The city says the last remaining person living at Grand Parade has left and accepted an indoor housing option.

This means all five de-designated tent sites around the city have been vacated.

It comes after 55 people living rough at these locations, received an eviction notice from the city February 7, saying that they had until February 26th to vacate- that better options exist.

The status of the de-designated sites as of Thursday:

• Grand Parade is closed to the public for remediation except for the thoroughfare between Barrington and Argyle streets, and access to St. Paul’s Church and City Hall. Staff estimate that this area will re-open to the public by early summer 2024.
• Victoria Park is closed to the public while remediation work takes place to return this site to its former state. Pathways will remain open with temporary closures for the safe operation of heavy machinery as needed. Remediation of Victoria Park is expected to take several months due to the heavy use of the site as an encampment for a relatively long period of time. This work will begin with testing to identify contaminants in the soil and inform next steps. Staff estimate that this area will re-open to the public by early summer 2024.
• Geary Street green space is closed to the public while remediation work takes place. Staff estimate that remediation of this space will be complete, and fencing will be removed in spring 2024.
• Correctional Centre Park remains closed to the public. Construction fencing is being installed in this area so that work can begin on the province’s tiny home community project.
• Saunders Park is now open to the public. Minor remediation and restoration work will take place in the coming weeks.
• Beaufort Avenue Park and Martins Park remain open to the public. They did not require remediation, as they were not used for outdoor sheltering.

HRM says there are still roughly 44 people sleeping rough in the remaining 4 designated locations.

Staff continue to offer supports and resources to those living rough.