Published Oct 01, 2025Last updated 8 hours ago9 minute readA sunset fills the horizon over the Yarmouth Mall. The mall ownership is hoping for a new dawn that will allow medical clinics and offices as uses within the mall, saying it’s difficult to full empty spaces with only retail outlets. TINA COMEAUArticle contentThere is interest and debate about where medical clinics should and shouldn’t be allowed in the Town of Yarmouth, but it will likely still be a while before there is a decision on the issue.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.Subscribe now to access this story and more:Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsSUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES.Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsRegister to unlock more articles.Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.Access additional stories every monthShare your thoughts and join the conversation in our commenting communityGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorArticle contentWhile it’s agreed more medical clinics are needed, in the discussion words such as “change, protection, flexibility and mistake” have entered the fray.Article contentArticle contentIt’s not only the location of medical clinics being talked about, but general office locations too.Article contentArticle contentAfter a robust discussion during a Sept. 23 public participation meeting at a Planning Advisory Committee (PAC) meeting, committee members approved a recommendation that town council defer any decision until completion of the town’s Municipal Planning Strategy and Land-Use Bylaw review that is underway.Article contentThe thought process is that it will be better to make decisions based on a comprehensive approach as opposed to ‘one-offs’ when applications come forward.Article contentThe PAC recommendation will go to town council for approval.Article contentSo what are the issues?Article contentLet’s break it down.Article content There is concern that allowing medical clinics and office locations to become more widespready throughout the Town of Yarmouth could harm the downtown due to less traffic for such services. But proponents of the idea say finding adequate spaces in the downtown is also a challenge. TINA COMEAUArticle contentWHY IS THIS DISCUSSION HAPPENING?Article contentSeveral applications are before the town seeking permission to allow medical clinic spaces. The proposed locations are 77 Parade Street, 77 Starrs Road and 76 Starrs Road. Most people know 76 Starrs Road as the Yarmouth Mall.Article contentThe mall is seeking permission to house medical clinic and office uses, for an overall combined space of 20,000 square feet, representing about 10 per cent of the mall’s space.Article contentArticle contentAt a June open house that the PAC and the mall ownership held, Toulon Development Corp., the mall’s owner, explained its reasoning.Article contentArticle content“Right now in Nova Scotia, this is the only enclosed shopping centre that can’t do this,” Neil Castagna of Toulon’s stated.Article contentHe said since COVID-19, many people’s shopping habits have turned to online. The mall is finding it increasingly difficult to fill empty spaces with just retail outlets.Article contentThe majority of people at the open house favoured the mall’s request.Article content An open house was held inside a space at the Yarmouth Mall that has been empty for around 10 years to discuss an application by the mall ownership, which is seeking permission from the town to allow office and medical clinics as uses that can be housed in the mall on Starrs Road. TINA COMEAUArticle contentSO WHY NOT JUST DO IT?Article contentIt’s not that simple. There is a reason why medical clinics and offices have only been allowed in the central downtown core, along with auxiliary locations in the north and south parts of town and on Water Street.Article contentThere has been past and present concern that allowing these uses to go elsewhere would hurt the downtown due to less traffic, leading to business closures and empty store fronts, which could also create less incentive for new stores, businesses or services to set up shop.Article contentMuch of this concern goes back to the time when Starrs Road saw the construction of two shopping malls decades ago.Article contentArticle contentWHY DO PEOPLE SUPPORT THE CHANGE?Article contentAt the public participation meeting, one resident, who had been at the June open house, said what is being proposed is rational.Article contentHe said the takeaway from the open house was, “If we can’t bring those things in here, they’ll go someplace else and the mall will eventually die.”Article contentThis would lead to lost jobs and business. “You need to broaden the horizon and make use of what you’ve got to attract more people here,” he said.Article contentA health-care provider also spoke. The dentist said trying to find adequate space in the town where he’s allowed to work was eye opening.Article content“Limiting us as medical