Council approves seniors complex for Fall River Road
Posted Mar 6, 2019 09:27:00 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
On March 5, Halifax Regional Council approved a zoning legislation change that will allow a 400-unit seniors complex to be built on Fall River Rd.
A vote of 13-2 approved the Carr Farm property to allow a “residential complex inclusive of supporting uses.”
The project is supposed to allow more Fall River seniors to stay in the community. Based on 2016 data, there are over 1,100 seniors age 65 plus living in Fall River, totalling 11 per cent of the population.
GFC Management Ltd plans to build the complex, which will offer independent living, as well as augmented services including general health, counselling and support, transportation and housekeeping — all provided through a contract with Northwood.
But Fall River residents like Rob MacCormick say the large complex doesn't fit in well with surrounding buildings, and that will cause even more traffic on the already-congested Fall River Rd., especially during rush hour.
“In addition to vehicle traffic, something to be mindful of is it's a very busy road, and if seniors or anyone else is looking to walk across the Fall River Rd., good luck around three o'clock. “
Full approval of the complex is still pending a traffic report and an environmental report, but MacCormick says the city is already bending rules to approve the project.
Currently, buildings in the area are only set to be three storeys high, and contain a maximum density of four units per acre, which will increase to eight with the new development. The decision will also increase the number of individual units permitted in one building from 40 units to 100.
“If they find a result that they're not happy with, they're just going to rewrite the rules,” MacCormick says. “I think a lot of people were just disappointed in seeing the changes against existing planning. I'm fearful for what this opens the doors to.”
It's been suggested that the new complex could be an affordable housing option for residents, but MacCormack says rent prices mentioned last night were as high as $2,800 a month.
“That's not affordable to me,” says MacCormick. “We're all in favour of seniors housing, that's never been an argument. The concern is more around the actual size of the development and what it's potentially going to do to the landscape, both physical and otherwise, of Fall River.”
