Twin apartment towers proposed for Young Street
A Halifax developer wants to turn a strip mall on Young Street in Halifax into a complex that includes two 17-storey apartment towers.
WM Apartments has asked the municipality for permission to build the towers around a four-storey building that would include more rental units and ground-floor retail space.
"It’s a phenomenal development," Robert Margeson, vice-president of WM Apartments, said in an interview Wednesday.
"We feel it’s very good for the city and great for the neighbourhood."
A public meeting on the proposal is scheduled for next Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the municipal planning office on Bayers Road.
WM Apartments has owned the strip mall, which included a land lease with Halifax Regional Municipality, since1994. A sister company bought the one-hectare property, which is across from the Atlantic Superstore, from the municipality last month. The property is assessed at $4.9 million.
Margeson wouldn’t put a preliminary price tag on the development, which includes 320 apartments and 33,000 square feet of retail space. Parking would be mostly underground but also include a parking lot for 57 vehicles.
"We feel the site is ideal for that type of development. It’s underutilized, with the original building built as a warehouse in the ’60s."
Construction would take about two years after the project is approved, he said.
The landlord will be involved in relocating the 14 strip mall tenants, Margeson said.
Coun. Jennifer Watts (Connaught-Quinpool) said there is a lot of development potential in the commercial area above North Street.
But the area council said such a large project should be considered as part of a regional plan that is in the works for the urban core.
"This development has the potential to set the tone. My concern is that it be done carefully, with a real eye to the future."
Watts said the project would be similar to Westwood Development Ltd.’s nearby Gladstone development.
"There was actually quite a bit of concern in the neighbourhood about the height," she said of the complex at Gladstone and Almon streets.
"Some folks may not like the height of those buildings, but I think the fear of the potential negative impact has not, in fact, played out, from my discussions with folks on the street."
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I actually rather like Watt's comments. That gives me hope that perhaps that the issue of building height is finally starting to be understood by people. Granted, this building is much higher but there is no residential around it so the issue of height is mute.
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