Nova Scotia announces 58 new affordable housing units in Dartmouth

Nova Scotia Municipal Affairs Minister John Lohr speaks at a press conference in Halifax on Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Michael Tutton)

The Nova Scotia government says 58 more affordable housing units will be built in Dartmouth.

The units will be located in Richburg LP Management Inc.’s 96-unit project at 22 and 24 Brule Street.

Richburg received $8.7 million in forgivable funding through the Province’s Affordable Housing Development Program.

According to a news release, Municipal Affairs Minister John Lohr has designated the location as an interim planning area under the Halifax Regional Municipality Charter, which removed barriers that would have reduced the number of affordable units.

The province says Lohr’s order was necessary because the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) has not implemented changes to the Minimum Planning Requirements Regulations, though Growth and Development Minister Colton LeBlanc had extended the deadline to do so to June 30, according to the news release.

“We need more affordable housing in Halifax Regional Municipality. This project has been delayed because HRM didn’t implement the Minimum Planning Requirements Regulations by the deadline,” said Lohr in a statement.

“I’m using my authority as Minister to allow this important project to move ahead, unlocking much needed affordable housing in north Dartmouth.”

Meanwhile, the province says LeBlanc has also approved a recommendation by HRM’s executive panel on housing to enter into a development agreement for 511 residential units, within four multi-unit buildings, and a 144-bed long-term care facility by GEM Health Care, which was first announced in 2023, in the 1226 Cole Harbour Road Special Planning Area.

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