Business View Civil & Municipal | July 2022

55 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 3, ISSUE 7 “The situation we have downtown right now is really good because people are all finding what they need. That will start to be stressed very soon, because we’re starting to have people call and we’re having more trouble fitting them into existing spaces. We really are trying to attract development, because we can fill it.” As a community poised for growth, Kentville is working to bring in new housing options. The demand definitely exists, as Noel Taiani with Parsons Green Development found out when he started a project to build four apartment buildings in the town’s east end. Snow recounts, “He said he would probably only get two of them done in the first two years, because he didn’t see much more need. Well, he’s not at his two-year point, and he’s already put up all four. The fourth one is currently under construction, and apparently it is 40% filled. It’s absolutely incredible.” Bringing additional high-density options, Homeward Bound Development is planning a townhouse/condo community in the north end of the town on land which has been vacant for decades. Another unique project for Kentville, Enqore Developments is transforming a former school property, spanning seven acres, into what Young describes as “a community within a community.” She shares, “They are trying to build an inclusive neighborhood. That’s exciting because we don’t have anything like that around here. It’s going to be fully accessible, and I think that’s going to go well as far as finding tenants once they get there.” The community, known as Ryan’s Park, was inspired by the mother of a child with autism, who envisioned this accessible, connected neighborhood. “It’s going to be a tiny home community around a central community hub. It’s not going to be a cooperative, but it will have that feel to it,” explains Mayor Snow. With professional services making up a large percentage of the workforce, Kentville is home to several larger employers, including the Kentville Research and Development Centre – TOWN OF KENTV I LLE , NOVA SCOT I A