Mike Campbell says the construction of Halifax’s Nova Centre has destroyed his business.The $500-million project being built in downtown Halifax will include a convention centre, a hotel and office space. But as construction drags on – the Nova Centre’s developers announced this spring it won’t be completed until March, 2017, roughly 14 months past its original target date – small businesses near the facility like Mr. Campbell’s The Carleton Music Bar and Grill are hurting. “Time is running out for a lot of us, especially me,” he says.
As cities across Canada replace old infrastructure or build new office buildings, public transit, and bridges, small businesses can become collateral damage to progress, losing customers and significant revenue as these multi-year projects go on around them.Mr. Campbell estimates business at The Carleton has declined about 30 per cent every year since the Nova Centre construction began in 2013. He says he’ …