South end apartment building passes heritage hurdle

The Halifax heritage advisory committee approved a three-storey, 12-unit apartment building on the corner of Inglis and Ivanhoe streets Thursday.

The apartment building will be built on the same heritage property as the Uniacke-Sawyer House. The proposal for the new building, which was submitted by RHAD Architects, will not touch Uniacke-Sawyer House. Instead, it will be built in the adjacent parking lot which is still on heritage property.

Kathleen Fralic of the Heritage Property Program said the new building will look similar to the Uniacke-Sawyer House.

Before construction can begin, the committee’s recommendation must be approved by Halifax regional council. Under the proposal, the streetscape and appearance of the Uniacke-Sawyer House will not be altered. Jenny Lager, the committee’s vice-chair, said the proposal meets the heritage committee’s mandate to entice “property enhancement while keeping the heritage of the property intact.”

At a February 2018 public engagement meeting, residents were concerned about traffic flow through the building, disruptive student housing and a lack of residential parking.

Coun. Sam Austin, who sits on the heritage committee, addressed one of the concerns by commenting that every time he looks, the parking lot is never full.

There are currently 490 registered heritage properties in the Halifax Regional Municipality. Any change to heritage properties must go through the heritage advisory committee and Halifax regional council.