HALIFAX — The Maritimes’ most iconic used clothing chain is expanding to Halifax.
Guy’s Frenchys is planning to build a brand-new store at 20 Majesty Court, just off Hammonds Plains Road.
Mark Kaiser, speaking from Guy’s Frenchys head office on Feb. 9, said the company has long planned to expand to Halifax but the precise timeline for the new store is still up in the air.
However, last night the company cleared an important hurdle when North West Community Council OK’d a site plan for a commercial building on the Hammonds Plains property.
“Our long-term goal is to put a store there… we just don’t know when that’s going to happen,” he told Huddle.
The company first bought the Hammonds Plains property more than a decade ago but zoning complications and other factors have delayed construction.
Now, Kaiser says Covid-19 has thrown another wrench into expansion plans.
“In a perfect world, if everything was different and we didn’t have Coronavirus hanging over our heads, we probably would be hopefully starting to move forward 12 months out. But with everything that’s going on right now, it’s just day-to-day,” he said.
Kaiser gave few details about the new store. However, a simple site plan Guy’s Frenchys submitted to the council shows a long, single-story building that appears similar to the company’s Coldbrook location, with parking for more than 100 vehicles.
Traffic Concerns Not Applicable
Guy’s Frenchys doesn’t need special permission to build on its Hammonds Plains property, so its plans are only public because a group of citizens filed an appeal of the site plan approval.
At a public hearing on February 8, Rachel Groat said she and other nearby landowners are concerned traffic along Hammonds Plains Road is becoming dangerous.
“First and foremost, I want to say that none of us have any issues with development in Hammonds Plains. We are happy to see things grow,” she said.
However, she said traffic lights at the intersection of Hammonds Plains Road and Majesty court are “desperately needed” and pleaded with the council to do something about it.
Members of the council expressed sympathy for Groat’s position. However, the council has no power to add traffic lights to the area. That power lies with an independent body that operates outside of municipality control.
Guy’s Frenchys also provided a traffic impact statement as part of its proposal that found “[no] potential significant impacts to the existing transportation network.”
In the end, because the proposed site plan followed all of the municipality’s rules, and because the appeal was more about the traffic on Hammonds Plains Road than Guy’s Frenchys’ plans, the council allowed the project to move forward.
Trevor Nichols is a staff writer with Huddle in Halifax. Send him an e-mail with your story suggestions: nicholst@huddle.today.