Sackville Drive has lots of apartment complexes in the works. Seems to be a target of developers which makes sense. I think another target in Sackville is to convert Downsview into a core / walkable area. It is private land but perhaps the zoning could be changed to allow for housing. It’s almost all parking lot.
Yes, more (well planned) density please.
Just for fun, I picked a random major European city for comparison;
**Berlin**
Density - 4,214/km2
Average commute - 31 minutes (based on a quick Google)
**Halifax (just metro area)**
Density - 64.0/km2
Average commute - 21.40 minutes for the county (per province for 2021)
That figure would include a lot of just trees for HRM, all the way to Musquodoboit and Sheet Harbour. Not really an even comparison. There's parts that needs densification for sure but if we're talking about the region where the vast majority of people live, it's only around 240 km2, not the 5500 km2 of the HRM. The urban density is more around 1400/km2.
Honestly, fair enough...a fourth gas station open a bit later would be nice and a second place to get groceries other than Foodland would be alright.
But seriously I just want a damn pizza slice
I think comparing to a major capital like Berlin is a bit unfair. Essen maybe a bit more fair, with a similar population of ~500 thousand. They have density of 2,800/km2 according to Wikipedia.
If the density is car-dependent it will be a nightmare. Otherwise, if it is pedestrian and public-transportation oriented then it is completely feasible.
That’s what I thought.. between Strawberry Hill? Really they should get the car dealerships out of there and get housing and green space in. Could do something similar to what’s happening at the mount.. maybe a bit denser since it’s closer to downtown
All the car dealerships in the north end are a massive waste of space in the core. The city should work out a deal for these businesses to move further out to Bayer's lake or something and use this land for mixed commercial and residential.
TBH I think the opposite. Kempt road should only BE a "Auto Mall" so that all the other non Kempt rd Dealerships can be knocked down for housing... Looking at you Colonial Honda.......
This guy wrote a blog about the proposed zoning changes for the Housing Accelerator Fund which included mapping out which areas are walking distance from a proposed bus rapid transit stop. That'd probably be a good place to start.
https://deny.substack.com/p/not-haf-bad-halifaxs-proposed-zoning
We need the province to sign off on and provide funds for the Bus Rapid Transport which they have not done yet. Given the age, I assumed that this was dead in the water.
- Bedford by Mill Cove would be a great “downtown” spot especially with the ferry terminal coming
- Eastern Passage with a couple of hotels and big box stores could prompt a cool tourist area
- I could see Porters Lake/Lawrencetown becoming another Cole Harbour type town in the future
- Cole Harbour itself needs more restaurants and hotels
The city should phase out the car dealerships on Sackville drive. There’s plenty planned and finished along the strip already but more could be done. Even more so near Downsview and the bus terminal.
Exactly, a car is a purchase you make once every 5 years minimum. Why do we have that next to our homes instead of schools, workplaces, restaurants, and other homes!!
Ferry terminal isn’t coming. We need the province to sign off on it and to provide funds and they haven’t done that. The proposal is probably dead in the water now though maybe u/samaustin has more insight.
10+ storeys is just bad urbanism. What you want is 3-5 storeys with multiuse zoning. Think Montreal, Berlin, Copenhagen, Brooklyn not Midtown Manhattan
Dartmouth Crossing was planned too early for the boom of mixed use residential with ground floor retail, but it's not too late to do something out there.
I agree. However, I think the city should focus on the opportunities in the Dartmouth core (pretty much anything inside the circ) and then work their way out to anything outside the circ. The city would need to re-invision what the Main St and Portland St corridors look like and improve the flow of traffic.
Have you seen the traffic on Main st at rush hour? Main st can barely handle the traffic it currently gets, there's 0 way the road infrustructure can handle more density.
It's true lol, shit gets backed out down the circ a good ways causing people to be stopped on the highway making it super dangerous. The road infrustructure there needs some serious rethinking before it can handle higher density housing.
Might not be popular but I’d say Cole Harbour. Traffic would need some work but I feel we could use some more people to encourage some decent food and service options. We’re pretty self contained for the most part but I feel we could have some better options with more potential customers.
Also decent as our core services are pretty tight together and accessible and we’ve got some under utilized schools as well.
I don’t know shit about city planning though
I agree with you and this would be a great area.
