One of the largest reconstruction projects in Nova Scotia will begin Monday when heavy machinery rolls into the Shannon Park neighbourhood in Dartmouth to make way for new development.

The former military community, which spans nearly 40 hectares, has been sitting empty on Halifax's waterfront for 13 years. It's looked after by Canada Lands, a crown corporation.

Dexter Construction has been awarded the tender to demolish the site, which will take a year to complete. Most of the community will be torn down, including existing water-sewer infrastructure and roads. However, a school and the former Canex building will not be coming down.

Once the teardown is complete, new roads and services will be built.

Canada Lands is working to come up with a plan for the site and has carried out extensive public consultation.

"In the coming months, we're going to be presenting I guess what we'll be calling a preferred plan or a final draft plan to the community for one more round of review," said Chris Millier, director of real estate for Canada Lands.

Construction is still years away. It will be late 2018 or even 2019 before buildings start going up in the new Shannon Park.