News

Formerly an urban 'superblock' that was hard to get around and with no green space, Richmond Yards understands its surrounding context as a rich mosaic of people and buildings in Halifax's North End community.

The site benefits from being near the intersection of two of the peninsula's major transportation routes. Its prominent location presents an opportunity to create a cultural destination with improved connectivity and permeability through the site.

A series of public engagement sessions informed the design focus to provide a pedestrian realm, as well as public and green space.

King Square is a hardscaped plaza that can be used as surface parking and at other times as event space, while Clifton Green is an urban 'pocket park' and green space for all.

Residential, commercial, small businesses, light industrial, restaurants, and gyms all find places in the different typologies.

The mixed-use proposal consists of five building elements on a shared underground parking podium; a bike shop and storage building; two outdoor gathering spaces at grade; and two useable podium spaces at the third level.

One of HRM’s planning goals was improving connectivity on the peninsula and integrating this new development into the grid system. This design concept is realized through a portion of the property along Almon Street that was carved off to make space for HRM’s protected bike lane.

King Street, Clifton Street, and a third road all extend through the site. This is a shared street concept that will be used for pedestrians, bicycles, and vehicles.

Dedicated pedestrian connections in the east-west direction aim for a future connection from Clifton Green going to Gladstone Street, further improving the connectedness of the site.