Temporary housing for homeless people at Shannon Park? Ottawa says it will pitch in

Ottawa is calling for part of a 34-hectare parcel of federal land sitting mostly vacant in Dartmouth, N.S., to be used for temporary modular housing as the number of people experiencing homelessness continues to rise.

The Halifax Regional Municipality approved a permanent housing development last year in Shannon Park, but construction has yet to begin on that project. Ottawa says the property could serve a different purpose in the meantime.

The land, at the foot of the MacKay Bridge in Dartmouth, used to be home to a military community that was demolished in 2017. It has gone largely unused since then.

This week's federal budget earmarked $4 million over two years for four modular housing projects, including one at Shannon Park. The others are in Edmonton, Toronto and Montreal. It's not clear how that money would be divided between the sites or what exactly it would pay for.

The federal government deferred to Canada Lands Company on questions about the project. The Crown corporation is in charge of Shannon Park and is meant to support modular housing at the site.

Who would build it

A spokesperson for Canada Lands said one to two hectares of Shannon Park would be made available "at nominal cost" to either the city, the province, both, or another housing provider. It would be up to the provider to build and manage the temporary housing.

"We've been in discussions with HRM and the province for some time about implementing a temporary housing program at Shannon Park before we begin our full development of the site," said Manon Lapensee.

Full development of the site is projected to begin at the end of 2025 or the start of 2026, Lapensee said, adding it will happen in phases, allowing for temporary modular housing to stay in place for two years.

She said Canada Lands is waiting to hear whether either level of government is interested in taking up the offer.

The province seemed to have been caught off guard by Tuesday's budget announcement.

"Honestly we've not received any information or documentation on that," said Housing Minister John Lohr. 

Lohr told reporters that although it was a surprise, he's pleased the federal government is looking at land it could contribute for housing.

Last year, the provincial government bought 200 modular housing units from an American company called Pallet, and many of those units have yet to be installed for want of a suitable site and service providers to manage them.

Community Services Minister Brendan Maguire said Shannon Park is on his radar as a possible location for Pallet homes, but so are many other locations.

"I wouldn't say that we've gotten into detailed discussions about Shannon Park," he told reporters. "We've looked at Shannon Park, we've looked at a lot of spots. We just right now are going through the consultation and communication with HRM."

Worth a look

Coun. Tony Mancini, whose district encompasses Shannon Park, said Halifax would take part in a temporary housing project on the property, but the province would have to take the lead.

He said in many respects, Shannon Park is a good location.

"There's sewer there, there's electricity there, and there's transit there. So that makes it worthwhile to look at it," Mancini said in an interview.

"With the housing situation that we have, we have to be creative."

As of this week, there were 1,211 unhoused people in HRM. That number includes people living outside in tents, as well as those in shelters or other temporary accommodations. It has more than doubled in the past two years.

The recent eviction of people from tent encampments got more people to move indoors, but city staff have predicted that hundreds more people will be on the streets in the months ahead.

"The fear is there's going to be a lot more this summer. So we have to look at a variety of different locations and sites," Mancini said.

Mancini said Shannon Park is an obvious choice, but he expressed some reticence about having another temporary housing location in Dartmouth.

"Dartmouth has definitely taken more than its share when it comes to housing those that are homeless," he said.

Mancini pointed to a shelter at the former St. Paul Church, a large encampment on Green Road, as well as The Bridge and The Overlook — two former hotels that have been converted into supportive housing.

"Here we are again talking about another location and it's in Dartmouth. However, in saying that, we have people that are living with homelessness or possibly living outside in a tent, and we all need to do something to assist them," he said.

Modular housing communities in Lower Sackville and Sydney have drawn ire from some of the people who live near them. Mancini said he hopes similar conflict could be avoided with ample community consultation if a project at Shannon Park goes ahead. 

He noted the public elementary school on the grounds, and said, "we'd have to be very, extremely respectful there."