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

STRATEGY
Is the City Strategically Investing in Its Future?
In the past, downtown Halifax has faced many challenges in procuring both private and public investment as it was
burdened with a complex array of policies, pressures and economic realities that deterred – and encouraged the
decentralization of – growth and investment. However these challenges have been tackled head on as part of the
HRMbyDesign process, and momentum behind investing in the downtown continues to build.
In particular, between 2000 and 2009, HRM invested approximately $2.6M in the downtown. Since implementation
of the Downtown Plan there has been increased public investment activity in the core and major projects are
underway such as the new Central Library ($20.3M until 2014) and there are new heritage incentives in place for
private land owners. HRM has also taken the lead on many streetscape improvement projects, particularly along the
waterfront and has upgraded several parks and recreation facilities such as Halifax Common Speedskating Oval
($2.9M) which is located just outside the downtown boundary. Moreover HRM has been championing the
development of a new Convention Centre by committing $56M to its construction, which could represent one of the
most significant public investments for downtown Halifax in decades.
Overall increased public investment is generally coinciding with increased private investment in downtown Halifax.
There have been a total of 41 downtown development projects created between 2009 and 2011, with more projects
in the past two years than the past 30 years combined. More specifically of these 41 projects: five are approved for
development; five are in the pre-application stage; six are soon to be in pre-application stage; and there are 25
projects are on Barrington Street (for example, heritage upgrades). 9 These impressive results show the powerful
connection between the regulatory environment and its private investment. Overall, HRM is moving forward on
downtown revitalization and it is the hope of those interviewed that downtown Halifax is now in the position to enjoy a
period of renaissance.
Data Collection Process
Representatives from HRM’s financial department developed a list of municipal capital projects in downtown Halifax
from 2006 and 2010. This data set was completed by the Downtown Halifax Business Commission that held a list of
municipal capital investments between 2000 and 2006. Projects such as the Central Library that extend to 2014 have
been included in this list, as construction is underway and a large portion of this project has already gained municipal
funding. This list does not include capital projects that are likely to be rolled out in the next few years such as the
convention centre that has $56M in municipal funding committed or proposed streetscaping projects that are still
under development and do not have any formalized financial agreement in place.
9
Presentation by Andy Fillmore, Manager of Urban Design, 2010
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