A construction crane currently set up behind 131 Main Street in Sackville might just remain part of the town’s skyline a bit longer, if zoning changes go through to make way for a new project involving local developer John Lafford.
Lafford and his partner Mike Wilson, CEO of the AIL Group of Companies, are hoping to build a seven storey building at the corner of York Street and Ford Lane. But the site is in Sackville’s mixed use zone, which only allows for buildings of up to 50 feet, or roughly five storeys.
That’s why Lafford has applied to Plan 360 for a change to the zoning bylaw, expanding the allowable height for the mixed use zone to 75 feet. Planner Lori Bickford presented the request to Tantramar council at their committee of the whole meeting on Monday. Council will decided whether or not to proceed with the request on October 8.
CHMA caught up with Lafford after the presentation to hear more about his plans:
“We’re hoping to be able to build a seven storey building that would have some commercial activity in the ground floor, and then there would be six stories above with residents,” says Lafford. He predicts about 95 units in the building, with “a mix of larger, down-sizer units on the corners, and then there’ll be some smaller units, more affordable, on the interior of the building.”
The plan includes underground parking, and street front retail or commercial space. “I think that’s got some allure to it,” says Lafford. “I think adding some more commercial space on the streetscape is what most towns want.”
The building would have a two to three storey podium along the streets, and the remaining storeys would be stepped back, says Lafford. “So you have that separation from commercial to residential,” says Lafford. “In architecture, it looks wonderful. And most of the major places do have that.”
Lafford says that securing the change in the town’s mixed use zoning regulation to allow for 25 feet more in building height is integral to the building proposal. “We’re pretty stuck on seven stories for this project,” he says.
A change to the height allowance for buildings in the mixed use zone would not only apply to propose Lafford building, but the entire zone. However, as Bickford explained to council on Monday, “there’s other key factors that would restrict all the properties as they currently are from just shooting up to 75 feet.” The main factor is minimum parking requirements, which apply to new or expanding multi-use buildings in the downtown business district. The regulations call for roughly 1.25 spaces per unit within 500 feet of the development. For a hypothetical 40-unit building, that would mean providing at least 50 residential parking spaces. “Most properties can’t provide the parking on site or meet the parking requirements,” Bickford told council.
Lafford says the majority of the parking requirements will mostly be met with an underground lot as part of the build, but he also has possibilities in mind for additional surface parking nearby. “I do own up some land within the 500 feet, so if we need a few more spaces, I’m sure we’ll be able to to get those,” says Lafford. “And there’s some other surface parking around the area that we may look to acquire.”
Lafford says the construction of the proposed new building would “be the exact same process” as the current project underway behind 131 Main Street. “It would probably be the same crane,” says Lafford.
The 6-storey building behind 131 Main should be ready for occupancy in June or July of 2025, he says, and demand for the 71 units has been “overwhelming,” with 85% of units accounted for. Lafford says the units are attractive to those “looking to downsize, looking to offload their home, get into something a little more accessible, a little more walkable.”
At their next meeting on October 8, Tantramar council will decide whether or not to move forward with the process to consider the height allowance change. Lafford feels the proposed building has a few factors in its favour: the creation of more housing units in a tight Sackville market, added vibrancy to downtown, and health and environmental benefits that comes with more walkable residential units, with less reliance on vehicle trips for everyday needs.
“We see people living a much healthier lifestyle,” says Lafford. “They walk way more than they drive.” It’s something that Lafford says “really wasn’t big, maybe even 10 years ago, before we started. But now we see it.”
“We get requests to do more and to build this type of development,” says Lafford. “So that’s kind of what we’re doing, is we’re listening what the people want, and going ahead and doing it.”
