Phase I - Halifax Regional Municipality

Archaeological Resource Impact Assessment
Pre-development Assessment
Spring Garden Road/Queen Street Public Lands Plan
1.0 INTRODUCTION
In December 2008, Davis Archaeological Consultants (DAC) Limited was contracted by
Colliers International (Atlantic) Realty Advisors, on behalf of Halifax Regional
Municipality (HRM), to conduct a phase I archaeological resource impact assessment of
the Spring Garden Road/Queen Street Public Lands Plan. In 2005, Halifax Regional
Municipality and the Province of Nova Scotia entered into a memorandum of
understanding to jointly prepare plans for public land use in the vicinity of Spring Garden
Road and Queen Street. As a result, Halifax Regional Municipality, through Regional
Council approval, is currently negotiating with the Province of Nova Scotia to transfer
ownership of those lands previously occupied by the Halifax Infirmary to HRM in
exchange for two parcels of land bounding Birmingham and Clyde Streets. In addition,
HRM has requested that a functional assessment of the commercial redevelopment
potential of the Spring Garden Road Memorial Library be conducted.
The purpose of the archaeological assessment was to determine the potential for
archaeological resources within those land parcels under consideration and/or which have
been approved to redevelopment and to provide recommendations for further mitigation
if deemed necessary. This assessment included consultation of the Maritime
Archaeological Resource Inventory in the Heritage Division of the Nova Scotia Museum
as well as historic maps, manuscripts and published resources.
This assessment was conducted under Category C Heritage Research Permit A2009NS12
issued by the Nova Scotia Heritage Division. This report conforms to the standards
required by the Heritage Division under the Special Places program.
2.0 DEVELOPMENT AREA
The proposed project is a multi-disciplinary assessment of the development potential for
municipally-owned lands near Spring Garden Road and Queen Street in Halifax. The four
development areas are contained within approximately 28,500 square meters, and for this
report, have been divided into three distinct study areas (Figure 2.0-1), intercut primarily
by Spring Garden Road and Queen Street. The four parcels included in the study area are:
• the existing Spring Garden Road Memorial Library bounded by Brunswick Street,
Spring Garden Road, Grafton Street, and
• the old Halifax Infirmary property bounded by Morris Street, Queen Street,
Spring Garden Road, and Dalhousie University Sexton Campus;
• an existing parking lot bounded by Birmingham, Clyde, and Queen Streets; and
• an existing parking lot bounded by Birmingham and Clyde Streets and Dresden
Row.
Only that portion of the Spring Garden Memorial Library property from the diagonal
walkway that cuts through the front of the Library property (from Spring Garden Road to
Davis Archaeological Consultants Limited 2