Developer proposing 7 new apartment buildings on Dartmouth road

Ghosn Group Developmentswants to build seven apartment buildings along a busy Dartmouth road, including one 35-storey tower.

The buildings would have a total of 676 apartment units and would be built on two large lots onWyse Road near the Macdonald Bridge. One lot has been vacant for a couple of decades.

"It is the sort of place where we want density," said Coun. Sam Austin.

"There's a good chance that people will take transit since they are right next to the best transit node in the city (the bridge terminal), so the number of units is not the be all, end all."

Timeline not clear

In an email statement to CBC, developer Robert Ghosn said providing accommodations at the base of the Macdonald Bridge, across from a grocery store, could help reduce urban sprawl.

Ghosndid not explain the timing of his application.It was submitted on June 24.

The height limits for this site under the Centre Plan would be about 27 storeys.

Work on the latest round of the Centre Plan got underway in 2015 and first reading of the first phase known as "Package A" is expected this month, with a public hearing in September.

"We are in an awkward time in-between old rules and new rules," said Austin."The Centre Plan may not be law yet, but it's not nothing. We have a lens out there of how well do projects fit with it."

Austin estimates it could take a year for planning staff to deal with the Wyse Road proposal.