Developer plans to convert downtown Halifax office space into housing
Rent on 38 of 100 apartments will be subsidized by the province
The conversion will happen at 1660 Hollis St., a 54-year-old office tower known as the Centennial Building.
Elliot MacNeil, president of Sidewalk Real Estate Development, said about 30 per cent of the building was vacant when purchased earlier this year and he expects that rate to increase to about 50 per cent with upcoming lease expiries.
As those commercial tenants clear out, about half the building will be renovated into one-, two- and three-bedroom loft apartments.
The project is one of three announced by the province last week as the recipients of more than $6 million to partially subsidize rents on some units.
Sidewalk, formerly known as the Bruno Group, redeveloped several buildings on Portland Street in downtown Dartmouth over the past few years.
“1660 Hollis is one of our larger redevelopment or adaptive reuse projects that we have coming up,” MacNeil said in an interview.
He expects the flip to be complete in the next 18 to 24 months. The building is already zoned for residential use.
According to property records, the Hollis Street building was bought in August for $16.65 million… [Read More]