The demolition of former military housing on the Shannon Park lands in Dartmouth is now expected to be completed by July.

Canada Lands is preparing the sprawling property for a major redevelopment.

In 2016, when asbestos removal work began from inside the 32 buildings, officials thought the demolition would be completed by the end of December.

"This work took longer than estimated, which isn't unusual for a project of this nature and scale," said Chris Millier, the director of real estate for Canada Lands, in an email to CBC News.

The first building in the former private married quarters was taken down in January.

Nine other buildings near the Shannon Park School, including a former rink, were demolished last summer.

Canex demolition will wait

The former Canex store still has to be taken down, but that won't happen during the school year because of its proximity to the elementary school.

The abandoned community sat vacant for more than a decade. (Robert Short/CBC)

In mid-December, Canada Lands asked the municipality to apply a specific planning process to its redevelopment proposal for Shannon Park.

"We expressed our hope that the proposal be considered through the Centre Plan process rather than a more typical standalone formal planning application," Millier said.

Halifax planners have agreed and have started reviewing the application so detailed planning polices and regulations can be developed. But it is not clear how long that process will take.

"As [Canada Lands'] request is linked to the Centre Plan planning process, specific timelines and next steps are not determined at this time," said city spokeswoman Tiffany Chase in an email.

Up to 3,000 housing units could be built on the 34-hectare site over the next 10 to 15 years.