100 new public housing apartments to be built at Shannon Park site in Dartmouth, N.S.

One hundred new public apartments are set to be built at the foot of the Macdonald Bridge as part of a development plan at Shannon Park.

The Nova Scotia government says 100 new public housing apartments will be built at Shannon Park in Dartmouth, N.S.

The new units will provide affordable housing for more than 300 people, according to the province.

The homes are part of a larger housing plan for Shannon Park, which was first announced by the provincial and federal governments in December.

“These homes will be part of an exciting new community development, close to schools, childcare, other homes and recreation,” said Housing Minister John White in a news release Tuesday.

“Working with Canada Lands, we are acting quickly. Site work is already underway.”

The province says it submitted a proposal to Build Canada Homes to include the 100 apartments as part of a larger community development plan to build 930 affordable homes at the former military site.

Tenants will not pay more than 30 per cent of their income, before taxes, on rent.

Shannon Park, which contains about 86 acres of harbourfront land, has sat vacant for more than two decades.

Apartments moved from Lower Sackville

The province says the apartments were originally supposed to be built on Old Beaver Bank Road in Lower Sackville, N.S., but further investigation revealed problems with the site that would have added millions of dollars in unexpected development costs and significantly reduced the number of units.

Twenty-two new apartments are still being built on Old Beaver Bank Road, close to where the 100 apartments were supposed to be located. Tenants should be able to move in in the spring of 2027.

“While addressing increased construction costs, moving the housing to Shannon Park also responds to community concerns,” said the province. “The Sackville NS Lions Club uses part of the originally proposed site for parking and storage, and that would have been lost if construction had proceeded.”

Shannon Park is located roughly 15 kilometres from the original Lower Sackville site.

The province says it will spend $251 million to build 515 new public housing units across Nova Scotia as part of its five-year housing plan, with 150 of those units committed to the Halifax Regional Municipality.

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