part of a community and contribute positively; there are those that balance business and community and try to find common ground; and there are those that put business first and the community is on its own. We were disappointed to discover you fall into the final category, but you could make an argument that you belong in the second, by saving one house and giving up the six parking spaces it would provide.
Had you met your neighbours, they would have told you that by saving that one house you could save much of the integrity of May Street. The decision, at the end of the day, is clearly yours but had you shown the character to at least listen, this letter would not have been necessary.
We remain upset by what you are doing to our North End neighbourhood. We are hopeful that something can be salvaged. In this part of town, May Street is—or was—an iconic street scape; the kind of street the city should be holding on to as it attempts to build downtown population density.
The homes you knocked down also provided affordable housing—a commodity in distressingly short supply on the peninsula.
In our own organization, we try to walk the talk. EAC had the choice to demolish its 1880s building and construct a new building. Instead, we determined that the environmentally responsible choice was to renovate. We now have one of the most energy efficient office buildings in Canada.
We know you didn’t break any bylaws or zoning rules, but we had hoped Honda and Steele Auto appreciated that there is more to good corporate citizenship than simply following the law.
Again, welcome to the neighbourhood. Your new neighbours will likely show your property more respect than you have earned, or shown to us.
Sincerely,
Mark Butler
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This article appears in Jul 14-20, 2016.
Mr. Butler, this is not your property. It could have been, had you and your like-minded friends put your money where your mouth is and actually bought the properties in question. But you did not, and Mr. Steele did. He therefore has the right to do what he wants with them. Knocking down many of these run-down structures is a step forward for the area. What would be the purpose of saving the purple building on the corner other than to have it act as a monument to your otherwise failed movement? It would detract from what the Steele wants to accomplish and block views of the business. Steele does not want to be a landlord. Time to move on.
As I predicted, this whole “Don’t Steele Our Homes” fiasco was created by the EAC, not the community as a whole.
I have responded to Mr. Butler’s letter as if I were Mr. Steele:
Dear Mr. Butler:
Yes, a business is an enterprise though which one makes as much money as possible.
We purchased those homes from their respective owners. We own the land. It is zoned for commercial use. We are a commerce-based enterprise.
Many businesses are located in commercially zoned areas, thus they do not affect residential areas.
Yes, I am entitled to do with my property what I so choose. The project is validated by the city. The purple house on the corner of Robie and May will be torn down.
We too care about our community and we have a track record prove that. We find the funds to help the community through our commerce. We don’t leave community “on its own”; again, we have a track record to which you don’t refer. The house to which you refer is not a house but a commercial property. You will find it registered as such in the city’s records.
We heard your argument load and clear; we are of a differing opinion. We do not believe the integrity of May street has been harmed. We do find it odd you don’t worry about the integrity of Robie, Fern or McCully Streets; just May Street… why is that Mr. Butler? Is it the proximity to your newly reconstructed building and your concerns for its value?
May Street is not an iconic street scape (sic). Downtown population density will not be modeled after May Street; an interesting assertion but not a reasonable argument for population planning. And May Street is clearly in the old north end – not downtown – in a commercially zoned area. I might add the EAP is not a residential building nor does it offer residential space. In fact, the EAC bought that building as a residential space and converted it to commercial use. That home you usurped also provided (once) affordable housing.
The homes we knocked down did not provide affordable housing; they were privately owned homes from whom we purchased from the owners. We purchased them at above-fair market value. The two homes that contained rental units were not as affordable as you claim with rents above standard rents. Halifax has no rent controls; this may be the reason why there is a lack of affordable housing.
The EAC did not walk the talk when it purchased a residence and converted to sole commercial use.
No, we didn’t break any bylaws or zoning rules. Honda and Steele Auto remain good corporate citizens.
We thank you for your welcome to the neighbourhood. We hope our new neighbours will show more respect than what has shown to us by the EAC.
I think it is great that people can walk or bike on over to a car lot to buy a car or get service rather than have to drive to the outskirts of town, very convenient AND good for the environment!
Sorry guys, it was the residents of the community that asked the EAC to help them out. Sorry about it. Secondly, the houses bought for the most part were not advertised for sale publicly. It was done via private offers from Steele. The tenants of the building were not even made aware until after they were sold. Who had the chance to buy them? NO ONE but Steele.
You guys sound like Steele or Colonial employees. Maybe Sir Rob will set aside parking for his employees so they don’t end up with tickets from parking illegally? You can thank me for spearheading the permit parking only on Fern Lane. You are welcome!!!
Sincerely
A Fern Lane Resident
I see some Steele group staff are posting comments.
Saying that the EAC started Homes Not Hondas is a falsehood – the EAC did NOT start the Homes Not Hondas movement – the community did. The EAC supported those neighbours whose voices were not being heard or taken seriously and the movement gained incredible momentum in a very short time because of how staggeringly wrong the buy-up is in the eyes of many, many people. Mark Butler has been a genuine supporter to an already existing group of extremely upset neighbours.
Right now on May street, flowers are in bloom everywhere. Even the house boarded up months ago has bright orange flowers growing up through the “caution” tape and through the temporary fencing. It is a striking and sad sight because very soon, like it’s Fern and McCully neighbours, this house will be nothing but a memory and in it’s place – parking spots. No people, no flowers, no homes. Just parking spots. How is this development? How is this progress?
