Achi news desk-
The Cogswell District Redevelopment is one of the largest construction projects Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) has ever undertaken.
“It’s certainly a once in a lifetime opportunity to redevelop and recreate part of the city centre,” said HRM senior planner Ross Grant.
Grant says it’s rare to see such a development opportunity open up in the heart of a major city like Halifax.
That is the case with the upcoming Cogswell Area development.
The demolition of the urban highway interchange known as the Cogswell Interchange is well underway and almost complete to make way for the new neighborhood.
The Cogswell Interchange, built in the 1960s for a planned waterfront freeway that was never built, is seen in Halifax on Friday, April 26, 2013. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan
On Wednesday, more than a dozen people gathered for a public engagement session with Halifax planning staff, to hash out a vision for the new Cogswell District neighborhood.
“The Council has already approved the infrastructure design plan which includes the streets, new parks, and cycle lanes and which are currently being built, but what we intend to engage on today is the land use policy side of things,” said Grant.
That includes discussions on building design, commercial and residential development, and affordable housing which is high on some priority lists.
The city council ordered staff to include affordable housing in the neighborhood plan which will see space for 3,400 housing units being built. However, it has not yet been decided how much of that is considered affordable.
“We’ll talk about things like building height, building design and the kind of materials or architectural elements we might want to see in these new buildings,” Grant said. “As well as land uses such as commercial and residential uses.”
Ultimately, the Cogswell neighborhood will connect the north end of Halifax to downtown and will include bike lanes, multi-use trails, parks and other open spaces.
Grant says the work will transform the car-centric area into a 16-acre livable neighborhood.
More public consultation sessions are planned before the end of June.
Halifax planning staff will incorporate public feedback into a report to be presented to council later this summer.
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