Downtown Dartmouth getting 26-storey tower in post office heritage project
Development to bring in 142 housing units, commercial space, public seating
A heritage building in downtown Dartmouth will be the site of a new high-rise development, which one councillor says is a “thoughtful design” that protects local history while creating housing.
The Harbour East-Marine Drive community council approved a heritage development agreement for the project May 2.
The former Dartmouth post office on Queen Street is being renovated and turned into commercial space that connects to the new residential development. Its annex from the 1960s will become townhouses, and a 26-storey tower will go on the parking lot beside the post office on the corner of King Street. The project will create 142 housing units.
“It’s one of the best ones in my opinion that I think I’ve seen in seven years on council,” Coun. Sam Austin, community council chair, said during the meeting.
The old post office is a sandstone building built in 1914 by John Ewart, chief architect of the Department of Public Works, according to a staff report.
Darren Fransen of RHAD Architects, the Dartmouth-based firm that designed the project, said they decided to keep the tower tall and narrow to minimize shadows rather than spreading it out over top of the post office. …[Continue Reading]