Posted Mar 9, 2009, 7:18 PM
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Join Date: Feb 2008
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Commercial construction booming in Lower Sackville
Cobequid Road, Sackville Drive main 'pocket' of building activity
By PAT LEE Staff Reporter
Mon. Mar 9 - 11:53 AM
LOWER SACKVILLE — The economy might be in the doldrums these days, but you’d never know it by the construction activity on Sackville Drive or nearby Cobequid Road.
Both areas are buzzing with new commercial and government developments.
"That little pocket of Sackville is crazy right now," said Realtor John Ghosn, who is looking for tenants for a new commercial building on the corner of Pinehill and Sackville drives.
Ghosn, whose building is on the site of a former Century 21 office, said despite the downturn in the economy, there is still a market for commercial space.
"There’s always a demand for commercial development, and it’s no secret that there’s a lot of traffic along Sackville Drive," he said. "And they’re getting good rents out there, so from a developer’s perspective, it works and it works well."
He said tenants along that stretch of Sackville Drive tend to offer professional services like dentistry or physiotherapy, and he is looking for businesses that fit the location.
Coun. Bob Harvey agrees that the area has a lot to offer.
"Clearly, that corridor along Sackville Drive and on Cobequid Road (is) attractive for a number of types of businesses," he said. "These are bright spots and show confidence in the business sector."
Harvey said once one new building goes up, it seems to attract other new projects, which is the case on both Sackville Drive and Cobequid Road.
The new construction on Sackville Drive is clustered around the Pinehill Drive area. The building Ghosn is leasing is going up on that corner, and a recently completed commercial building is ready for tenants just a few doors down.
The new Access Nova Scotia centre is under construction just down the road, next to Terri’s Place Lounge.
And there’s also a new apartment complex being built at the bottom of Old Sackville Road.
Over on Cobequid Road, a new Subway restaurant just opened next to its old location on the corner of Glendale Avenue. The former Subway shop will become a gas bar and convenience store.
The councillor said the site of a former Needs store at the corner of Glendale and Cobequid Road has also been purchased, but the new owners have yet to reveal their plans.
Just up from that, on Cobequid Road, a new two-storey commercial building is going up that Harvey said will house office suites. He said the project is incorporating many green practices into its design.
"I think it will become a bit of a trendsetter," he said.
Across the street, the land has also been cleared for a new extended care facility, which is to be open by 2010.
Harvey said the big unanswered question on Sackville Drive continues to be Sobey’s plans for the long-empty Wal-Mart site anchoring one end of Downsview Mall.
The councillor said the projects along Sackville Drive are being built under Halifax Regional Municipality’s secondary planning strategy, which requires more attention to the design of the building as well as enhanced landscaping.
"They tend to be a more attractive type of building than we’ve had in the past," he said.
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