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
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States, injuring at least three people.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.