Nova Centre opening delayed by 9 months

Construction of the Nova Centre is nine months behind schedule and that means just over half of the conventions booked for the site will have to be rescheduled.

The Nova Centre will now open at the end of September 2016.

The developer behind the massive downtown Halifax project, Joe Ramia, said there are a number of reasons for the delay, including the weather.

Last winter was one of the most challenging seasons in the past decade, he said during a tour of the site Friday.

Ramia also points to the public engagement process which resulted in a redesign of the building. The complexity meant more time was needed for the approval process.

While this took more time, I believe it made the project better, Ramia said.

The construction delay means 17 of 30 conventions that had been booked for the new site will have to be rescheduled.

The Nova Centre includes a new convention facility, a hotel and office space.