The $500 million Hallo Development at Nelson’s Granite Point Golf Course has sparked backlash from a group of locals who have concerns about its impacts to the community.
Paul Saso with HellNō Hallō leads a team of about 15 people who are working to shift the direction of the development, which he says targets those who can afford luxury housing and doesn’t consider the needs of Nelson residents.
The first phase of the project is the development of 24 luxury, resort-style homes called ‘The First Homes,’ which are valued at $1.85 million each and feature high-design, modern classic furnishings.
In an article written by the Globe and Mail, two of the project’s developers, Graham Kwan and Farhad Ebrihimi, described the target market for the First Homes as “downsizers, young families who’ve cashed out of an urban market, investors, and people who want a bolthole.” The language used in the article overall felt insulting to Saso and his team, prompting concerns about the developers’ true intentions for the project.
“This project seems to be directed towards the elite and the sort of one percent who will be ‘flying here in their private jets,’ as they talk about in the Globe and Mail article.
“We found that quite offensive to a lot of people in the region, especially when many are being squeezed out by gentrification and exorbitant housing prices. The idea of people ‘stopping in for the weekend from Toronto in their private jet’ while we are literally burning every summer is quite offensive.”
Saso wants the project team to shift the direction to create a more affordable housing neighbourhood that incorporates a variety of affordable housing models and includes supportive housing components, which he says would better fit the community’s needs.
“What we’re really trying to do is create a middle ground where we can change this into something that’s more fitting for the community, reducing the price of the housing and toning down the ostentatious furnishings. We’re also looking for the city, the golf course, and the developers to help us develop an affordable housing neighbourhood up there—something visionary that would truly assist those in our community who need housing.”
One member of the project team is open to the idea of shifting direction, but Saso says there are two who are not. However, the HellNō Hallō team is still investigating ways to pressure the developers into change.
Is it too late?
Saso feels the project’s developers weren’t overly transparent with the community or council when it was first approved in 2019, but he doesn’t think it’s too late for them to make some changes.
In 2019, the city rezoned a 16-acre portion of Granite Point Golf Course from parkland to R2A residential zoning, with the intention of selling it, as the golf course had been unable to support itself and was at risk of going bankrupt.
In previous years, provincial legislation required developers to hold public hearings for community members to learn about such developments. However, in the spring of 2024, that requirement was dropped to try and speed up the delivery of housing across the province.
Because of this, the Hallo project did not need to host any public engagement sessions before breaking ground, but Saso is still optimistic that there’s room to for the developers to shift their plans.
“I really feel like it could. When talking with one developer, he made it seem quite possible and in the works, given that we provided them our alternate plan and all the developers had reviewed it in our last meeting, which seems very positive.
“I felt there was less willingness to shift the initial stages of this project anyway. They think this is a great thing for Nelson. We’re trying to meet in the middle and see where they can shift to incorporate some more affordability into this. It wouldn’t be an enormous shift; you just unfurnish those condos, take out a few of the bells and whistles, and bring them down to something more reasonable in price.”
Saso and his team are calling on the community to help pressure stakeholders, including the City of Nelson and property investors, into a direction change.
An online petition against the development has gathered 2,300 signatures since it was created on September 13. There have also been several websites mocking the project and highlighting the community’s concerns, which Saso hopes will discourage potential investors and buyers from contributing to a development that’s unwelcome to community members.
“We’re really trying to have an impact on the investors and people considering buying this. We have our website, our petition, and another site, HelloHole Nelson. So when people Google Halo Nelson, these things are right up there when they’re looking at this as a potential vacation home. They’ll see our information right away and maybe think twice about it.”
City of Nelson OCP renewal
The City of Nelson is currently in the process of developing a new Official Community Plan (OCP), which hasn’t been updated since 2013.
The province requires that municipalities host a series of public engagement sessions before a new OCP is officially adopted, which is scheduled to start in Nelson in January.
Saso says these sessions will offer a great opportunity for residents who share his concerns about the project to communicate them to the city.
“One thing about this Halo Nelson project is that it has really drawn people out of the woodwork to realize that if we want to control what’s happening in our city and keep it aligned with the residents’ wishes, we need to participate more.
“All we have to do is show up at these sessions, and our voices will be heard. But a lot of people don’t show up and leave it in the hands of the council. So I would definitely encourage people to attend that [OCP session] and make sure that your voices are heard when there’s an opportunity to do so.”
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