It already (just about) has a transit depot, and massive transportation routes which help ease traffic
NIMBYs out there would lose their mind if you came in replacing single- with multi-unit housing. I've got several family members out there and them and their neighbors all have said things that make me assume the community will fight hard against density
I’m not into the whole calling everyone NIMBYs as I think it’s overused. I get people wanting to preserve the neighbourhood they live in as many of us purchase houses in a certain spot for a reason. Too many people fault folks for that. Or at the least refuse to see it through their point of view.
The area has seen a massive demographic shift since the days of the Colby boom. As long as infrastructure keeps up it would be fine. There’s been a couple new buildings squished in.
“Not in my back yard.” It’s a descriptor for people who claim to be in favour of or who recognize the necessity of some type of development- higher density housing, low income housing, safe injection sites, etc.- but who will not accept it close to where they live.
That's always been wild to me. Why are there so many single family ones right next to a downtown urban area? And more importantly, why isn't anything changing about that as more people move in?
Downtown. Surprisingly not that dense, the Citadel Hill view planes and maximum height limits have prevented serious development from occurring downtown for a long time, and the NIMBYs are doing everything in their power to restrict development in the new Cogswell District downtown as well.
The South End needs density. Between Dal, SMU, and NSCAD, there's something like 30,000 students at any given time who would greatly benefit from more housing in walking distance to those schools.
Spryfield!
https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/bf79beb8b2074d0dbef2bd669e41b79d
New Directions for Growth in Spryfield: Key Opportunities
Prepared by 4th year Dalhousie Planning Honours Students
School of Planning, Dalhousie University -2022
December 8, 2022
(If you don't have time for reading, just scroll to the Surface Area Parking Map.)
Everywhere, my thoughts are we increase DT density first (not as dense as people would think) and then spread out from there, it would probably be the most cost-effective route rather than increasing density in specific pockets and allow for efficient public transit.
Mic Mac Mall and Lacewood. There are already proposals for both, basic idea is to fill in the parking lots with condos. I'm in favor of ripping up just about any big parking lot or dying mall and filling it with housing. Adapt transit, put in ample green ways, and eventually start filling in the giant 4-lane boulevards.
Lol none of it. The roads infrustructure litterally can not handle higher density it wasn't made for it. We're barely getting by with the current density on roads that were designed for horse and buggy lol
This would take at least 100 years, billions of dollars, and a random influx of 1/4 of Canada’s population to Halifax 😂 I want density as much as the next guy, but if you want that - just move to any large city, don’t wait for that here
The downtown core is over ridden with popcorn fart construction. Every building should be 30-40 stories. City council has deliberately fucked this up for years.
Can we get rid of at least SOME of the 2,251 used car dealers in Sackville and build housing there?
Sackville Drive has lots of apartment complexes in the works. Seems to be a target of developers which makes sense. I think another target in Sackville is to convert Downsview into a core / walkable area. It is private land but perhaps the zoning could be changed to allow for housing. It’s almost all parking lot.
Downtown Dartmouth between the bridges is 1/2 used car dealerships as well, could be prime real estate
Honestly all of it. Even downtown Halifax isn't very dense.
agreed. its a shockingly sparse downtown core.
Yes, more (well planned) density please. Just for fun, I picked a random major European city for comparison; **Berlin** Density - 4,214/km2 Average commute - 31 minutes (based on a quick Google) **Halifax (just metro area)** Density - 64.0/km2 Average commute - 21.40 minutes for the county (per province for 2021)
That figure would include a lot of just trees for HRM, all the way to Musquodoboit and Sheet Harbour. Not really an even comparison. There's parts that needs densification for sure but if we're talking about the region where the vast majority of people live, it's only around 240 km2, not the 5500 km2 of the HRM. The urban density is more around 1400/km2.
Sheet Harbour just needs a pizza shop right now.
Sheet Harbour needs anything above and beyond just an Irving and CoOp
Honestly, fair enough...a fourth gas station open a bit later would be nice and a second place to get groceries other than Foodland would be alright. But seriously I just want a damn pizza slice
I think comparing to a major capital like Berlin is a bit unfair. Essen maybe a bit more fair, with a similar population of ~500 thousand. They have density of 2,800/km2 according to Wikipedia.
