Officials predict boom in downtown Sydney, N.S. following redevelopment
Downtown Sydney, N.S., was bustling with activity on Tuesday, but the sounds of both vehicle and foot traffic will soon be replaced with the sounds of heavy machinery as part of a redevelopment project.
“It just feels like there's so much happening and with NSCC coming, this couldn't have come at a better time,” said Michelle Wilson, head of the Sydney Downtown Development Association.
A section between Dorchester and Pitt Streets will only be open to people on foot for about 14 weeks. Phase one of three in a $9-million makeover of the city’s core will begin next week.
“You'll see wider sidewalks. We will still have parking on both sides. We will have street trees, benches, it will be more accessible,” said Wilson.
The goal is to improve the overall experience for pedestrians, and it comes at a time when a major build is happening just down the road.
“Both will be done at approximately the same time. You are definitely going to see an interest in new entrepreneurs, young entrepreneurs, we're seeing that happen now,” said Cape Breton Regional Municipality Councillor Eldon MacDonald.
Construction of the new Nova Scotia Community College is well underway on the waterfront.
Macdonald says it's a much-needed boost for an area that's been struggling for a long time.
“In 2018 before COVID, we had four businesses close in downtown Sydney and people thought that was a lot of businesses to lose. But they didn't realize that same year there was 20 new businesses that opened,” said MacDonald.
Wilson agrees and says this project is pushing momentum forward, which she says started with the announcement that NSCC was moving downtown.
“That following year we saw a huge increase in property sales and vacant properties and it was directly because NSCC was coming,” said Wilson.
Wilson says businesses in the area will remain open through the construction phase.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
Residents of northern Alberta First Nation told to shelter in place
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.