Quinpool 6067

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Consultation has concluded

The property at 6067 Quinpool Road is scheduled to be marketed for development, but first, HRM Regional Council needs your help to decide what kind of development that should be.

As of May 13, 2016, the demolition of the former Saint Patrick’s High School building was complete. Top soil was then overlaid, and hydro-seeding took root in the summer of 2017.

Public Meeting:

The District 7 & 8 Planning Advisory Committee hosted a Public Information Meeting (PIM) to discuss the proposed amendments to the Halifax Municipal Planning Strategy and the Halifax Peninsula Land Use Bylaw to create a site specific zone for 6067 Quinpool Road. The meeting was held on:

Monday, May 9, 2016, 7 – 9 p.m.
Olympic Community Centre, 2304 Hunter Street, Halifax

Click here to view the meeting agenda

Click here to view the final report from WSP


Subsequent to the PIM of May 9, four subsequent meetings of the District 7 & 8 Planning Advisory Committee discussed Case 20510 regarding 6067 Quinpool Road, which concluded by forwarding the case to Centre Plan by which to determine site uses and regulations.


Public comments on the Quinpool 6067 draft land use by-law regulations were collected December 10 to January 4, 2016. We invite you to review the comments submitted by clicking here.

The former site of the Saint Patrick's High School, 6067 Quinpool Road was declared surplus municipal property by Regional Council in 2014, and the land will be prepared for future sale and development.
The municipality undertook an innovative approach to dispose of this property as enabled through Administrative Order 50, Respecting the Disposal of Surplus Real Property. Because the property has been categorized as Economic Development, the municipality had a unique opportunity to advance development through a change in zone. To that end, land use by-law regulations and planning policies are being created for the site that will ensure a mixed-use development with a focus on urban design and built form excellence, which will complement and enrich the Quinpool Road business district and neighbourhoods, as informed by the public.

Public Consultation

The first presentation and open house was held on July 22, 2015, to provide residents with the opportunity to review and comment on three preliminary design directions for this landmark site. The three design directions were prepared by project consultants following a detailed background analysis of the site and the surrounding community.

Consultants and municipal staff reviewed over 600 comments received during the initial public consultation period, and subsequently developed draft land use by-law regulations and municipal plan amendments that will eventually guide future design of the site.

A second presentation and open house was held on December 9, 2015, to review feedback from the first open house, and to present proposed land use by-law regulations and plan amendments.

Public comments on the draft land use by-law regulations were collected December 10 to January 4, 2016. We invite you to review the comments submitted by clicking here.

Consultants and municipal staff reviewed public feedback in order to further refine the proposed by-law and plan amendments, in advance of initiating the Council approval process early in 2016. The future sale of the site is anticipated in 2017, after Regional Council approves plan amendments and land use by-laws as proposed under Centre Plan. Once approved, the property will be marketed for sale.


As of May 13, 2016, the demolition of the former Saint Patrick’s High School building was complete. Top soil was then overlaid, and hydro-seeding took root in the summer of 2017.

Public Meeting:

The District 7 & 8 Planning Advisory Committee hosted a Public Information Meeting (PIM) to discuss the proposed amendments to the Halifax Municipal Planning Strategy and the Halifax Peninsula Land Use Bylaw to create a site specific zone for 6067 Quinpool Road. The meeting was held on:

Monday, May 9, 2016, 7 – 9 p.m.
Olympic Community Centre, 2304 Hunter Street, Halifax

Click here to view the meeting agenda

Click here to view the final report from WSP


Subsequent to the PIM of May 9, four subsequent meetings of the District 7 & 8 Planning Advisory Committee discussed Case 20510 regarding 6067 Quinpool Road, which concluded by forwarding the case to Centre Plan by which to determine site uses and regulations.


Public comments on the Quinpool 6067 draft land use by-law regulations were collected December 10 to January 4, 2016. We invite you to review the comments submitted by clicking here.

The former site of the Saint Patrick's High School, 6067 Quinpool Road was declared surplus municipal property by Regional Council in 2014, and the land will be prepared for future sale and development.
The municipality undertook an innovative approach to dispose of this property as enabled through Administrative Order 50, Respecting the Disposal of Surplus Real Property. Because the property has been categorized as Economic Development, the municipality had a unique opportunity to advance development through a change in zone. To that end, land use by-law regulations and planning policies are being created for the site that will ensure a mixed-use development with a focus on urban design and built form excellence, which will complement and enrich the Quinpool Road business district and neighbourhoods, as informed by the public.

