N.S. scoops up land at Shannon Park for $16.8M, expects 600 affordable units to be built

The Nova Scotia government is wading into the redevelopment of Shannon Park in Dartmouth, confirming to CBC News it is purchasing land for affordable housing at the former military site that has been largely vacant since 2017. 

An order-in-council dated March 6 authorized the minister of public works to purchase the land from Crown corporation Canada Lands Company, but details are scarce about the Nova Scotia government's plan for its new property.

"We expect about 600 units of affordable housing will be built there," Gary Andrea, a spokesperson for the Department of Public Works, said in an email. 

Andrea said the province paid $16.8 million for the property, which is "well below market value." He said the two parcels of land off Princess Margaret Boulevard total more than 9,000 square metres, which is approximately the size of two football fields. 

Interview requests for Minister of Public Works Fred Tilley and Colton LeBlanc, the minister in charge of housing, were declined. 

The grassy area the size of 63 football fields on the waterfront near the base of the MacKay Bridge has been sitting largely empty for almost a decade since the demolition of military housing was completed in 2017.

In 2023, the Halifax Regional Municipality approved a permanent housing development at the site, as well as a commercial space, a transit hub and two large parks. Canada Lands Company owns the property and is in charge of the redevelopment, which is set to include 3,000 housing units.

Canada Lands told CBC News last year the redevelopment of the 34-hectare property will include at least 20 per cent affordable units, which amounts to around 600 homes. 

At the time, the company said it is working with the municipality to get the required approval to subdivide the property to sell off parcels of land to developers, with construction expected to begin in the fall of this year. 

'More affordable housing, faster'

Canada Lands Company told CBC News on Friday it is unable to comment on its activities during a federal election period, so it cannot provide an update. 

Andrea said on Wednesday that the purchase is being completed and the land will be acquired "in the coming days."

Another spokesperson would not say whether the province plans to build its own housing on the land it is buying, or if it will work with affordable housing providers to do so.

"The land purchase at Shannon Park is an exciting next step in getting more affordable housing, faster for Nova Scotians," Amy Wagg, a spokesperson for the Department of Growth and Development, wrote in an email.

"It is premature to comment on the affordable housing aspect of this land purchase." 

Non-profit housing hopes

Trish McCourt, executive director of the Nova Scotia Non-Profit Housing Association, said she doesn't know what the province is planning, but she hopes non-profit housing providers are involved.

"Then that will also mean ... affordable housing in perpetuity, which is really where the greatest need is for housing right now," McCourt said in an interview Friday.

McCourt said some non-profit housing providers have the ability to build housing, but it could also work if the province built the housing and a non-profit ran it. She is hoping to see rents that are 30 per cent of the household's income. 

"What we really need to be focused on right now is to have the biggest bang for our buck when it comes to government funds, when it comes to community funds, so that we can ensure that we find our way out of this homelessness crisis as quickly as we can," she said.