Killam Properties decides to build.
March 4, 2010

Halifax
Andrew MacDonald
allNovaScotia.com

Killam Properties plans to become a property developer as it eyes a $12-million, 80-unit building somewhere in Halifax.

CEO Phil Fraser announced construction could start this year.

Details on whether a contractor would be hired, or even if an architect has already been engaged, were not disclosed.

Director of investor relations Dale Noseworthy would not disclose the site's address, but said it would be on surplus land beside and existing structure that Killam owns.

Since it was founded in 2002, the company's growth has been solely through the acquisition of apartment stock, spending $800 million on 173 properties during this time.

Director Tim Banks, a prominent contractor in Charlottetown, will likely be asked to give advice on the project.

He owns APM Group, a major building contractor with operations across the Maritimes, including in Halifax.

Fraser also said that another similarly-sized building could be built in 2011 at another Halifax site.

In metro, Killam has 17 acres of surplus land.

In the past Killam has sold off surplus land, including at existing buildings such as the Kelly and Alton properties near the Armdale Round-About.

Undertaking its own development "is another way to maximize the value of excess land," said Noseworthy.