Public Consultation

The first presentation and open house was held on July 22, 2015, to provide residents with the opportunity to review and comment on three preliminary design directions for this landmark site. The three design directions were prepared by project consultants following a detailed background analysis of the site and the surrounding community.

Consultants and municipal staff reviewed over 600 comments received during the initial public consultation period, and subsequently developed draft land use by-law regulations and municipal plan amendments that will eventually guide future design of the site.

A second presentation and open house was held on December 9, 2015, to review feedback from the first open house, and to present proposed land use by-law regulations and plan amendments.

Public comments on the draft land use by-law regulations were collected December 10 to January 4, 2016. We invite you to review the comments submitted by clicking here.

Consultants and municipal staff reviewed public feedback in order to further refine the proposed by-law and plan amendments, in advance of initiating the Council approval process early in 2016. The future sale of the site is anticipated in 2017, after Regional Council approves plan amendments and land use by-laws as proposed under Centre Plan. Once approved, the property will be marketed for sale.


Consultation has concluded
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    The proposed regulations for developing the property are extremely flexible. If a developer buys 6067 Quinpool and prepares a development that abides by these new regulations, will this development be approved automatically by the city, with no further opportunity for public involvement in the design process?

    sp asked about 8 years ago

    The proposed regulations (draft Land Use By-Law [LUB]) summarized at Open House 2 on December 9, 2015 will be available for public comment in their entirety at a yet-unscheduled Public Information Meeting through the Planning Advisory Committee (PAC).  Following PAC, staff will make any necessary amendments stemming from the feedback received, and proceed to Regional Council for a Public Hearing. A Public Hearing offers members of the public the opportunity to speak directly to Council – the decisions makers – prior to a decision being made.  Once the LUB (and amended area municipal planning strategy) is approved by Regional Council, the property will be offered for sale under competitive bid process. At that point, the new owner would be able to submit an as-of-right development application to develop the site. Submitted plans will be carefully assessed against the regulations approved by Council. If all regulations held within the Land Use By-law and Municipal Planning Strategy are met, the owner will receive their permit.


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    Process- This may be covered somewhere on the site. Can you explain the process from now until the first concrete is poured on the site for a new development? So, there will be a final design concept presented to a second public open house in the fall; then the next step, then the next step, and so on. Please give us the milestone steps, including all the public engagement opportunities, to be covered for the project.

    wdc asked over 8 years ago

    Thanks for your inquiry. The sequence of steps for the property’s disposition and development are:

    • First Open House (July)
    • Second Open House (Fall)
    • Recommendations/deliverables by Consulting Team to the municipality, which includes proposed MPS & LUB amendments in response to the direction for this property’s Economic Development disposal category (as per Administrative Order 50), and community input through the design phase (December)
    • Application Report For amendments submitted to Regional Council (Winter 2016
    1. This step will include consultants’ input and staffrecommendations as informed by public engagement
    2. This process also includes a recommendation on how the property is to be disposed-of (i.e., sold)
    3. The end of this process includes a Public Hearing, as required to approve a plan amendment

    • Upon approval by Regional Council, the property will be marketed for sale (~Summer 2016)
    • Upon sale of the property, the purchaser/developer will submit an application for development
    • Municipal staff would then review the development proposal/application to determine whether it meets requirements under the [revised] MPS and LUB


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    Does HALIFAX have any vision for the site in terms of what the city needs? Beyond the forms proposed in the three concepts - what about program / permitted use / desired use? It would seem that programming the site before design concept is complete makes more sense. What do we need? Let's take the example of a performing arts centre as you could argue that one is needed in Halifax - I suggest that none of the concepts address this need/use. This idea can be extrapolated well beyond a performing arts centre - since we don't have a sense of what is needed to heighten our mid-sized Canadian city. Is it intended as a major focal destination?

    Nathan Rogers asked over 8 years ago

    Regional Council approved Quinpool 6067 as a property surplus to ?municipal requirements as per Administrative Order 50 (AO50), respecting The Disposal of Surplus Real Property. The process that determines a municipally-owned property's surplus status under AO50, and approved by Regional Council, requires an internal review of business unit needs (municipal requirements), as well as any that Regional Council require or request be studied for future consideration. Such needs are typically informed by stakeholders, policy studies and scans, master plans, multi-year capital and business plans, and the annual capital budget cycle. In the case of this property, no municipal requirements for this site have been identified, and as such, the property was approved as surplus with the condition that a plan amendment process be done prior to disposal.


