Former tourist bureau property presents 'huge' opportunity for Yarmouth, says mayor

The Town of Yarmouth's recent acquisition of a significant piece of downtown real estate from the Nova Scotia government comes with amazing potential, says Mayor Pam Mood.

A provincial order in council signed in January and posted online last month authorized the transfer of ownership of the former visitor information centre property and an adjacent parking lot from the province to the town for $1.

The building sits in the middle of the land, with the parking lot fronting onto Main Street and green space that stretches from the building down to Water Street, across from the ferry terminal. In total, it's almost 38,000 square feet of property.

"It's huge," Mood said in a recent interview.

"The potential there is, you know, just off the charts."

The building has been empty for years, with the visitor information centre relocating to the site of the western branch of the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia several blocks away on Main Street.

Mood said town officials have eyed the property ever since it became vacant.

"Any time a big project comes up, we always smile and say, 'Wouldn't it be great to have that property so that we could put it [there]?"

Although the town now owns the property, the mayor said there are no plans yet for how it will be used.

Mood said the town is beginning a process to invite public consultation and gather ideas for what people think should happen with the land. Everything is on the table, including the town retaining control of the entire property or making some available for private development. Like many communities in Nova Scotia, Yarmouth has a housing shortage.

"What an amazing place for someone to build a housing project, honestly, overlooking the harbour," said Mood.

"It's just huge potential there."

A spokesperson for the Nova Scotia government said the visitor information centre would continue to operate out of the art gallery building and there are no plans to close or relocate it.