Downtown Halifax visitation surpasses pre-COVID numbers: report
A report released by Downtown Halifax Business Commission (DHBC) is showing total visitation to downtown Halifax over the past year surpassed pre-pandemic numbers.
This year is the third year the DHBC has released a State of the Downtown report, which covers a number of metrics they say are crucial to understanding the current state of Halifax's urban core.
The report shows total visitation to Downtown Halifax over the past year was 19,217,332, which is an 18.4 per cent increase from last year, and a 3.1 per cent increase from pre-pandemic numbers.
Downtown Halifax also earned a revenue of $9.4 billion which accounts for around 20.5 per cent of revenue in the HRM, and around 9.4 per cent in Nova Scotia, according to the report.
Office vacancies in the city also saw a decrease from 16 per cent last year to 12.4 per cent this year. The total employee base in downtown Halifax is now 24,642 with office workers accounting for 20,476 of the total.
The report highlighted how Downtown Halifax's commercial property assessment is currently the highest it's been since 2021, but it has only increased by 1.08 per cent while all of HRM's increased by 25.4 per cent.
According to the report, eight of the total 27 investment projects currently happening in downtown Halifax were completed in 2024.
The on-street parking was also recorded in the report, with the average parking session in downtown Halifax lasting 119 minutes. HotSpot was the preferred method of payment for parking.
The full report is available on the Downtown Halifax Business Commission's website.
For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
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