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    Question - does anyone else feel this process is an illusion of choice? We get to debate and pick apart 3 concepts clearly all done by the same artist and with the very same agenda on each. None of these scenarios seem to have affordable housing or will be priced for local businesses to move in. Why is this school not being renovated by & for the community?

    MelissaMnl asked over 8 years ago

    Regional Council has not approved the renovation of the building, due to its poor condition, including hazardous materials throughout. Significant costs would have been needed to renovate the building's systems (electrical, heating, ventilation, plumbing, insulation, roof, exterior, windows/doors, flooring...everything), and in the end, it would remain a 265,000 square foot (25,000 square metre) school characterized by wide, long hallways, centralized bathrooms, high ceilings. Sale of the property allows sales revenue to be reinvested in other public goods or amenities for the benefit of the community.

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    Planning Process: identify desired quality of life and production, which would maintain 100 yr. landscape? http://lufa.com/en/ http://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/skys-the-limit-for-montreal-rooftop-greenhouse http://www.foodpolicymilano.org/en/urban-food-policy-pact-2/

    grakat asked over 8 years ago

    Thank-you for these links. Although the Milan Food Policy Pact in one of the links seems to be an issue for higher levels of government to consider, the rooftop commercial gardens are a rather interesting proposition. Some questions that immediately come to mind are:

    Is LUFA the sole capital investor who works with building owners to set-up the infrastructure atop and within a building?

    What are minimum criteria for a building and site required to make a commercial rooftop garden an economically sustainable entity?

    What incentives and risks are there for a building owner?

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    This is not a question, however I was encouraged to put this suggestion into the mix. I sent this to the Mayor in 2014 before the recent design plans, and feel the many uses of the land have not been considered. I am writing this letter to add my voice to those who are interested in developing the Quinpool Road - St. Pat's High School lot. I am enthusiastic about the possibilities for that site. Let me share my vision with you. Halifax could/should be the home of a state-of-the-art cultural hub that includes space for professional performances, community activities, gallery installations, and arts administration, situated in one area that is vibrant with creative activity and artistic enterprises. Imagine a space where one building houses a performance venue for small, intimate performances of music, theatre, and dance in a space that is built for maximum functionality to accommodate about 125 people. A larger performing venue for approximately 250 people would welcome small touring dance, theatrical, and musical companies and ensembles that could also cater to local dance school events. Such a building would also be home to studio space for artistic creation (dance, theatre, and music) as well as administrative offices for small local ensembles. Take a walk outside, or through an underground corridor to a second building that houses administrative offices of not-for profit organizations (many of whom lost their affordable space in the Roy Building in 2014). By creating a central hub, maintenance costs and other costs and infrastructure will be shared. Across the green space in the centre of this campus, (landscaped to attract residents from the surrounding area to eat, meet, and perhaps enjoy an outdoor event), there will be a building that is a home for the Atlantic Film Festival and Carbon Arc cinema where Haligonians will again be able to enjoy a repertory cinema theatre. Also on site will be musician's studios with state-of-the-art recording technology, located in close physical proximity to dance and theatre artists, thereby facilitating collaborations and interchanges between the exponents of different artistic media. There will also be studios of varying sizes and configurations available for use by students of music, teachers of dance, and community groups looking for affordable, artistic, creative space in HRM. Living space for visiting artists will be available on-site, facilitating artistic residencies, making it easier and more affordable to bring in guest artists from across the country, and the globe. I believe that it is important that the city step up to the plate and provide a tangible investment in the arts and culture sector – one that has for too many years been under-funded by the municipality. The world class artistic talent located in Halifax has helped build a dynamic profile for the city as a hotbed of creativity, however, it has done so largely in an investment vacuum. With a clean slate to work with, we will be able to attain world-class architectural and engineering standards. The entire location will be heated by geothermal green technology, and the buildings will be of the highest LEED Standard (Platinum). The initial financial input will ensure that the future costs and upkeep of all the facilities will be kept as low as possible. What a wonderful legacy for the city to champion such high architectural and building standards while encouraging a culturally diverse and creative citizenry, and all this as a critical component of a dynamic municipal economy! Although it is not a large component of my vision, depending on the size of the site and space available, affordable housing within the regulation height restrictions could be included in the plan to provide a revenue stream for the project and help amortize costs. It is a critical time in terms of developing facilities and venues in the centre of the city; many organizations are looking for new accommodation. These many initiatives could lead to competing cultural infrastructure priorities and donor fatigue. By placing a number of these in a central location with a connected footprint and shared facilities, we can answer the needs of a number of organizations, maximize the creative bang for the investment buck, while at the same time creating an exciting showpiece that can be enjoyed and utilized by the residents of HRM and visitors alike. Through partnering with energy efficiency initiatives, and developing a beautiful and inspiring collection of purpose-built facilities (that are desperately needed in the city) for a number of homeless not-for-profit organizations, council will be defining a vision, a clear statement apparent to visitors, tourists, businesses, developers, innovators, but most importantly to the citizens of the municipality, that they care about culture, that they see into the future, that they believe in the next generation, that they value environmental efficiency, that they are financially prudent, and they care about the cultural welfare of the citizens of the Halifax Regional Municipality.

