Regional council took an initial step Tuesday in preserving the Halifax Forum’s historic facade while overhauling much of the indoor arena that has stood for nearly 90 years.
“When I look at this staff recommendation, I am very comfortable with it because the engineering report really speaks to what is needed with this building, which is a significant amount of investment,” said Coun. Lindell Smith (Halifax North) in introducing a motion for the redevelopment of the Forum complex.
“Without the Forum or something similar to the Forum as a community hub and not doing this investment, the facility that we have now would not meet the needs of the community.”
A municipal staff report and review found that the condition of the facility and structural limitations do not meet the current standards for service delivery, reliability, and accessibility.
The staff report called for a redeveloped Forum complex that would have two regulation-sized arenas: a 2,900-seat rink in the preserved Halifax Forum and a 220-seat ice surface in the Civic Arena.
The plan calls for an 8,500-square-foot concourse between the Forum and Civic Arena, an 8,000-square-foot multipurpose space, future possible greenspace and a connection to adjoining lands to the east as well as a preserved Halifax Forum facade.
The complex currently consists of the Forum, a registered heritage building with a single ice surface and the single-ice-surface Civic Centre, constructed in 1994.
The complex now has an 18,000-square-foot multi-purpose centre, a Maritime Hall that houses meetings and events and an 18,000-square-foot bingo gaming centre.
Capital Management Engineering Ltd. completed a costing summary that concluded the best estimate of the redevelopment would be $70,950,000 and the worst-case estimate at about $85.9 million.
Construction of a replacement building without preserving any of the old Forum has been estimated at $64 million.
“I’m all for preserving and protecting history but at the right price and at the right place and I have huge concerns about this proposal,” said Coun. Matt Whitman (Hammonds Plains-St. Margarets).
He said the $85-million cost would soon turn into $100 million.
Coun. Richard Zurawski (Timberlea-Beechville-Clayton Park) agreed.
“I am in support of community development and the needs of the community but, wow, this is steep, this is pricey and it doesn’t meet all of the redundancies that we have in terms of other facilities,” Zurawski said. “I think it’s just too much and we’re getting too little in return. Money is too hard to come by. There are certainly other community centres all across HRM that could benefit from the cost of something of this magnitude.”
Smith said the biggest piece for him is the lack of accessibility to the existing complex. A member of the Forum board, Smith said the provision for 8,000 square feet of community space is not enough and that the board recommended 12,000 square feet be designated for that space.
Council broke out the recommendation into four parts, narrowly passing by a 7-6 vote the parts that dealt with the redevelopment of the Forum in accordance with the Heritage Property Act and directing Dube to include its funding in the 2021-22 capital budget after exploring partnerships.
The parts of the motion that included engaging the Halifax Forum Community Association on the size and composition of the multi-purpose space, directing Dube to determine the potential for partnerships on the Forum complex lands for private mixed-use development and Smith’s amendment calling for additional public engagement passed unanimously.
John MacPherson, manager for corporate facility design, said the Forum facade and about 50 feet or so of the building along Windsor Street would be maintained.
“Beyond that, it’s going to be a completely new building.”
Coun. Steve Streatch (Waverley-Fall River-Musquodoboit Valley) supporting saving some of the old building.
“What’s on the table is about saving some, saving the facade, of what this Forum has meant to this municipality and to all of us,” Streatch said. “Otherwise, it's tear this down.”
He said it might cost more to preserve some of it, but “to me, that’s worth it.”
“There is no such thing as replica Forum."
Coun. Waye Mason said the Forum is where his daughter learned to skate, a place for public meetings, Christmas at the Forum, emergency planning space and much more.
“When I think of public spaces HRM owns on the peninsula, I can’t think of anywhere I’ve been in and out of more in my lifetime.”
There was a question of reduced seating capacity at a renovated Forum but Gareth Evans, a recreation planning specialist for the municipality, said an analysis showed that current Forum events never exceed the 2,900 seats suggested.
Dube said he would take council’s direction and return with an option or options that include a full-blown or partial public-private partnership to develop the entire property. A private partnership would lower the cost that the municipality would be responsible for, he said.
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