Over 80 Affordable Co-op Housing Units Planned for Lunenburg and Mahone Bay
The Mahone Bay Community Land Co-operative and Solterre Design are planning two co-op housing developments totaling more than 80 units in Lunenburg and Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia, to address severe housing shortages and rising prices on the South Shore.
A non-profit group is planning to bring more than 80 units of affordable housing to two South Shore towns in Nova Scotia. The Mahone Bay Community Land Co-operative (MBCLC) has partnered with architecture firm Solterre Design to develop co-op housing projects in both Lunenburg and Mahone Bay.
The developments aim to address severe housing shortages and steep price increases in the region. Between 2019 and 2022, housing prices jumped 82 per cent in Mahone Bay and 105 per cent in Lunenburg. Based on 2023 assessments, Mahone Bay needed 50 new housing units by 2027, while Lunenburg required 120 new units by that time.
In Lunenburg, the project involves purchasing Solterre’s land at the corner of Falkland and Brook streets to build a 44-unit apartment building. The design features three storeys on the street side, stepping up to six storeys closer to the water. The site falls outside the buffer zone of the town’s World Heritage Site. Solterre has applied for a development permit for the project as an "as-of-right" development under current planning rules. Construction is hoped to start in late 2027 if funding and permits are secured.
The Lunenburg site has been the subject of a regulatory dispute. The town council previously denied a rezoning proposal for the property, but the Nova Scotia Regulatory and Appeals Board overturned that decision. Lunenburg town council is currently appealing the board's ruling to the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal.
In Mahone Bay, the proposed project would create 42 housing units across two buildings up to three storeys high, joined by shared community space. During a meeting in December 2025, the Mahone Bay town council conditionally agreed to sell part of a vacant municipal lot at Kinburn Street and Hawthorn Road to the co-op for one dollar.
Both developments are intended to be mixed-income. The co-op ownership structure is designed to keep rents below market value. MBCLC chair Dean Waterfield stated that a final total price tag for both projects has not yet been confirmed.