What Development At Shannon Park Tells Us About Halifax’s Housing Crisis
HALIFAX – The latest plan to develop the Shannon Park lands in the north end of Dartmouth is ambitious.
Canada Lands Company, which bought the 85 acres of property in 2014, wants to create a mixed-use community spread out over 23 newly built city blocks. The community will feature a mixture of building types that will provide as many as 3,000 homes to Haligonians.
Along with the homes, there will be 7.5 acres of public parklands, walking trails, a transit hub, and more.
Canada Lands revealed its plans at a public hearing on February 2. Local residents and community council members overwhelmingly supported the plan. But that didn’t stop a chorus of community leaders, residents, and activists from stepping to the mic to voice their concerns.
The one question on everyone’s lips? How much affordable housing will there be?
‘All our hopes and dreams’
Developing the vast tract of land at Shannon Park has been an elusive dream in the HRM. It’s one of the last places in the city where so much land is free in such an ideal location. Plans to turn it into a residential community have been in the works, in some form, for about a decade. But movement on the project has been glacial.
As Coun. Sam Austin put it at the February 2 meeting: “Shannon Park has been this place where we’ve all poured all our hopes and dreams.” …[Read More]