It’s shaping up to be a pitched battle. A July, full-page ad in The ChronicleHerald, signed by more than 300 well-known members of the Nova Scotia business community, points a damning finger at the province’s heritage preservationists. The accusation: you’re standing in the way of progress.

At the centre of the controversy is Halifax’s new $164-million convention centre. Currently under construction, the 120,000-square-foot centre, due to open in 2016, is part of the $500-million Nova Centre, a downtown development that will consume two city blocks and include a luxury hotel, a financial centre, retail shops, residential accommodation, restaurants and more.

Nova Centre is heavily supported by all three levels of government – one report estimates $375 million in taxpayer money will be spent over 25 years – but the ad suggests a high degree of frustration when it comes to public input on the project. “Continued obstruction of the new Halifax Convention Centre and other development projects is not in the best interests of the citizens of Halifax and the province of Nova Scotia,” it proclaims.

Indeed, public opposition to the new centre has accompanied almost every phase of the project. And it doesn’t appear to be abating, even though ground has been broken and there is now a gigantic hole on the site. Among other concerns, opponents are concerned that the famous view of the city’s historic harbour from Citadel Hill will be blocked by the development, and instead be available only to well-heeled tenants of the project’s two towers.

Critics also point out that the city’s existing, much smaller convention centre is experiencing a decline in revenue and is forecast to lose $2.76 million in its recently ended fiscal year.

And a poll conducted this spring for Save the View from Citadel Hill, a group opposing the new convention centre, found that 86% of respondents agreed that the provincial government should seek a second opinion before forking over any more hard-earned taxpayer money. Even more respondents, 89%, felt the $51 million from a federal grant earmarked for the new convention centre would be better spent on local infrastructure, such as roads and transit.

The business community counters that change is coming to downtown Halifax, one way or another, and that opponents should accept this reality. A new, $58- million library is to be completed this summer and another key area of the downtown is to be transformed into a mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly transit hub designed to connect the downtown to northern neighbourhoods. Another recently approved development includes a 500,000-sq.-ft. twin tower with 88 condo units in the centre of the downtown – close to the new convention centre.

A prosperous city and province is something that’s hard to argue with. What’s missing in this debate is a sense of consensus on how that should be achieved. Paul Kent, CEO of Greater Halifax Partnership, puts the divisiveness down to a lack of optimism. “Confidence is so fragile,” he says. “When there is a lack of confidence, people are less likely to take a risk. An attitude transformation is necessary.”

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