Some Halifax residents are speaking out over plans to develop a prime parcel of land in the city, saying the proposal for new residential and commercial spaces should also include affordable housing options.

Regional councillors voted this week to approve a change to the municipal planning strategy to allow the redevelopment of the old Ben's Bakery lands in the Quinpool Road area.

The development proposal includes the construction of townhouses, condos and commercial space, as well as a seniors home.

Claire McNeil is an area resident and a lawyer at Dalhousie Legal Aid. (CBC)

"I was really surprised, first of all when I looked at this application, that there wasn't any attention given to including affordable housing in this redevelopment," said Claire McNeil, who lives in the area and is also a lawyer for Dalhousie Legal Aid.

"It's getting worse and worse.... obviously it's terrible impacts on individuals who are housing insecure. They really have to make terrible choices in order to keep a roof over their heads."

Vince Calderhead, who also lives in the area and works as a lawyer on behalf of people in poverty, wondered why councillors didn't push for affordable housing.

Lawyer Vince Calderhead works on behalf of people who live in poverty and lives near the Ben's Bakery site. (Andrew Vaughan/The Canadian Press)

"It was very disappointing to hear many of the councillors talk about having their hands tied and it's out of their hands," Calderhead said Wednesday.

Westwood Group applied to redevelop the Ben's Bakery lands after the site closed in 2015.

At a public hearing Tuesday night, Halifax councillors voted in approval of the proposal, which will change the area around Quinpool Road as well as Shirley, Preston and Pepperell streets.

Calderhead said he does not have any issue with the development's dimensions and proposed buildings, but he wanted to see council press harder to find a way to ensure affordability of the units.

The city has been working on Halifax's proposed Centre Plan, which will modify the way developers qualify for "density bonuses," which can allow more density in exchange for affordable units. However that plan is still under development with the first phase projected to be in place next fall.

Not the right project

Westwood Group owner Danny Chedrawe told the meeting Tuesday night he is supportive of affordable housing.

He said in a phone interview Wednesday he is in favour of measures such as attaching stipulations during sales of municipal property that would require developers to make a "large-scale" commitment to affordable housing.

"When I was sitting in the gallery and those few people came up to talk about affordable housing, I was cheering them on," he said. "I said yes, we need to talk about it."

However, Chedrawe said affordable rental units were not feasible for the Ben's site.

The Westwood Group's proposal includes multiple buildings around the Quinpool Road area, including a 10-storey mixed-use building at the corner of Quinpool Road and Pepperell Street. (Westwood Group)

"We listened to the neighbours. The neighbours wanted a certain density in certain parts of that site. So it didn't allow us to bring an affordable housing project — a meaningful affordable housing project — to market there," he said.

Chedrawe said he's aiming to keep the price of the townhouse units at the Ben's site under $600,000.

Development details

Westwood's proposal contains 204 units, of which almost half will be condos in a 10-storey residential/commercial tower fronting on Quinpool Road.

In the block behind, there will be a six-storey, 70-unit seniors residence run by The Berkeley retirement home. The remaining units will be ground-level condo townhouses on Shirley, Preston and Pepperell streets. There will be some green space between the various buildings and almost 200 underground parking spaces.

Westwood held two open houses to gather feedback from the community.

Councillors still have to approve a development agreement with Westwood at a later date.