Surprise sale of Pleasant Street development sends would-be tenants into housing hunt
The recent sale of a newly constructed apartment building on Pleasant Street to the Department of National Defence (DND) has left some prospective renters scrambling to find housing, after they say they had already paid deposits and were expecting to move in this month.
The building at 171 Pleasant Street in Dartmouth was purchased earlier this year as part of a wider wave of federal defence investment flowing into Nova Scotia. The building sold on March 25 for $59.5 million, according to ViewPoint property records. The same records show the property — the site of a former Salvation Army building — sold for $400,000 in 2017 and for around $5.8 million in 2021. Clearing of the property and construction of the new building began soon after.
For Kendra Gannon, one of the prospective tenants who paid a deposit to secure a unit in the building, the news came as a surprise.
“I was shocked and I was very upset and overwhelmed,” Gannon told the Post.
Gannon and her boyfriend had been searching for an apartment in Dartmouth earlier this year when they came across the new development. She said the building stood out because the units appeared more affordable than many currently available in the HRM rental market.
“We would have been paying $1,900 at [171 Pleasant Street], and we're now paying $2,500.”
—Kendra Gannon
“It was a pretty good deal for a newer apartment being leased,” she said. “Their rents were pretty on the lower end of the market.”
After contacting J2K Properties, the leasing agent, Kendra said she was sent floor plans, pricing information and details about the building’s amenities. She later paid a deposit of $937.50 to secure a unit, with the understanding that tenants would sign leases after construction had progressed enough for in-person tours.
“It seemed pretty sure,” Gannon said. “They had an actual person who was the manager who you would talk to.
“I know a couple people who live on J2K properties [. . .] and they only had good things to say.”
Gannon said communication slowed after the deposit was paid. Then, in March, instead of receiving information about move-in dates, Gannon received an email informing her the building had been sold.
“I randomly just got an email about the apartment,” she said. “I’m getting super excited because I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh we’re gonna be able to sign a lease,’ and then I read it.”
The email, Gannon said, informed prospective tenants that the building had been sold and asked them to confirm they understood they no longer had a lease. Deposits would be refunded along with an additional $500 payment.
“I was very shocked, I was very upset as well,” she said. “There really wasn’t that much time.”
She said the timing created immediate pressure to secure another apartment before their expected May 1st move.
“Now I need to find another apartment. I know what the rent prices are like in Halifax,” Gannon said, “We’re not going to find anything that good again”
Gannon said she and her boyfriend were eventually able to find another apartment in Dartmouth, but at a significantly higher cost.
“We would have been paying $1,900 at [171 Pleasant Street], and we’re now paying $2,500,” she said.
She said the extra payment did little to offset the stress and cost of suddenly re-entering Halifax’s competitive rental market.
“And $500, sure okay great, but like in the grand scheme of things that doesn’t do much,” Gannon said. “It’s literally a quarter of what the rent is.”
Gannon said her larger concern is for other prospective tenants who may have had more urgent housing situations.
“There’s probably people who are worse off in the situation,” Gannon said. “There’s other people [. . .] whose leases were probably up in two weeks.”
Similar accounts have also surfaced in comments posted to the Pleasant Woodside Neighbourhood Association Facebook group, and Halifax Reddit page, where multiple users describe paying deposits for units in the building before being told the property had been sold.
In a statement to the Post, J2K Properties confirmed the building was purchased by DND for military housing, but said it could not disclose details surrounding the sale.
The company said the transaction happened “very quickly,” and that leasing activity stopped immediately once the deal was finalized.
“Southdale is a beautiful neighbourhood community, and we were very much looking forward to being part of the residential landscape in that area,” the statement said. “I’m confident that [Canada Forces Housing Agency] members will be excellent community members and wish everyone the very best in future.”
DND declined an interview request, saying they were unavailable to comment at this time.
The purchase comes amid a broader federal push to expand military infrastructure and operations in Nova Scotia. In March, Prime Minister Mark Carney visited Halifax to announce more than $3 billion in new defence-related spending across Atlantic Canada.
Gannon, whose mother works for DND, said she understands the need for additional military housing in Halifax, but hopes future housing transitions are handled with more clarity for prospective renters.
“Hopefully this apartment does do good for the military and for military housing because it is something that we really need here in Halifax,” Gannon said.