'Last-ditch' effort by Halifax group in push for creative hub on Bloomfield site

A community activist says she's making a last-ditch effort to encourage Halifax to move forward on the redevelopment of the Bloomfield School site so that important funding opportunities aren't missed.

Susanna Fuller, a member of the community group Imagine Bloomfield, told CBC's Information Morning there have been many times over the 17-year history of the organization when she started to celebrate the success of the project — only to encounter another delay.

Fuller said she keeps having to do "the walk of shame" in her neighbourhood because "nothing's happened yet, despite our years of hard work." 

Housing Nova Scotia was supposed to build an affordable-housing project on the 1.3-hectare site — which includes a former school and two other buildings — but the province cancelled that plan in 2016.

In August 2017, city councillors unanimously passed a motion to hand one of the buildings on the site — the Fielding Building — over to a community group for use. That still hasn't happened.

At the time, the city said it would likely require $4 million in repairs.

Fuller, who lives across the street from the buildings, said she worries further delays will mean the site will deteriorate to the point where "it's going to be hard to bring it back." 

She said there are also "great funding opportunities" available right now in the private sector and through the federal government's Canada Cultural Spaces Fund. 

"If we do not take advantage of those in the next six months we will have lost a really important opportunity for Halifax," she said.

The city is waiting on the province to decide if it wants to build a new P-12 francophone school on part of the property, for use by the Conseil Scolaire Acadien Provincial.

Staff planning to update councillors

City spokesperson Nick Ritcey said staff will be updating councillors on the status of the project on Tuesday.

He said he couldn't share any details until that report is released.

Fuller said there is an increasing demand for affordable creative spaces in Halifax. "Every other city recognizes the value of these things," she said.

Every vote on the Bloomfield redevelopment project in council chambers has been unanimous, she said, adding "I honestly feel it's just an issue of will" on the part of city staff.

Imagine Bloomfield is calling on the city to make a final decision on the fate of the property by the end of February, Fuller said.

"We're hoping our last-ditch efforts will really move Halifax to doing the right thing," she said.