The Value of Investing in Canadian Downtowns - International ...

VISIONARY
Does the downtown have strong leaders who collaborate to
achieve a shared vision?
Downtown Halifax strives to attract and retain more
businesses and residents, as well as preserve its
valued heritage features. The local community has
played a strong role in realizing this vision. For
example, in the 1960s and 1970s the community
successfully railed against a large expressway project
along the waterfront that would have destroyed a
large number of historic buildings and many older
neighbourhoods. 2 The waterfront area has since
emerged as one of the downtown’s most valued
assets.
Vision
The HRMbyDesign process, launched in 2005,
created a new shared vision for downtown Halifax
that unified the community. The plan envisions vibrant
streets, increased live-work opportunities within new
mixed use infill developments, and a stronger ‘culture
of walking.’ This vision also seeks to balance
development opportunities with heritage
considerations, as well as bring clarity to issues
around the protection of view-planes. This vision is
guided through nine downtown districts, and each of
these districts possess corresponding development
styles. 3 This new vision of downtown Halifax is both
positive and powerful, and many credit it for moving
both the downtown and the entire City forward.
Leadership and Collaboration
Leadership has been challenging in the downtown, as
in the past there has been many conflicting opinions
on how downtown Halifax should evolve. Discussion
has been particularly fierce around building heights.
Beginning in the 1970s, a blanket ‘as of right’ building
height restriction of 45ft was applied across the
downtown. While this contributed to lower
development forms, it did not necessarily lead to
quality developments that respected heritage
features. More recently these height limits have been
reconsidered and redefined into nine districts
throughout the HRMbyDesign process. Strong
leadership to implement the new Downtown Plan is
producing certainty and transparency, and has
facilitated improved planning outcomes that will help
revitalize downtown Halifax. As new tall building
proposals emerge, it will be important to rely on the
principles captured in the HRMbyDesign
documentation.
To help implement the new Downtown Plan and
strengthen relationships across HRM, the City
Strategic Urban Partnership has been formed. This
joint venture is comprised of major downtown
stakeholders whose job it will be to identify strategic
urban investments that will precipitate private
development and make the downtown more
competitive in attracting growth. In the context of
downtown Halifax, a core with many large public and
quasi-public land holdings, it is particularly important
that these stakeholders have the opportunity to
strengthen dialogue around planning issues in the
downtown and grow a shared vision for future growth.
A leadership challenge for downtown Halifax is that
the area is now part of the Halifax Regional
Municipality – an expansive urban area that includes
urban, suburban, and rural settlements consolidated
in 1996. This means that the downtown must
compete with a much larger and disparate region for
attention. Fortunately the downtown is now gaining
what it needs to thrive. Still, strong public sector
leadership will be important for continuing the
momentum behind downtown revitalization.
2
Renwick, C. (2010). City Building and Architectural Renewal: A Historical
Study of Five Buildings in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Retrieved from
http://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/7010/1/Renwick_MA_F2010.pdf.
Accessed 2012 January 16.
3
Region of Halifax (n.d.). Vision, Guiding Principles and the Precinct
Approach. Retrieved from
http://www.halifax.ca/capitaldistrict/documents/Vision.pdf. Accessed 2012
January 16.
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