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 containing primarily commercial uses at 2032-2050 Robie Street.

Pursuant to policies 10.29 and 10.30, 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-storey (85 metre) building with residential and commercial uses;
•    Two levels of underground parking containing up to 126 parking spaces;
•    Between 2,125 and 20,000 square feet of commercial space in the two-storey podium;
•    102 residential units, of which 58 are one-bedroom units and 44 are two-bedroom units; and
•    Amenity space for residents, including a large rooftop terrace.

There are two existing development agreements on the subject site. One to allow the funeral home development and the other to allow vehicular parking. 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

Currently, this application is at the team review stage of the process where the request is 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.