Mayor says it’s time to bid farewell to the Halifax Forum

CITYnews halifax/ By Mark Hodgins

Halifax’s mayor says a beloved city landmark has reached the end of its practical life, calling escalating costs for its restoration “absurd.”

The Halifax Forum opened nearly 100 years ago in 1927, becoming a staple on the peninsula as a hockey rink and community hub.

But the cost of restoring the old building has skyrocketed. In 2014, regional council approved the Forum’s redevelopment at a cost of around $38 million, with work set to be completed by 2019.

It’s now 2026, work has not started, and the estimated price tag has ballooned to $126 million, according to Mayor Andy Fillmore.

“I love that place, we all love it, we all have a story about the Halifax Forum,” Fillmore told CityNews Halifax. “But it is beyond damaged, the roof could fall in anytime, it’s not accessible, it’s not safe, it doesn’t meet code in several ways, and it’s exceedingly expensive to fix all those things, to the tune of about three times the cost of building a new two-pad (ice rink) somewhere else.”

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As budget deliberations continue at city hall, the budget committee has passed a motion from the mayor requesting more information on deferring the Forum’s redevelopment for the next year.

Fillmore says it will be up to council at large to decide on the Forum’s future.

“When council is budget committee, we don’t have the power to kill projects, we only have the power to talk about their budget,” Fillmore explained. “So when we come back to full council and we have the powers to kill projects, then I will move my motion there to finding alternatives to doing that very expensive project.”

Fillmore said the Forum site should be cleared in order to develop a “Young Street superblock”, where housing could be developed. During the municipal election campaign, Fillmore suggested the Canada Post facility next to the Forum should also be moved and replaced with housing.