professionals to only working in a very small area of town is quite limiting,” he said.Article contentAfter an exhaustive search, he found one rental option and one costly purchase option. He fears if things don’t change, the town will lose health-care professionals. He pointed to some dentists who wanted to be in Yarmouth but are setting up in Tusket instead because they couldn’t find suitable space.Article contentArticle content“The space just doesn’t exist downtown that is adequate for health care and there are standards that we need to adhere to,” he said, noting the age of downtown buildings is a factor.Article content“I think that if health care professionals want to work in this town, it shouldn’t matter which street they want to be on, or which building,” he said.Article contentSpeaking about the application for 77 Parade St., he said he had inquired about that as a location for a medical clinic, but was told by the town it wasn’t allowed. Yet on the same street is an animal hospital.Article content“It doesn’t make sense. We can provide health care to animals on this street but not to humans,” he said.Article content Downtown Yarmouth. TINA COMEAUArticle contentWHY SHOULD MOVEMENT NOT BE ALLOWED?Article contentAt the meeting, two letters sent to the town were read.Article content“I’d like to express my deep concern,” said downtown business owner Joanne Wallace, who is concerned that allowing medical clinics and offices outside of the downtown will draw business away from the downtown.Article contentArticle contentShe referred to when commercial development started on Starrs Road decades ago, comparing that to the vibrant downtown that existed at the time, and the ability for people to be within walking distance of services and shops in the downtown.Article contentShe watched long-established shops close, saying they couldn’t compete with the shopping centres and corporate chains.Article contentWhen she opened her business, being in the downtown was important to her.Article content“I remain committed to Main Street because I believe our downtown should be the heart of Yarmouth – a place where people can gather, shop, access services and feel a sense of belonging,” she wrote, noting for small independent businesses, times have been difficult. COVID-19 changed shopping habits, leading to reduced downtown traffic.Article contentThe closure of the YMCA years ago, a downtown anchor, also had an impact. While the space has been filled with Mariners on Main, that location will close when the Mariners Centre expansion is completed.Article content“Each of these losses has made it harder for independent operators to survive. The prospect of further development that pulls energy and resources away from Main Street only adds to those challenges,” she wrote.Article contentBusinessman Michael Trask wrote about how 40 and 50 years ago, downtown businesses were faced with the prospect of two malls on Starrs Road and their impact on the downtown. The result was zoning that kept offices exclusively in the downtown.Article contentStill, there were losses of grocery stores, clothing and shoe stores, hardware stores and large retail anchors like Zellers and the Metropolitan. He said smaller, family-owned businesses could not compete with regional and national chains in the malls.Article content“This was a devastating blow to the downtown. Were it not for the provincial Main Street Program, which helped repurpose those vacant spaces, our downtown would have been lost,” he wrote, noting there is now a request to further intrude on the protection of the downtown.Article contentArticle content Downtown Yarmouth. TINA COMEAUArticle contentFROM A DOCTOR’S PERSPECTIVEArticle contentAt the meeting, Brian Moses said he sees both sides: one as a person who owns property in the downtown and another as a physician.Article contentHe’s in favour of a strong downtown core, but doesn’t think some of the proposed changes would adversely affect that. Still, he agrees the matter should be deferred until the review is complete.Article content“I personally am not in favour of one-off exceptions to rules that are there. I’m in favour of a more comprehensive reassessment of the overall strategy.”Article contentBut he also said there is a time crunch because of the “health-care crisis we face.”Article content“We need a lot more family physicians on the ground here,” he said, saying there are around 10,000 people in the area without such primary care. Physicians also have competing commitments between their practices and the hospital ER. “We probably need 15 family doctors to meet the needs of the community.”Article contentArticle contentBut, he said, “If I magically manufactured a bus trip of family doctors and drove them here, the sad reality is they wouldn’t be able to practice because there’s nowhere for them to go.”Article contentHe noted doctors prefer to be part of collaborations, where multiple doctors work together in a clinic or family practice location.Article content“We have very