    sheilagh asked over 8 years ago

    Thank-you for your comments.


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    OK, I'm pretty excited about this opportunity and these ideas. It shows that at some level at least we're all moving in the same direction and we all basically agree about what makes a neighbourhood great. It's interesting that we all experience places like Old Montreal, Old Quebec, Chester NS, Savannah Ga., many European towns and think... that's wonderful... but we can't seem to capture the aspects of it we like in modern development. Why is that? Why do we end up with monolithic blocks of wall and no place for life or living? I think it's about scale of ownership as much as it is about design. The new ideas presented seem to at least nod to the notion of what is good about traditional communities and the newer notion of pocket neighborhoods. http://pocket-neighborhoods.net/whatisaPN.html But how can any of this be real, or of real social and economic benefit unless the ownership is also conceived at a scale where regular people, not corporations, REITS and developers, using their own small capital can invest in and own in the community? If one development group undertakes this project it is no more than a disnified, corporate/government fake of what we all agree we want. Capital, ownership, diversification of risk and ideas, and accessible markets are crucial to our society and our real neighbourhood culture. Doing all this work in the community only to then allow a developer to build a sham facade of what we all want is not much better than the brutalist concrete walls of our past development mistakes. Will the city commit to creating small plot diverse holdings and rules against monopoly-style land speculation that has hurt our downtown so much so that small-scale owner/operators and regular people can invest in and build their own community where they can live, work, play and create?

    John Wesley Chisholm asked over 8 years ago

    Regional Council approved initiation of plan amendment that would support a mixed-use outcome on the site. The intent is to sell the property as a whole/at one time. This does not mean that a consortium could not bid to acquire it and then propose a phased development or alternatively, propose to subdivide it. Council ultimately will advise staff on how to proceed with disposal of the process when the project advances to that stage. Currently we are trying to ensure we get a design that is supported by the community so that policy can then be crafted to support the project.


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    Comment: We can no longer limit ourselves to greening or optimizing unsustainable systems; every day adaptation, disruption, ethics, and norms must beget meaning over consumption, ecological viability, and morally defensible peaceful world. ~ A. Wals

    grakat asked over 8 years ago

    Thank-you for your comment.


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    A key question concerns HRM Council decision arbitrarily to set density at 1000/acre. Does this target take into account the heightened density associated with proposals for neighbouring developments (Armco etc)? Does it include any consideration of the implications for traffic, parking on adjacent streets? In a nutshell, how can HRM proceed with any development proposal without considering the impact on the neighbouring communities, traffic flows and existing services without an overall plan for the Centre. This is Job One and I would like to ask why it has not been completed before entertaining grand new development plans?

    Oldhound asked over 8 years ago

    No population density target has been set for this site. Density is but one measure of a development proposal, rather than an urban design goal unto itself.

    In response to the questions/comments: "Does it include any consideration of the implications for traffic, parking on adjacent streets? In a nutshell, how can HRM proceed with any development proposal without considering the impact on the neighbouring communities, traffic flows and existing services without an overall plan for the Centre. This is Job One and I would like to ask why it has not been completed before entertaining grand new development plans?"

    Municipal traffic and transportation staff have done a preliminary review of the site for mixed use development. No major concerns have been identified, under the existing road network. A preliminary traffic impact statement or study will be generated as part of the consultants’ recommendations. In addition, as with all developments, a traffic analysis will be required at the time a development proposal is submitted for approval.

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    What maximum height is allowed on this site under the current Land Use By-law and Planning Strategy?

    Yukon asked over 8 years ago

    Currently, 45 feet.