Former Dartmouth City Hall building gets another buyer

Another buyer has been found for the former Dartmouth City Hall building after a well-known developer decided to walk away from the project in March.

Halifax regional council thought the 50-year-old municipal building, at 90 Alderney Dr., was sold last fall to developer Francis Fares. But three months ago, he and his company — Fares Inc. — walked away, saying a five or six-storey development on the site wasn't feasible for the price.

The city had been asking for $2.6 million. Details of the bid by Fares were not disclosed.

The waterfront property was put up for sale again, and city officials now say a deal with Banner Developments is possible. A report on the possible deal is set to go to Halifax's audit and finance committee on Wednesday morning.

Jeff Kavanaugh, the president of Banner Developments, is the former chief financial officer for Fares Inc. He left the company at the end of April.

Kavanaugh plans to convert the existing office building at the old Dartmouth City Hall into apartment units, with commercial space along Alderney Drive.

"I love the building," Kavanaugh said. "It's a great location."

'Competitive offers'

Kavanaugh is still mulling whether he can convert the former council chambers — which is on the waterfront side of the building — into a cafe.

"That'll depend on if I can find someone who wants to use that space," he said.

Kavanaugh is not sure yet how long the project will take to complete.

There are no details on the purchase price, but the staff report says they received "competitive offers" in the second round of bidding.  

There are however, a couple of issues to deal with first.

Power in the former City Hall building is the source of electricity for the lights in the adjacent park and the nearby Peace Pavilion. Staff have recommended creating a separate electrical service.

There's also a natural gas line running from the street to Alderney Gate, Alderney Landing and the Dartmouth Ferry Terminal building that now runs through the property that's up for sale. Staff have suggested it be relocated so the connection is on land owned by the city.

The cost of those two projects is about $211,000, which would be paid for by proceeds from the sale of 90 Alderney Dr.

Once the report is dealt with by the audit and finance committee, it must go to Halifax regional council for final approval.