Six Federal Properties in NS Join Canada Public Land Bank

[Keith P.]

This is from an article in the Herald:

https://www.saltwire.com/halifax/new...eat-100989160/

Six federal properties in Nova Scotia have been listed for housing development with more coming.

At a ceremony in Dartmouth on Sunday, Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Minister Sean Fraser unveiled the Canada Public Land Bank, its online tool and the initial 56 properties placed on it across the country.

The list is set to expand as the feds finish consultation and find more surplus lands.

Properties added to the land bank are available for discounted or no-cost leases to developers, be they private or non-profit. Proposals are being sought for all the listed properties. The cost of the lease will be determined based on the social outcomes achieved by the proposal.

Those outcomes include affordability, sustainability, accessibility and social inclusivity.

The properties listed Sunday in Nova Scotia include:

34 Acadia Street, Amherst, 0.46 hectares
Baffin Boulevard, Dartmouth, 15.1 hectares
Corner of Park and Jarvis Streets, New Glasgow, 1.58 hectares
Willow Street, Cumberland County, 90 hectares
1795 Grand Lake Road, Cape Breton, 17.6 hectares
Canadian Forces Base Greenwood, 914 hectares

[OldDartmouthMark]

CFB Greenwood? Isn't that still operating?

[Saul Goode]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

CFB Greenwood? Isn't that still operating?

It definitely is; in fact its operations are expanding. This is only about an unused portion of the base lands, not the whole base.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by Saul Goode

It definitely is; in fact its operations are expanding. This is only about an unused portion of the base lands, not the whole base.

Thanks! My impression is that its importance was increasing, so that makes sense. 914 hectares seemed like a large chunk of land to spare, considering that the area of the air field itself is probably a similar number.

[Saul Goode]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

Thanks! My impression is that its importance was increasing, so that makes sense. 914 hectares seemed like a large chunk of land to spare, considering that the area of the air field itself is probably a similar number.

Yeah, in addition to ASW/maritime patrol and SAR, they're about to start operating armed MQ-9 (aka Reaper/Predator/SkyGuardian) UAVs.

[IanWatson]

Originally Posted by Saul Goode

It definitely is; in fact its operations are expanding. This is only about an unused portion of the base lands, not the whole base.

Yes, I believe it's this land here: https://www.google.com/maps/@44.9583...oASAFQAw%3D%3D

Used to be military housing. Now it's vacant.

EDIT: I'm not sure where they're getting the 914 hectares from as that piece of land certainly isn't 914 hectares. Maybe that's the size of all the Federal land holdings in Greenwood?

[IanWatson]

I'm a little surprised about the Baffin Blvd lands. It's the harbourfront north of BIO. It seems shortsighted to give up harbourfront?

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by IanWatson

I'm a little surprised about the Baffin Blvd lands. It's the harbourfront north of BIO. It seems shortsighted to give up harbourfront?

One would think, especially on the cusp of climate change that would surely have a drastic effect on the oceans, that they would want to keep some land reserved for potential expansion of BIO, as one would think that increased ocean research may be necessary.

TBH, all of this sounds like a bit of a desperation move, to react to a housing crisis that they helped create - and certainly have exacerbated - while appearing to be doing something to ‘make life better for Canadians’…