Amherst, Cumberland County sign land deal for residential development

Two municipalities in northern Nova Scotia are collaborating on a new residential housing development.

The Town of Amherst and the Municipality of Cumberland County have signed an agreement to make a parcel of land in the Brookdale area the full property of Amherst.

Officials say the deal will allow for the development of the property under one set of regulations. Without the deal, development would have been complex as the property straddles the border between the two municipalities.

“We get approximately room for 400 more residential units and the housing shortage is obviously going to be improved if we can get that development work together,” said Amherst Mayor David Kogon.

Cumberland will gain new access to Amherst’s sanitary sewer servicing capacity “to support future development in an expanded service area in Cumberland County just outside the town boundary,” according to a news release about the agreement.

A simplified approach

The new sewer access will service some 400 homes just outside Amherst, Kogon added.

“To see more housing developed, to see more services more easily provided and simplified, makes the developer’s job a lot easier,” he said. 

Cumberland County Mayor Murray Scott echoed the sentiment, adding that like other parts of the province, Cumberland County is dealing with increased need for housing.

“We have a community college [and] we have a regular, ongoing concern about the ability to deal with programming because of the unavailability of housing for folks there,” Scott said.

“There’s a huge demand for housing throughout the whole of Cumberland County, whether it’s within the boundaries of Amherst and Oxford or whether it’s in the jurisdictions of the municipality.”

Development to include affordable housing

The parcel of land that is now a part of Amherst has been acquired by the Shaw Group, which is also building more than 100 housing units in Springhill. Scott said those units will “fall within the realm of affordable” with a series of modular homes that will be taken over by a non-profit once construction is completed.

As for the land included in the recent deal, Kogon said Shaw’s development will offer affordable housing, rental units and homes for sale.