Dartmouth Crossing celebrates grand opening

The official opening of Dartmouth Crossing on August 9 was an opportunity to look back at all the development has accomplished in just a little more than two years. However, Glenn Munro couldnt help but also look forward to what is still to come.

Its with great satisfaction and excitement that we stand here on this site and officially open our doors, says Munro, managing director of North American Development Group. With the cooperation of the city and province and the help of some outstanding organizations, weve converted this area from a remediated brownfield site to one of the most modern retail and office parks in Canada.

Dartmouth Crossing is currently home to 35 open shops and services operating in 600,000 square feet of space. By Christmas there will be more than 50 stores and in excess of 900,000 square feet of retail space, including restaurants, big box stores such as Wal-Mart and Home Depot, medium and boutique size shops and a multi-screen Empire Theatre.

Well take a moment to relax and enjoy this moment, but our focus is now on completing the construction now in progress and the planning for the next phase of this project, Munro says.

That next phase includes a heavy emphasis on the office space component. There is already 70,000 square feet available above the existing retail space on the developments main street, and a five-storey office building is planned for the end of the block.

There will also be an office campus developed on the land fronting Frenchman Lake. Preliminary applications have already been filed with the city and, since no development agreement is needed to proceed with the project, Munro say he expects the see the first buildings going in within two years, with the full build-out taking five years.

Munro is also working on a complimentary residential component, which will take shape on the opposite side of Wright Avenue from the retail and commercial phases of Dartmouth Crossing. This project will include medium to low density housing options, ranging from townhouses to condominiums and will include parks and trails maybe even tying into an underground connection to the lakes on the opposite side of Highway 118.

Preliminary applications have been filed with the city for this project too, but unlike the office campus a development agreement will be needed to proceed. Still, Munro is confident the project will go ahead within two years with an expected build-out of five to six years.

Our expectation is that theres a lot of demand for the type of project were bringing to the area, Munro says.

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