News Release

HRM Staff To Meet Early Next Week With Bloomfield Centre Tenants

(Friday, August12/05)-- Mayor Peter Kelly said today that HRM staff will be meeting early next week with tenants of the Common Building at the Bloomfield Centre regarding the safe removal of their belongings from the contaminated building.

Mayor Kelly said Real Property and Asset Management (RPAM) has received the findings of further detailed environmental testing of the Common Building by a private consultant, as well as their recommendations for removal of tenant equipment and personal belongings from the facility.

“It is HRM’s responsibility to ensure the health and safety of our employees, the public and any tenants in our facilities. As soon as RPAM staff received the initial results from Maritime Testing's indoor environmental assessment, they were obligated to close the building to protect users from further exposure,” he said. “In the latest phase of testing, we asked the experts to deal with the issue of safe removal of private property from the building to prevent any transfer of the contaminants (airborne spores due to mould) to other sites.”

The Citadel Amateur Boxing Club and the Bloomfield Artists Collective were the only tenants of the Common Building, which dates back to 1919.

Mayor Kelly said staff continue to assess constituent needs on the peninsula, specifically in north end Halifax. An open space assessment is also part of this review.

“This information will help define the future need for the Bloomfield site. Regional Council is awaiting a review of the Bloomfield Centre to be presented in late fall,” he said. “In the meantime, HRM is proceeding with development of a Cultural Policy-- one that will help Council to define future opportunities and guidelines for any assistance to our cultural sector.”

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Mayor Peter Kelly
(902) 490-4010