few spaces in existing family practices. I could accommodate 3 or 4 of them, which would still leave us with close to a dozen without a place to practice,” Moses said.Article content“The challenge of being able to meet that demand just in the Main Street area would be difficult.”Article contentAsked, on average, how much space for a collaborative practice or clinic would be needed, Moses said a couple of thousand square feet or more. Costly renovations are also a factor.Article contentNO REQUESTS FOR RETAIL SPACEArticle contentDeveloper Roy Andrews owns the strip mall at 77 Starrs Road. He would like to see allowances for medical clinic space beyond the downtown.Article content“It’s obvious the need for medical services in this town is greater than it’s ever been,” he said, saying having medical services move outside of the town is concerning.Article content“When someone inquires to me about space, I have to say no, my hands are tied. I can’t help you,” he said. “I think we are in an era where we should be looking at possible things, instead of ‘no, we can’t.’”Article content“Retail has gone a lot towards the Amazon route,” he said. “I used to get inquiries for retail. There is no inquiries for retail anymore. I get inquiries for medical services and I can’t provide it.”Article content Neil Castagna, the director of leasing for Toulon Development Corp., and Linda Deveau, property manager of the Yarmouth Mall, say retail alone cannot fill and sustain the Yarmouth Mall. The mall ownership is seeking flexibility from the Town of Yarmouth allow such uses as office space and medical clinics within the mall. TINA COMEAUArticle contentWHY DOES EVERYONE BLAME THE MALL?Article content“It’s sad to hear someone say that developing Starrs Road is a mistake of the past that should not be repeated,” said Linda Deveau, property manager of the Yarmouth Mall. “I can’t imagine Yarmouth without Main Street and Starrs Road.”Article contentDeveau said around 300-plus people work at the mall, which also houses multiple Atlantic Canadian-owned businesses that pay provincial and municipal taxes.Article contentArticle content“Looking back at 50 years ago … and having those memories and heartfelt experiences is wonderful, but it’s just not who we are today,” she said. “You can’t prevent development based on a memory of a childhood.”Article contentDeveau said the mall has been the whipping post for decades.Article content“I have been here long enough to see the tin mine close. Domtex close. The Scotia Prince (ferry) sail away. Yet if someone has a retail shop downtown, the reason it’s not doing well, it must be the mall,” she said. “Not the fact that hundreds of jobs were lost and tourists went in different directions. I’ve never understood the pointing towards Starrs Road as the be-all and end-all of negative problems.”Article contentShe said the Yarmouth Mall is the only mall in Nova Scotia that doesn’t have mixed tenancy use.Article content“I’m not talking about Halifax Shopping Centre or Mic Mac Mall, I’m talking Greenwood. I’m talking Port Hawkesbury. I’m talking New Glasgow and Amherst and Bridgewater. Other rural communities who make up the unique tourism civilization lifestyle that we all benefit from. They have historic downtowns and they’re redeveloping their Main Streets and their waterfronts. They’re doing all that and allowing the other addresses in their community to also grow and develop.”Article contentArticle content The Town of Yarmouth’s Planning Advisory Committee approved a motion suggesting council defer an decision on medical clinic locations until the MPS and LUB review that is underway is completed. TINA COMEAUArticle contentAND SO WE WAITArticle contentTown Planner Martin Beck said a lot of time, effort and community engagement have gone into the MPS and LUB review. A draft document is set to come out in the fall of 2025 and will go to the PAC and council for review.Article contentBeck said over the fall and winter, there will be two rounds of further public engagement.Article contentA final draft is expected by end of March/early April 2026.Article contentMembers of the PAC committee shared these thoughts in voting to defer things.Article content“I have to have some faith in the fact we’ve engaged the experts to do a review,” said Coun. Gil Dares.Article content“To do a spot rezoning at this moment when we have put so much energy into that process and where we have asked our citizens to put so much energy into this process, to me that would be a dereliction of my responsibility as a councillor,” said Coun. Belle Hatfield.Article content“We’re not deferring because we don’t want to deal with it. We’re deferring because we think in a few months we’ll have a much better picture,” said PAC member Rod Rose.Article contentSaid PAC chair and Coun. Wade Cleveland, “I think we do a disservice to everyone by not allowing the process to play out.”Article contentArticle content
Divided opinions in debate of where medical clinics should be allowed in Town of Yarmouth
