Former Dartmouth Post Office Being Sold As Prime Development Opportunity
DARTMOUTH — The former Dartmouth post office hit the real estate market last week and the firm handling the sale is touting the property as an opportunity for midrise or highrise development.
Canada Post listed the property at 53 Queen Street for sale through Partners Global. The property houses the former Dartmouth post office, which has been vacant since Canada Post moved operations to King’s Wharf more than a year ago.
Partners Global is advertising the property as a “potential mid- to high-rise redevelopment site in the heart of the vibrant and desirable neighbourhood of Downtown Dartmouth.”
The firm is advertising the property’s “central location,” “excellent connectivity,” and “high visibility and exposure” as selling points.
“In a city undergoing record growth and development, this is an exceptional opportunity for a developer to take advantage of. [The property is] well-suited for multi-residential, commercial, or a combination of uses,” a flyer advertising the property reads.
Connie Amero is the broker in charge of the listing. She told Huddle the property represents an “exciting opportunity for downtown Dartmouth.”
She said she’s advertised the listing to a database of developers, agents, and a blend of residential and commercial interests.
“Predominantly, it is being sold [for its] potential for redevelopment,” Amero said.
Amero said there’s “high interest” in the property. However, there’s no way to know what will happen there until it sells, and the buyer comes forward with a plan.
Amero points out that buyer will have to consider the “heritage component” of the property.
Partners Global’s advertising also highlights that the property contains a “municipal registered heritage building that is to be honoured and preserved through the ensuing redevelopment.”
53 Queen Street was designated a municipal heritage property last year. That designation gives the former post office special protection from major renovations or demolition.
But it’s not a 100-percent guarantee either of those won’t happen.
Developers can apply to the city’s Heritage Advisory Committee and, if they plead their case well, receive permission to either change or tear down a heritage building.
It’s unlikely the committee would agree to let a developer destroy the former post office. Instead, developers often seek to incorporate heritage buildings into larger developments.
For example, a recent plan for the development of Stairs House would see the heritage building integrated into an eight-storey tower as an entryway and amenity space.
According to Partners Global, 53 Queen Street falls into the “Downtown” zone of the city’s Centre Plan. That zoning theoretically allows for towers up to 90 metres (or about 26 storeys) high.
Amero says Partners Global is holding a bidding process on the property that will stay open for three weeks, ending May 7. She said she couldn’t say how long it would take for the sale to close once that process is finished.
Trevor Nichols is a staff writer with Huddle in Halifax. Send him an e-mail with your story suggestions: [email protected].