Chelsi222: “Right now on May street, flowers are in bloom everywhere.” Yes, and it took this to put them there; there had been none for years on end.
The three homes left on the south side of May Street didn’t go for a lucrative buyout and lost their opportunity. There was nothing “wrong” about the buyout – it followed city regulations, laws, real estate standards.
Don’t ask me to believe the EAC isn’t concerned about the value of its property and came in after the formation of a community group; and I’m pretty sure this community group isn’t made up of people living on May and Fern Streets – 90% of those properties are rentals; that and the fact the Don’t Steele Our Homes signs can be found over on Bloomfield Street.
I question you live in the neighbourhood and own a property there. If you do, I suspect you are one of the owners of the three homes who made a bad decision.
You asked: “How is this development? How is this progress?” I suggest you learn basic economics and study Halifax’s situation. In that you will get your answers.
Oh @Charlie Brown: I can assure you I understand the basics of economics and what this is all about.
I think it would concern me more if the EAC didn’t join or spearhead a movement that protects the integrity of the neighborhood they inhabit. I’m not sure why all the hate flows to people who care whether or not their property values are affected by the deconstruction of their neighborhood, and not the asshole that wants to undevelope a giant swath of residences for a fucking parking lot.
Look, if Steele can develope the land he bought, using questionable acquisition practices, any way he wants, then the neighborhood has every right to disagree with how, why, and what he does with “his” land. This city belongs to all of us, and it’s “development” should be done in a way to benefit all of us. The scales seem to be tipped toward the people with unstoppable bank accounts, which to me seems to be wrong on a community based level, and as a tax payer, my voice should be heard. Every tax payer pays for that right, and government is there to protect us from this exact situation. City council dropped the ball, I see this as a governmental failure to protect residents against poor and antiquated land use bylaws. The lesson has been learned, and if the councillor in this district gets re-elected, then the community is filled with morons! A business owner is just one small voice, a community is many voices. When the one voice wins, there is a problem and the integrity of the system should be called into question.
Since when do people have the right to expect to live wherever is to their liking?
Wait Furious… there were no “…questionable acquisition practices”. The area is almost entirely commercial. No one on McCully Street is protesting. The parking lot exists and will not expand over 20% of the entire lot, onto May Street. You may want to have a look at the property before you make any assertions.
It’s only the three condos that didn’t sell when asked that are now crying over a lost opportunity… we tend to overlook the inconvenient truths. Right Chelsi222?
@charlie brown you literally have no idea what you’re talking about. Please stop posting hearsay and falsehoods. Please stop slandering good people and organizations behind the safety of your anonymous user name.
@charlie brown, as an owner of one of the three condos, I can tell you that we were never made an offer. More than that, Homes not Hondas is far bigger than just our three units to which you refer.
I am a home owner on Fern Lane and I love the neighbourhood. I am very upset that a big part of our community is being plowed down.
The residents of the community asked the EAC to help us out. We are so thankful that they are supporting us.
Some of you might call my house “run down” but we think it is very beautiful and worth restoring.
Ummmm, sorry CB, forming an ambiguously named “development” company to acquire property, so as not to alert the neighborhood to exactly what your plans for the land are, is the very definition of “questionable acquisition practices”. If Steele had nothing to hide, like the plans for the destruction of a residential neighborhood for a parking lot, then he would have bought the land as “Steele Group”, but he didnt. He did this so he could get all the land on the sly, and get his permits in order all before someone had the opportunity to raise an issue with city council. He knew what he was doing from day one, and knew the fight he had coming if he did his business out in the open.
I lived on Fern Street for years, about 20 years ago, which really has nothing to do with my opposition to this un-developement. My opposition comes from a different angle all together…
The real story here is why a fucking Honda dealership has the money to build a 20 million dollar parking lot. Sounds like Honda customers are getting hosed, big time! How many Hondas will have to be sold, over what time period , to even pay for this? It doesn’t even make sense on any business level. Something seems strange about this whole thing. Call me eternally skeptical, but something here doesn’t pass the smell test.
I can’t address you directly because you choose to use a fake name here (as to why the Coast allows annonomous comments, that’s a fight for another day…)
The arguments that C.Brown posts here are riddled with errors or lies, and purposefully misrepresent the truth of the situation in my neighbourhood.
I live on McCully St, and have since 2000. I have stood in vocal opposition to this thoughtless anti-density, anti-community, anti-small business anti-conservation demolition from the start.
I won’t waste my time quoting you chapter and verse on his so many people in the direct community and beyond have shown up and stood up against Steele’s bad decision. Google can help you there.
I’m still against the destruction of these homes, businesses and trees, and I still hold out a feint hope that Rob Steele will show up and talk to us, his neighbours. And at least mitigate the horrible danage he’s doing to our neighbourhood and his reputation.
Yes he is allowed by law to press forward and bull-headedly proceed, but he could still, even now, make a better choice.
Thank you, Mark, for expressing so well what has been in my heart, mind and gut for so many weeks. I encourage people to boycott Steele Auto Group and go test drive their cars under the pretense of buying and then say, “I didn’t know this was a Rob Steele company. I don’t buy from him because he destroyed a neighbourhood against the wishes of 90% of its residents.” We have many pledges on the website and promises by people to not buy and to spread the word to others. Tell your friends and anyone who will listen what he has done and encourage them not to buy a vehicle from his companies.