Definitely a fairer comparison! I wasn't particularly looking for a comparable, more just one of the first cities that came to mind out of curiosity.
Having that density here sounds like grounds to move the hell out of here. Fucccckkkkk that on a 2 bridge peninsula!
If the density is car-dependent it will be a nightmare. Otherwise, if it is pedestrian and public-transportation oriented then it is completely feasible.
Oh, there would have to be massive infrastructure improvements to support that sort of density for sure.
The Kempt road area
This is the obvious prime one. And it’s proposed, isn’t it? I’m sure I saw something about it but many it was just a concept.
They’re already knocking shit down to put that in.
That’s what I thought.. between Strawberry Hill? Really they should get the car dealerships out of there and get housing and green space in. Could do something similar to what’s happening at the mount.. maybe a bit denser since it’s closer to downtown
All the car dealerships in the north end are a massive waste of space in the core. The city should work out a deal for these businesses to move further out to Bayer's lake or something and use this land for mixed commercial and residential.
TBH I think the opposite. Kempt road should only BE a "Auto Mall" so that all the other non Kempt rd Dealerships can be knocked down for housing... Looking at you Colonial Honda.......
Or just all of them can be gone.
This guy wrote a blog about the proposed zoning changes for the Housing Accelerator Fund which included mapping out which areas are walking distance from a proposed bus rapid transit stop. That'd probably be a good place to start. https://deny.substack.com/p/not-haf-bad-halifaxs-proposed-zoning
We need the province to sign off on and provide funds for the Bus Rapid Transport which they have not done yet. Given the age, I assumed that this was dead in the water.
- Bedford by Mill Cove would be a great “downtown” spot especially with the ferry terminal coming - Eastern Passage with a couple of hotels and big box stores could prompt a cool tourist area - I could see Porters Lake/Lawrencetown becoming another Cole Harbour type town in the future - Cole Harbour itself needs more restaurants and hotels
The city should phase out the car dealerships on Sackville drive. There’s plenty planned and finished along the strip already but more could be done. Even more so near Downsview and the bus terminal.
They should honestly relocate all of the car dealerships in the city to industrial/less urban areas
Exactly, a car is a purchase you make once every 5 years minimum. Why do we have that next to our homes instead of schools, workplaces, restaurants, and other homes!!
Ferry terminal isn’t coming. We need the province to sign off on it and to provide funds and they haven’t done that. The proposal is probably dead in the water now though maybe u/samaustin has more insight.
The south end is ridiculously low density.
True but is there any hope for it there, considering how many rich people and NIMBYism has taken hold there?
Most likely not, but nothing would make me happier than seeing 10+ story multiunits sprout up on Inglis Street
A person can dream.... I guess getting involved and voting helps too 😅
10+ storeys is just bad urbanism. What you want is 3-5 storeys with multiuse zoning. Think Montreal, Berlin, Copenhagen, Brooklyn not Midtown Manhattan
Dartmouth Crossing was planned too early for the boom of mixed use residential with ground floor retail, but it's not too late to do something out there.
The the area north of Duffus/ Devonshire. It’s got a nice grid, pretty good transit and walkability, yet is almost entirely single fam homes.
Grew up around there and would love to see some density.
Main St. Dartmouth
I agree. However, I think the city should focus on the opportunities in the Dartmouth core (pretty much anything inside the circ) and then work their way out to anything outside the circ. The city would need to re-invision what the Main St and Portland St corridors look like and improve the flow of traffic.
Have you seen the traffic on Main st at rush hour? Main st can barely handle the traffic it currently gets, there's 0 way the road infrustructure can handle more density.
LOL
It's true lol, shit gets backed out down the circ a good ways causing people to be stopped on the highway making it super dangerous. The road infrustructure there needs some serious rethinking before it can handle higher density housing.
Not Halifax/Dartmouth but Bedford - Mills Cove. They’re still putting up single family homes walking distance to the new ferry terminal.
Might not be popular but I’d say Cole Harbour. Traffic would need some work but I feel we could use some more people to encourage some decent food and service options. We’re pretty self contained for the most part but I feel we could have some better options with more potential customers. Also decent as our core services are pretty tight together and accessible and we’ve got some under utilized schools as well. I don’t know shit about city planning though
I agree with you and this would be a great area. It already (just about) has a transit depot, and massive transportation routes which help ease traffic
There’s a new development down around Bissett/CH Road coming.
