A proposed increase to the height limit for buildings in Sackville’s downtown business district didn’t receive much opposition on Monday afternoon at a Tantramar council public hearing.
The proposed change (from 50 feet to 75 feet) would make way for a seven-storey building on a block of York Street stretching from Ford Lane, where Blooms Flower Shop currently sits, down to but not including the AIL office in the former NB Tel building.
Planner Guilhem Francez presented just one letter of opposition from resident Kirk Ferguson, who wrote expressing his concern that the bylaw change would make way for “structures that are far too high to fit in with the aesthetic of a small town like Sackville.”
Another resident, TRHS high school student John Neilson, stepped up to the podium to directly address council with his concerns. Neilson told council he felt the increased height limit would “disrupt the general skyline of Sackville, and does not fit the small town feel.”
Neilson also said he was concerned that the extended construction period for a large building would be detrimental to businesses in downtown Sackville.
Developer John Lafford and his partner Mike Wilson of AIL Group are the proponents behind the height change request. Both were at the hearing Monday, but did neither got up to address council.
Lafford spoke to reporters after the public hearing:
“It’s important for people to express their opinion,” said Lafford, when asked for his response to concerns raised. But Lafford stood by the proposed design by Paul Skerry Architects in Halifax, which sees the building step back after two stories and then again at the top storey. “The building is not going to be massing, overshadowing the sidewalk,” said Lafford.
Neilson’s concern about the lengthy construction phase for the project is founded, though, according to the projected timeline. Lafford said the demolition and construction on the York Street site could start as early as May 2025, and the $25-30 million project would take 18 to 24 months to complete. The proposed building, which will be called The York, will have 80-90 apartments and between 15,000 and 20,000 square feet of commercial space fronting on Ford Lane and York Street, said Lafford.
“I obviously have a really good partner in Mike Wilson, the Wilson family,” said Lafford. “And together, I think we’re going to take that risk to go a little higher, to add some more density to downtown.“
Lafford told reporters that it was not his request to adjust the allowable building height for the entire downtown business district, which includes some residential streets. Rather, that was what Plan 360 planners recommended after he made the request for his property on York Street.
Lafford says he has no immediate plans to make use of the possible height increase on his other downtown properties, but thinks more development would be a positive sign for the town.
“That would be really good for Sackville, because that would mean that people want to invest in Sackville, and that would mean that we’ve kind of landed as a bigger centre,” said Lafford. “If somebody else wants to come in and put a seven story building in, that would mean that there’s a significant amount of demand. To me, that’s a good thing.”
The zoning amendment was heard by the Southeast Planning Review and Advisory Committee on Wednesday and will return to council for final approval over at least two meetings, likely beginning on December 10, the next scheduled regular council meeting.
133 Main Street set to open in July
While Tantramar council considers rule changes to allow for ‘The York’ seven-storey development, another major Lafford project is nearing completion. A six-storey apartment building behind 131 Main Street, overlooking Mt A’s Normandy field and the Sackville Waterfowl Park, is due to open to residents in July.
“We have a full building,” says Lafford, with all 71 units now accounted for. “I was pretty certain that that building was going to be successful in its location and our design,” says Lafford. “I say this all the time, you have to build where people want to live.”
That’s why, says Lafford, he and Mike Wilson have partnered on developing ‘The York’ in downtown Sackville. “It’s desirable,” says the developer.
But the chosen location also means the demolition of three historic houses which are and have been home to popular Sackville businesses. Blooms Flower Shop and Sweet Yummyland would both need to find new locations, while Steel Clippers and Blind Forest Books have already moved on. There’s also a six-unit apartment building owned by Lafford which would be part of the demolition.
Lafford says that he is hoping to recruit Blooms back to the commercial spaces in the new development once it is built, and he’s personally helped one longstanding residential tenant to find a new apartment in his rental portfolio. “The other people will have a choice to move into, potentially, our buildings,” says Lafford. “We will offer that to them.”
As for the heritage loss on York Street, Lafford says, “I don’t think that we’re going to be able to maintain the heritage of those particular buildings, but I think what we bring in would be something that we could look at as new heritage.”
“This will be 100-year-old building, you know, possibly 150-year-old concrete building that will take the place of what’s there and create maybe a new sense of heritage in an area that right now looks pretty tired,” said Lafford.
The buildings to be demolished include:
- Blooms Flowershop, in the former Thomas Bowser House, which may date back to circa 1850 or earlier, according to the Tantramar Heritage Trust.
- 26 York Street, built circa 1900 or slightly earlier by local merchant George E. Ford, owner of the Ford Block which still stands around the corner and houses Goya’s Pizza and Chirps bar.
- 28 York Street, the former Dr. E. R. Hart House, which dates back to 1885, but has seen additions over time, including two storefronts added in the 1970s, one of which is currently home to Sweet Yummyland.
The town of Sackville dissolved its Heritage Board and repealed its Heritage By-law in 2018.
