Halifax council takes another step toward Forum redevelopment

CITYnews halifax \ By Mark Hodgins

The Halifax Forum is one step closer to getting a major facelift.

Regional councillors on Tuesday voted 14 to 2 in favour of a motion that will see the CAO put together more details on a redesign, and more information on the financials related to the proposed redevelopment of the nearly 100-year-old facility.

The cost of the redevelopment plan has ballooned to an estimated $110 million, up from $81 million in 2021.

“The Forum is a big part of Halifax, it services all parts of the municipality,” said Mayor Mike Savage. “We all struggle with the price tag, but the price tag is the price tag. We can worry about it now and it then will be $200 million at some point in time.”

A member of city staff referred to the current redesign plan as a “Cadillac” version of what could be done to update the old building, and councillor Trish Purdy, who voted against the motion, said she’d like to see more pricing options.

But many councillors agreed the facility is needed in the community.

“All of these spaces in the current configuration are rented all the time. All the time. It’s always busy at the Forum – if you know the Forum, you know it’s busy,” councillor Waye Mason said.

The staff report on the issue had suggested council could sell a lot of land near Windsor and Young Streets to developers to recoup some of the cost of the project, but council rejected that idea in favour of retaining parking spots.