Slate Drive
About Sackville
In 1999, Sackville celebrated its 250th anniversary since it’s founding in 1749. For the first 220 years the community slowly evolved as a rural community populated mostly by farmers. This population had reached approximately 3,000 by the late 1960’s. In 1963 the germination of an abrupt change in growth occurred when a housing study identified the area as suitable for urban residential development. In 1967 the Nova Scotia Department of Housing began land banking in the area and building municipal central sewer and water facilities. With this Sackville became a logical solution to the increasing housing demands in the cities of Dartmouth and Halifax. This was confirmed by the Halifax-Dartmouth Regional Planning Commission in 1969 and reflected in the Halifax Dartmouth Regional Development Plan of 1975. This Plan emphasized the importance of balancing a community with commercial and industrial areas, parks, and efficient transportation connections with the cities of the neighbouring communities. By this time residential developments for middle to lower class homeowners were rapidly taking over the picturesque hills that drain into the Sackville River. In 1992 rapid growth had brought the population of Sackville to approximately 30,000. Today in 2003, there are approximately 40,000 in Sackville and approximately 10,000 of them live within walking distance of downtown Sackville.
Census Canada (1991) found that this community was relatively young, with the proportion of all population sectors below the age of 45 being at or above the provincial averages while the opposite was true for the proportions in older sectors. Sackville is still attracting a significant proportion of the first-time homebuyers in the metro region. Initially, much of the work force was commuting to work in Halifax or Dartmouth Fortunately the community has grown to boast about high employment rates, and a reputation as a regional recreation centre. One of Sackville’s longstanding claims to fame was the Sackville Downs, a harness racing oval located on the land that is now occupied by the Downsview Mall at the Beaver Bank Road.
Commercial growth has shown a steady growth since 1982. The commercial success of Sackville Drive is obvious to anyone who has driven the street, which is busy at all hours of the day and night. Retail shops have proliferated along most of the 4.5 kilometres between the Cobequid Road and the Beaverbank Road and the parking lots associated with these businesses are just as crowded as the street. Commercial growth was slower to start than residential development and it is still lagging behind. Through the 1980’s, commercial and industrial properties made up approximately 15% of the Sackville tax base, which made residential property taxes high relative to other neighbouring communities. However, the proportion of commercial and industrial property has increased significantly in recent years.
