HALIFAX—Three big developments for peninsular Halifax, comprising more than 250 housing units, are headed to regional council for public hearings and final decisions this week.

Council is scheduled to hold a special meeting Wednesday night to consider the three developments, on Wellington St., at the corner of South Park St. and Victoria Rd., and between Bayers Rd. and Young St.

The Wellington St. proposal, from Lydon Lynch Architects, on behalf of BANC Developments Limited, would see an eight-storey residential building with 101 housing units built on the south end street.

At public meetings in 2016 and 2018, many residents said the building was too tall and too dense, said the staff report to council.

“Many residents expressed that the proposed development did not fit within the existing character of the area,” the report said.

Other concerns included shadows, wind and parking.

The developer made some changes to the proposal following the second public meeting, including reducing the size of a mechanical penthouse rising above the eighth storey.

The building doesn’t conform to current rules, but municipal staff found that it generally aligned with the coming Centre Plan — the set of land-use bylaws designed to guide growth for the next decade or more in urban areas of Halifax. Staff recommended in favour of the proposal.

The second proposal, from ZZap Consulting Incorporated on behalf of Eldorado Properties Limited for the corner of South Park St. and Victoria Rd., is a renovation of an existing eight-storey apartment building. Two smaller residential buildings on South Park St. would also be removed to make way for an eight-storey addition, with more than 6,000 sq. ft. of commercial space in the ground floor. There’d be a total of 88 units on the site.

Like the nearby proposal for Wellington St., residents at public meetings in 2016 and 2018 worried the building was too tall and too dense.

“Some participants identified that this development is out of scale with the adjacent homes and that the design could be improved,” said the staff report to council.

The developer reduced the height from nine to eight storeys after the 2018 meeting.

Have your say

The building doesn’t confirm to current rules and municipal staff wrote that it doesn’t align with the Centre Plan, but that it does align with council’s general “planning principles.” Staff recommended council approve the development.

The third proposal, from WM Fares Architects for a 72,000-sq. ft. property between Bayers Rd. and Young St., would replace 19 properties with a three-component development.

That would include a six-storey building with 72 residential units and commercial space fronting Bayers Rd.; a row of three-storey apartments with 41 units on Young St.; and a row of four three-storey townhouses on Young St.

At an open house meeting in 2017, “some respondents stated that the development does not fit with the architecture of the surrounding neighbourhood,” said the staff report to council.

“Conversely, some participants praised the design,” the report said.

Like the other proposals, the development doesn’t conform to current rules, but municipal staff said it aligns with the Centre Plan and recommended in favour of the proposal.

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All three developments would require bylaw changes by council and development agreements between developers and the municipality.

Wednesday’s meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m.

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