Halifax issues demolition permit for remaining Bloomfield buildings

Frances Willick · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 02, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

The developer that owns the Bloomfield spot successful north-end Halifax plans to demolish the existing buildings connected the lot.

A demolition program prepared past period says the remaining buildings volition beryllium torn down and the tract volition beryllium cleared for aboriginal development.

The metropolis issued a demolition licence connected March 11, and portion the licence is valid until Sept. 5, the demolition program says the buildings volition beryllium torn down betwixt April 1 and July 1.

The program and licence travel aft 1 of the site's 3 buildings was destroyed by occurrence successful February.

The Bloomfield site, which stretches from Agricola Street to Robie Street connected the southbound broadside of Almon Street, was comprised of 3 structures — 1 ample gathering and 2 annexes. The occurrence destroyed the annex that faces Agricola Street, besides known arsenic the Fielding building.

The Fielding gathering was demolished aft the occurrence owed to information concerns.

Dave Meldrum, the lawman occurrence main of Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency, told CBC News connected Tuesday that the origin has not yet been released. He said unit are adjacent to finishing their probe report, and it should beryllium completed wrong the adjacent 2 weeks.

The spot owner, Banc Investments, did not respond to a petition for remark from CBC News.

The councillor for the area, Virginia Hinch, said she's blessed the developer has committed to tearing down the structures, but she hopes the metropolis volition yet bargain the property. 

When the spot was sold to Banc successful 2021, the merchantability came with the information that if operation did not statesman by January 2026, the municipality would person the enactment to bargain the spot back.

Hinch said the developer told her Banc plans to physique lodging connected the site, with 10 per cent of the 650 units deemed affordable.

"Their affordability is not my community's affordability," she said. "I'm not blessed with it. I would similar to spot it much affordable and much units added connected to that."

Slow diminution of gathering conditions

A schoolhouse astatine the spot closed successful 1988, and was utilized afterward arsenic a assemblage abstraction for galore years until it became vacant successful 2014.

Banc had antecedently vowed to person a plan acceptable for improvement of the tract successful 2021. But 2 years later, Banc proprietor Alex Halef said precocious involvement rates and constricted operation financing had waylaid his plans, and helium had "no timeline" for demolishing the buildings and proceeding with the development.

The spot has been the taxable of municipal orders to code unsafe and unsightly conditions, including cleaning up garbage and dealing with missing fencing, breached windows and graffiti.

In 2023, Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency deemed the site an "immediate information risk," and the metropolis ordered the institution to behaviour a structural integrity assessment. 

That study recovered that two of the 3 buildings were unsafe to access, portion the main Bloomfield gathering had two extortion leaks but the framing and load-bearing walls were all successful bully condition.