Stanfield's factory in Truro to be redeveloped into new neighbourhood

A historic undergarment factory in Truro, N.S., will be redeveloped into a new neighbourhood with hundreds of apartments, which the town's mayor says will bring major benefits despite its location on a floodplain.

Truro's municipal council approved two applications from Stanfield's Ltd. on Oct.7 to redevelop the existing factory and warehouse buildings, and construct new buildings, for a residential development. Buildings will be as high as 11 storeys.

The project would create about 600 apartments, and includes a new riverfront path, a new road called Stanfield Street, a ground-floor business space, and a public plaza. 

"This is the biggest development that I've seen come before us. I love that it is a local developer with a long-standing history in the town," mayor-elect Cathy Hinton said Thursday.

"It's forward-thinking, and it's important. This is going to be a very good project."

Hinton said the development fits with Truro's goals of bringing more people into the urban centre where they can walk and bike to work or businesses, provides badly needed housing, and makes key active transportation links to surrounding streets and trails.

Stanfield's has been on the bank of the Salmon River since 1882, and a modern manufacturing plant will be built alongside the apartment buildings during the project. In the 1890s, the company developed a "shrink-proof process" that brought the company international recognition, outfitting prospectors working the Klondike Gold Rush of 1897.

Company president Jon Stanfield committed to affordable units during the October public hearing, but said he's waiting for a market analysis to help guide how many there would be, and at what price. Stanfield said it's important to have a mix, so larger apartments might run $3,000 a month while others could hit $900.

"This family's commitment is for the next 50 to 100 years on this site, and therefore we want people to be living and thriving downtown," Stanfield told councillors.

Chris Crawford, director of architecture with project designer Fathom Studio, said it's a great opportunity to allow the public to live in, and explore, the industrial brick and heavy-timber buildings that have been a fixture in Truro for generations.

Crawford said it has the chance to be an "equal" to revitalized industrial sites like Toronto's popular distillery district.

Although most of the site is in a floodplain where development would usually be limited, the expansion of the factory buildings is exempt because the old structures predate the current town planning rules.

Resident Deborah Smith raised this issue at the hearing, citing a consultant's study by CBCL that recommended against development in the Truro floodplains.

"You're taking us backwards. This puts current residents and their homes at risk," Smith said.

Truro CAO Michael Dolter said municipal staff are satisfied with the developer's flood-mitigation plan that includes large amounts of infill placed on the riverbank.

"You may disagree with it, but again we feel that we are following practices that are accepted around North America for flood-proofing, and it is sound engineering and sound science," Dolter said during the meeting.

The development will be done in phases over the next 10 years. Construction on the first set of buildings, including one on Queen Street bringing 221 apartments, could start next summer.