Province approves housing developments for Bedford West

The Nova Scotia government has announced housing development approvals for Bedford West that will enable the development of "up to 2,060 homes," according a news release.

The homes would be built in the following areas:

• Bedford West 10 (subsections B and C), which includes 647 residential units, some of which are townhome style, in five buildings.
• Bedford West 1 and 12 – Phase 1, which includes up to 579 residential units consisting of 470 apartments and 109 townhomes and semi-attached or single-family units.
• Bedford West 1 and 12 – Phase 3, which includes about 834 residential units consisting of 749 apartments and 85 townhomes and semi-attached or single-family units.

Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister John Lohr also approved bylaw and zoning changes needed to support the development agreements.

The province says the projects are consistent with Halifax's regional plan, which outlines the municipality's planning policies.

"We all know about the urgent need for housing right now. We're a growing a municipality. For example, we've added about 30,000 people to HRM this year. At the rate we're growing, we know that our need for housing has never been greater," Halifax CAO Cathie O'Toole said of the housing developments.

O'Toole says under the housing accelerator fund, the municipality is receiving federal funding to hire 29 more employees for the planning and developing group. This means they should have enough staff to handle the new developments, she said.

Any updates on these projects and others will be posted on the municipality's website.