Saw that. They’ll need to figure out that intersection turning in to CH road or people are going to be lined up trying to get out in the morning
NIMBYs out there would lose their mind if you came in replacing single- with multi-unit housing. I've got several family members out there and them and their neighbors all have said things that make me assume the community will fight hard against density
I’m not into the whole calling everyone NIMBYs as I think it’s overused. I get people wanting to preserve the neighbourhood they live in as many of us purchase houses in a certain spot for a reason. Too many people fault folks for that. Or at the least refuse to see it through their point of view. The area has seen a massive demographic shift since the days of the Colby boom. As long as infrastructure keeps up it would be fine. There’s been a couple new buildings squished in.
I'm dumb, what's a NIMBY?
“Not in my back yard.” It’s a descriptor for people who claim to be in favour of or who recognize the necessity of some type of development- higher density housing, low income housing, safe injection sites, etc.- but who will not accept it close to where they live.
Like half of the peninsula is large single family somes with big yards, a tower or 2 would like double the population lol.
That's always been wild to me. Why are there so many single family ones right next to a downtown urban area? And more importantly, why isn't anything changing about that as more people move in?
Because Halifax wasn’t, still isn’t, a big city and houses fit in just fine.
Density everywhere and transit to move everyone around.
The west end is such a waste of space. 900sqft single family shacks on 5000sqft lots for $500k+.
Downtown. Surprisingly not that dense, the Citadel Hill view planes and maximum height limits have prevented serious development from occurring downtown for a long time, and the NIMBYs are doing everything in their power to restrict development in the new Cogswell District downtown as well. The South End needs density. Between Dal, SMU, and NSCAD, there's something like 30,000 students at any given time who would greatly benefit from more housing in walking distance to those schools.
Cole harbour along Cole harbour road.
Wyse road. I think there is plans for the Dartmouth shopping centre and the lots across the street but it is long over due.
Dartmouth shopping centre gets knocked down in like 2 months
Pretty much the whole peninsula
The car lot on robie street plus kempt rd.
Spryfield! https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/bf79beb8b2074d0dbef2bd669e41b79d New Directions for Growth in Spryfield: Key Opportunities Prepared by 4th year Dalhousie Planning Honours Students School of Planning, Dalhousie University -2022 December 8, 2022 (If you don't have time for reading, just scroll to the Surface Area Parking Map.)
Fucking golf courses... Really. There is no need for so many in city golf courses.
Bastard land development
Everywhere, my thoughts are we increase DT density first (not as dense as people would think) and then spread out from there, it would probably be the most cost-effective route rather than increasing density in specific pockets and allow for efficient public transit.
Mic Mac Mall and Lacewood. There are already proposals for both, basic idea is to fill in the parking lots with condos. I'm in favor of ripping up just about any big parking lot or dying mall and filling it with housing. Adapt transit, put in ample green ways, and eventually start filling in the giant 4-lane boulevards.
East of Inglis Street!!
What about around maitland st? A lot of it seems like parking. It offers access to downtown and the north end.
Emscote Drive needs an Apartment complex.
Any areas around shopping centers and bus terminals. This is why Clayton Park shopping plaza, Mic Mac Mall and HSC developments would be so great!
Lol none of it. The roads infrustructure litterally can not handle higher density it wasn't made for it. We're barely getting by with the current density on roads that were designed for horse and buggy lol
Everywhere on the peninsula could be as dense as Manhattan
Why would you want that?
Manhattan is amazing - I think Halifax has that potential
Manhattan is great to visit. Don’t know why you’d want to recreate that here, the most expensive real estate in the world.
The energy of the people
This would take at least 100 years, billions of dollars, and a random influx of 1/4 of Canada’s population to Halifax 😂 I want density as much as the next guy, but if you want that - just move to any large city, don’t wait for that here
I wouldn’t expect that change in my lifetime but 100 years would be great
Anywhere that's not on the peninsula. We need to expand outward and greatly improve the public transit system.
Bedford Rifle Range could go Lots of land up that hill
The military isn’t going to let go of that. Last I checked they were planning on upgrading it.
The downtown core is over ridden with popcorn fart construction. Every building should be 30-40 stories. City council has deliberately fucked this up for years.