Greek restaurants are a dime a dozen on Quinpool Road, but tall buildings are more uncommon.

The company, listed as 22277770 Nova Scotia Limited, that owns the two-storey building at 6112 Quinpool Rd., is asking for council’s permission to amend height restrictions. They want to build an eight-storey mixed-use development on the site.

And they’re not alone in making rule-breaking requests to council.

Eurofax Properties Incorporated, which bought the old Bay building on Chebucto Road last April, is also asking council to make an exception. They want to add three storeys of office space on top of the two existing floors.

CompuCollege is going into the current space, but it’s the three extra, glass-encased floors that need approval. The current policy for this area, adopted in the 1970s when there was concern about office buildings moving away from downtown, states emphatically “major offices and hotels should be discouraged from locating in these centres.”

But HRM staff said times have changed and office buildings are all over the municipality now.

“Based on a preliminary review of these matters, staff believes that the changes to the existing building and the proposed addition should be viewed favourably by neighbourhood residents from an aesthetic perspective,” a staff report being presented to Halifax regional council on Tuesday night reads.

Also, staff says traffic wouldn’t be impacted and the existing parking structure would accommodate the proposed addition.

While the former Bay development is strictly office space, the Quinpool development consists of retail and residential units. It would also have a landscaped rooftop and two levels of underground parking.

“The proposed building provides an opportunity to consider the merits of this individual project as a pre-cursor to such future comprehensive planning for the Quinpool Road area,” reads the report.

Proposed development ‘good news’ for businesses

The Quinpool project gets a big thumbs-up from Karla Nicholson, general manager of the road’s business association.

“It’s an exciting development and any development of that magnitude  is good news for Quinpool Road,” she said, adding it would be the third tallest building on the street next to Atlantica Hotel and an apartment building.

“I like the parking aspect and I like the idea that it’s eight storeys. I think that’s the way to go, the way of the future to use the property to its absolute maximum value.”

She said she’s also glad there will be retail spots included as she doesn’t want to lose the current tenants.