What will Halifax’s Young District look like in 30 years? Residents get a say

Over the next few years, a large swath of land in north end Halifax known as the Young District is going to change drastically.

And the municipality wants the community to have a say in what those changes are.

Halifax Regional Municipality is looking to transform the region into a high-density mixed-use neighbourhood that offers housing, jobs and shopping.

On Wednesday, the public was invited to the Halifax Forum to learn more about the plans.

“I want to be able to have a voice in what’s going to happen in the neighbourhood,” said Ted Brown, who came to the open house. “Generally, I like what’s happening but I want to get a better appreciation of what the planning is, what the options might be, and give my two cents.”

In addition to the Halifax Forum, the district also includes Canada Post lands and the southern end of Kempt Road.

“This area is what we call an underutilized area. It has a lot of parking lots and things like that,” said Luc Ouellet, HRM’s principal planner. “We see this area transforming over the next 30 years to an area that will probably accommodate between 26 and 30,000 extra residents.”

The email you need for the day's top news stories from Canada and around the world.

The project will bring in about 12,000 new housing units, and municipal staff say it should be a place where people want to live, work and shop.

“We’re hoping to hear from the public — what they think are important features from each of these themes that we should keep in mind or consider for the future of the district,” said Leen Romaneh, a project manager. “Do we need more parks? Do we need a new transit terminal? Do we need an art gallery, for example.”

Looking southwest towards Young Street in Halifax. shapeyourcityhalifax.ca

For community members who attended this first round of public engagement, reaction was mixed.

“You want an influx of people. You make the city ready for it. It’s not ready for it. I don’t think you’re ready for it in terms of the power grid,” said Theresa Zukauskas.

She adds she’s concerned the development won’t be car-friendly.

“People do drive, that’s the reality. People do drive. In the next 25 years I will not be driving a bike, not at my age.”

The amount of green space was a concern for others, including Ethel Langille Ingram.

“You need to be looking at developing intergenerational park areas for people who have families, older people, so you can build community,” she said.

Ouellet says an infrastructure plan will be drafted to examine capacity and upgrades required when it comes to power, transportation and utilities.

Nova Scotia’s Department of Municipal Affairs and Housing (DMAH) provided a funding grant to support this project.

— with a file from Global News’ Rebecca Lau