Province prepared to expropriate city land for QEII parkade: report

A classified report on the QEII redevelopment project's parking lot that was made public on Tuesday indicates the province is willingto expropriate land from HRM if the municipality is unwilling to sell it.

The Jan. 14 report was released just as council voted to start a process to close a portion of the west side of Summer Street to permit the province to "co-locate" the proposed new parkade and power plant with the main hospital site.

It's not clear what will come of council's new pitch.In a statement, Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal Minister Lloyd Hines saidthe province is happy to work with the city on its proposal.

But he said more work needsto be done to determine if the plan is a viable option. On Wednesday, Premier Stephen McNeil said if the proposal works for the city, "it works for us."

Parking plan

Currently, the proposed parkade is set to be built on the site of the Museum of Natural History's parking lot,but it would also be on land owned by HRM.

This includes lands to the south of the museum parking lot that would impact the existing entrance to the Wanderers field and centre of this block and lands east of the museum that would impact the Bengal Lancers riding school.

"[Province of Nova Scotia]/NS Lands has been and advises they are committed to working with staff to mitigate stakeholder impacts and ensure HRM, citizen and stakeholder requirements are considered and accommodated wherever practical," reads the newly declassified report.

"[Provincial government] staff have indicated that if HRM is unwilling to sell, they would proceed to expropriate the required land."

The document appears to contradict statements made recently by officials with the province. Deputy transportation minister Paul LaFleche told the legislature's public accounts committeethat the government wasn't looking at expropriating land.

"Expropriation was only raised by some of the members opposite," he told the committee, referring to opposition MLAs.

"We haven't raised that at all."

McNeil disputes talk of expropriation

On Wednesday, following at an appearance before the Halifax Chamber of Commerce, Premier Stephen McNeil told reporters he does not believe LaFleche misled the House.

"[TheHRM document]didn't attribute those remarks to anyone. They themselves believe that's the only option for the province. They've always believed that. I've never said that, nor has anyone else."

McNeil said any decisions about expropriating land would always go to cabinet for final sign off.

Thereport noted the municipality has"binding obligations" to Sports & Entertainment Atlantic for use of the Wanderers Grounds for Canadian Premier League Soccer as well as to the Halifax Junior Bengal Lancersthat would have to be addressed before any sale to the province could be concluded.

Both parties, as well as Coun. Waye Mason, have raised concerns about the location.The proposed multi-storey parkade is described as a standalone structure, but the report raises the possibility of an expansion that could include a "three-storey enlargement" anda pedestrian bridge.

"[The province] has submitted a letter requesting an above-ground encroachment over Summer Street to support this enlargement and connection between the parkade and hospital," the report stated.

While the letter has been received, the report noted encroachment applications and fees would be required.

If it proceeds with the original plan, the province intends to build a new central physical plant by the parkade. It would include boilers, stacks and fuel tanks and new structures to house the boilers, control room, chemical room, compressor room and more.

An encroachment licence has been requested by the province to build a tunnel under Summer Street to move equipment, personnel and utilities between the heating plant and the main hospital complex.

Some functional issues were highlighted in the report, including an impact on traffic around the parkade, "including a potential four-way intersection at Veterans's Lane and Summer Street."

Theprovince is aiming to have theparking structure builtby March 2021.

The full report is now available to read on HRM's website.