Homes slated for demolition around Colonial Honda in north-end Halifax were being boarded up on Friday, but there remains no definitive date for when they'll come down.

Tim Peacock, general manager of the dealership, said the plywood was going up on the properties on Fern Lane, May Street, McCully Street, North Street and Robie Street as a safety precaution while Steele Auto Group, which owns the dealership, finalizes demolition plans.

The company has drawn criticism from the community for its plans, which will see the houses cleared to make way for an expanded parking lot and display area.

North-end resident Joanne Light was walking along May Street on Friday as the plywood was going up. The area is a vibrant neighbourhood filled with small business, activists and artists that "make this a better city," she said.

Steele Auto Group says it will put up green buffers around the outside of the expand dealership. (Steele Auto Group)

'What cities are supposed to be about'

Light said she hopes the company considers the concerns coming from the neighbourhood.

"This is a really quaint, charming neighbourhood," she said. "This is what cities are supposed to be about."

Jeff Arsenault, a member of the community group Homes not Hondas, which is protesting Steele's plans, said people aren't ready to give up on saving the buildings.

"I'm not sure what we can do about it but we can certainly put pressure on the Steele Group to change their minds because they're certainly not making any friends in this neighbourhood," he said.

"[Our] group has a lot of passion and the neighbourhood has a lot of passion."

Just needs some TLC

Some people might look at the neighbourhood as being run down and in need of demolition, but Arsenault said a little bit of care and attention is all that's really needed.

"There are a lot of families constantly moving into this neighbourhood and it's [getting] better and better every day," he said.

"Paving over three city blocks and putting up a little wrought iron fence is not beautifying it at all, the neighbourhood."

Dealership OK, demolition — not so much

Marc Butler, policy director at the Ecology Action Centre, located one block down on Fern Lane, said the buildings slated for demolition help make up the fabric of the neighbourhood.

Ecology Action Centre policy director Marc Butler. (Steve Berry/CBC)

"We like this neighbourhood. We like the mix of old and new," he said.

"Car dealership on the peninsula? I'm OK with it because we all, perhaps, need to get our car serviced. But not when they start demolishing the neighbourhoods they're a part of."