After more than a decade of lagging attempts and false starts, the Cogswell Redevelopment plan is onto the last leg. The 90 percent plan was presented to city council on Tuesday and passed unanimously after some housekeeping amendments were added by councillor Waye Mason. The quick turnaround from last week’s release of the updated plan […]
Development
Posted inNews + Opinion
Planning experts skeptical of Midtown North development
Debate around the Midtown North development has some planning experts worried about the long-term costs of ambitious housing projects. The residential and commercial development has begun construction on the block between Almon Street and St. Alban Street, along Robie. It features six buildings surrounding a courtyard with commercial space on the floor levels, 60 affordable […]
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Liberating the missing middle of Halifax’s development
It’s the first rule of city planning: You don’t mess with people’s neighbourhoods without a fight. Minneapolis got a crash course in that reality last year when, in the face of rapid population growth, ballooning housing costs and plummeting vacancy rates, its city council voted for a new planning framework called “Minneapolis 2040.” The new […]
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Cogswell District building on anti-Black history
The new neighbourhood set to replace the Cogswell Interchange is the conclusion of a slum removal strategy that started in the early 1900s, says a Concordia University planning professor, and now threatens affordable housing in the surrounding area. Ted Rutland, the author of Displacing Blackness: Planning, Power and Race in 20th Century Halifax, says every […]
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Heritage status granted to Dennis Building
After months of debate, consultation and meetings, the Dennis Building has been granted heritage status. Regional council approved the designation this week after a short public hearing, making the Dennis one of the city’s only successful third-party heritage applications. Paul Armstrong, on behalf of the Maritime Institute of Civil Society, appeared before HRM’s Heritage Advisory […]
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Bilby Street’s unaffordable future
When Jennifer Beamer moved to Bilby Street in 2003 it didn’t really feel like a neighbourhood. “Frankly, it was a neighbourhood I could afford to buy a house in,” she says. But even in 2003, the short stretch of single-family homes was changing. Over the years the surrounding area has developed into the trendy north-end […]
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UPDATE: No affordable housing for new Cogswell district?
Halifax spokesperson Nick Ritcey responds to this article in an email to The Coast, saying the final decision on affordable housing has not yet been made: “The implication that affordable housing will not be included within the Cogswell district is incorrect. Decisions about affordable housing in this area have not been made. “In July, Regional […]
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Heritage status sought for Dennis Building
Halifax’s Heritage Advisory Committee voted this week to move forward with a third-party application for preserving the historic Dennis Building, going against the wishes of the property’s owner—the province. Paul Armstrong, on behalf of the Maritime Institute for Civil Society, has applied for HRM to include the location at 1740 Granville Street as a municipal […]
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Council approves new campaign finance rules
Halifax council has approved its first ever set of campaign finance rules, putting restrictions on who can donate and how much can be contributed to a municipal election. Donations from any corporation, union or organization are now illegal under the new bylaw, which was approved at Tuesday’s meeting. The limit for an individual to donate […]
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Still vacant after all these years
Bernie Smith didn’t want to see 5517 Spring Garden Road demolished. More than 10 years ago, the former executive director of the Spring Garden Area Business Association came up with a plan to try and save the last Victorian house on Halifax’s busiest retail street. “My gosh, that old house would make a lovely tea […]
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SCIENCE MATTERS: We must heed storm warnings to build a brighter future
In 2012, North Carolina’s Coastal Resources Commission warned that sea levels there could rise by a metre over the next century. The warning was based in part on U.S. Geological Survey findings that “sea level rise along the portion of the East Coast between North Carolina and Massachusetts is accelerating at three to four times […]
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Mass exit at Ruby’s Rhinestone
Ruby’s Rhinestone Reception and Lounge has only been open a few months and already the Salter Street business has seen a serious turnover in staff. Five employees of the downtown country bar jointly walked out three weeks ago over allegations that owner Steve Caryi failed to provide a safe work environment. In a hand-written complaint […]