Halifax waterfront casino property listed for sale as Dartmouth move advances
Great Canadian has bought land at Dartmouth Crossing and is working on permits for the new Casino Nova Scotia.
.jpg){kind=link}
The Halifax waterfront property that houses Casino Nova Scotia is up for sale, as plans to move the casino to Dartmouth Crossing move ahead.
Nova Scotia's Department of Finance and Treasury Board confirmed the listing, The Chronicle Herald reported. The department said Great Canadian Entertainment has bought land near the IKEA store in Dartmouth Crossing for the new casino, and the company is now working with the municipality on the permits it needs to build. Great Canadian will pay for construction and the costs of relocating, while the province will pay for the gaming equipment.
Move announced in January
The province first announced the relocation on Jan. 14, after signing an agreement with Great Canadian to build a new Casino Nova Scotia location. Great Canadian, which has run the Halifax casino for the Nova Scotia Gaming Corporation (NSGC) for more than 20 years, will own, operate and maintain the new casino. A new 25-year operating agreement takes effect when it opens, with completion expected in 2029.
In the meantime, the Halifax casino stays open. NSGC planned to acquire the waterfront property from Great Canadian and sell it to a third party, then lease it back so the casino can keep operating until the Dartmouth building is ready. The province said the site would be listed with CBRE Halifax.
"We are pleased to have reached an agreement with Great Canadian Entertainment for a new, modern casino in Dartmouth," Timothy Halman, then acting minister of finance and treasury board, said in January. He added that the move opens the door to new development in downtown Halifax.
The downtown casino opened about 25 years ago and was last renovated in 2017. The province said it earned $41.6 million from its casino operations in Halifax and Sydney in the previous year.
The Sydney location of Casino Nova Scotia is not part of the move and will stay where it is. No construction start date, asking price or buyer for the Halifax property has been made public.