Demolition begins for vacant motel in Dartmouth, N.S.

An old motel on Highfield Park Drive in Dartmouth, N.S., is being demolished after sitting vacant for a number of years.

Councillor Tony Mancini says possible renovations to the building to make it liveable would have been too expensive for province.

"When you have a building that's empty and does not have heat or circulation – and I understand there has been vandalism inside and breaking – it just deteriorates and nothing to keep it together, it really rots on the site and that's unhealthy to try to be in there," Mancini says.

The motel, which was originally a Future Inns in the late 1990s, was converted into a Days Inn around 2006.

Dan Latter, the owner and operator of Parkside Pub – which is a restaurant next to the empty building – says the motel’s customer base had a positive impact on their business, noting how construction crews and people from out of town would stay there for months.

"I was surprised when it closed. People could come over here for dinner, lunch and supper and it had a big impact on us when it closed,” says Latter.

An old motel in Dartmouth, N.S., is being demolished. (Source: Emma Convey/CTV News Atlantic)

He says the motel, which has been vacant for quite some time, has become an eyesore and has been turning people away from the area.

"People driving by, look at that and say, ‘Oh, my gosh, what kind of a neighborhood is that?’ So, it probably had a bad impact on us,” says Latter.

According to Mancini, many in the community were hoping the space would be used to house the homeless population, but that was not a possibility. There is also speculation the lot could be turned into new apartment buildings, but nothing is confirmed yet.

"There have been lots of inquiries over the past several years about whether we can use that facility to help with the homeless file,” Mancini says. “I know the province looked into it, but found it’s been empty for so long and would cost too much to renovate the inside to make it useful for the homeless file.”

Build Nova Scotia told CTV News Atlantic private developer Starfish Properties now owns the property. CTV News reached out to the company to ask about possible plans for the site, but they were not ready to share them.

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