OK, so I went back and re-read the article, and here's my takeaway from it:
1) They only quote 1 'disgruntled neighbor', and his main concern seems to be traffic - which makes no sense to me because (a) it's a main traffic route, always has been, and (b) it's right next to a major shopping area, and has been for decades. So, his concern seems to be unfounded and unreasonable - it's not like people will constantly be driving to and from this building, and it would be nowhere near the volume of traffic from other sources.
2) When looking at the
satellite view of Google Maps, you can see that (a) the properties adjacent to the building lot already back onto a strip mall, which isn't the most attractive thing to see out of your back yard (a new building will be more attractive), not to mention the cars coming and going to the shops, and (b) just across the street are a numerous more apartment buildings... so why should they be so upset that just one more building will be built? This new building will be in keeping with what is already a significant part of the neigbhourhood.
This is not like the case my family experienced in the seventies - and it was the seventies... when things were being torn down and not replaced. But I still stand by our experience. We were not a well-off family, my parents started off renting the place and when the landlord gave them an offer to buy it, they accepted and spent the rest of their adult lives paying it off. It was not utopia by any means, but just our little piece of the planet to get some refuge from the world outside, and then it just became a little less pleasant for us. We didn't complain, we didn't protest (not that anybody would have cared if we did), our family stayed there as the kids moved out and then one parent passed away, then finally it was sold once the other parent could no longer live there due to a drastic change in health. That's our story, not that it matters to anybody here, and not that I care if anybody doesn't like what I have to say about it (yeah... it's a little personal, but I put it out there, so I accept that it's open to comments and opinions)...
Other notes:
- From the article:
Quote:
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In an email, Dexel Developments said the project was approved in 2016, but the construction permit was only approved this year -- just a few months before the city’s Centre Plan was passed, which would have restricted the development to six stories.
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So is the Centre Plan supposed to be progressive? Going from rules which allowed a 22-storey building to rules which would specify a 6-storey building does not seem progressive to me... it sounds like it's going to encourage sprawl as our city grows, which seems counterintuitive for a city that's pushing things like bike lanes in order to be progressive... there seems to be a disconnect there.
- I read
an interesting article on the CBC website this morning giving a correlation to the city's
1.6% vacancy rate and the availability of low-cost housing. It makes sense, but I did not know it worked this way as I thought low-cost housing was mostly purpose-built at this point in time. My bad... thankfully I have been fortunate enough in life to not have to take advantage of affordable housing, but I feel for those who need to but can't find availability.
Quote:
But affordable housing service providers say changes in the housing market in Halifax have meant that a provincial rent supplement program, a tool that helps provide affordable housing, is losing its effectiveness.
They say that's contributing to an especially difficult situation for low-income renters.
"In the past, we've had agreements with larger property management companies when the vacancy rate was on our side to say, you know, you can't rent these units. How about we take on those units?," said Leigh MacLean, a housing support worker with Halifax Housing Help.
"Now, a number of the larger property management companies refuse to take the subsidies."
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Now I understand a little better (hey... this forum should at least be partially about learning). Thanks to those who contributed positive and informative comments.