Case 22927 - 2032-2050 Robie Street, Halifax

Request

WSP Canada Inc. is requesting to re-enter into a development agreement on the lands at 2032 to 2050 Robie Street, Halifax to allow for a 23-storey mixed-use building.

Proposal

On June 10, 2014, Regional Council initiated a process to consider amendments to the Halifax Municipal Planning Strategy and the Halifax Peninsula Land Use By-law to create site specific policy and provisions for 2032-2050 Robie Street to enable a mixed-use development by development agreement on the site (Case 19281).

The application was still in progress when the Regional Centre planning documents were planned to go to Regional Council. The Regional Centre planning documents would replace portions of the Halifax Municipal Planning Strategy and Halifax Peninsula Land Use By-law, including the policies and provisions that applied to 2032-2050 Robie Street. In June 2019, Regional Council directed staff to amend the proposed Regional Centre planning documents to allow for the development of 2032-2050 Robie Street, as detailed in the June 4, 2019 Staff Report under Case 19281.

In September 2019, Regional Council adopted the Regional Centre Secondary Municipal Planning Strategy (RCSMPS) and the Regional Centre Land Use By-law. Section 10.10.2 of the RCSMPS contains site specific policies to enable Council to consider a development agreement for a single residential tower no greater than 85 metres in height, located atop a two-storey podium, with primarily commercial uses on the ground floor at 2032-2050 Robie Street.

Pursuant to policies 10.29 and 10.30 of the RCSMPS, the applicant wishes to enter into a Development Agreement to allow a mixed-use building at 2032-2050 Robie Street, Halifax. The major aspects of the proposal are as follows:
•    A 23-stories (85 metres) mixed use building;
•    A total of 102 residential units (58 one-bedroom and 44 two-bedroom);
•    Between 555 square metres and 910 square metres of commercial space in the two-storey podium;
•    Primarily commercial space on the ground floor fronting Robie Street;
•    A combination of interior and exterior amenity space, including a rooftop terrace; and
•    Two levels of underground parking (about 84 parking stalls).

There are two existing development agreements on the subject site. One to allow the funeral home development and the other to allow a parking lot. Both agreements will be discharged prior to Council making a decision on entering into a new development agreement.

The Development Plans (provided below) outline the development proposal in detail, and include information related to the proposed building design, landscaping, access and parking, servicing, and traffic impacts.

Process

The application will be considered under the Development Agreement Process.

Status

March 3, 2021
This application was considered by the Halifax Peninsula Planning Advisory Committee on February 22, 2021. The Halifax Peninsula Planning Advisory Committee recommends Halifax and West Community Council approved the application with the following condition: “Design enhancements to improve pedestrian safety and the flow of traffic at the building access on Robie Street.” View the staff presentation and the draft meeting minutes. 
View the preliminary summary of the public feedback received up to February 19, 2021.
 
January 14, 2021
The engagement period has now closed. Thank you to everyone who provided feedback. We heard from many people and are actively working to respond to everyone and compile the comments. If you would like to provide feedback and have not done so already, we will gladly still accept it. However, we cannot guarantee feedback received after the scheduled engagement period will be captured in the staff report. Please reach out to Meaghan Maund (contact information below) if you have any questions.

December 7, 2020
The application was in the Public Consultation Stage. View the staff presentation that provides an overview of the application and planning process. We invited questions and comments on the proposal. Here were items for consideration when providing feedback:
•    What do you like about the proposal?
•    Are there parts of the proposal that concern you?
•    If you have concerns, what would you like to see changed?
•    All comments and feedback are welcome.

May 25, 2020
The application has gone through the team review stage of the process where the request was reviewed by internal municipal staff from Development Engineering, Building Standards, Civic Addressing, Land Development and Subdivision, Fire Protection Services, and Parkland Planning, as well as externally by Halifax Water and Nova Scotia Power.

Documents Submitted for Evaluation

The applicant has submitted plans and documents required by municipal staff to properly evaluate the application.

• Application Letter
• Site Plan (Updated December 2020) 
• Building Drawings (Updated December 2020)
• Preliminary Landscape Plan
• Traffic Impact Statement
• Preliminary Servicing Schematic
• Preliminary Consolidation Plan
• Existing Development Agreements
• Wind Study