Tesla is expanding into Atlantic Canada in a big way, recently signing a lease on a 60,000 square foot building in Dartmouth, just outside of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The deal comes more than two years after the first job postings hinted at the automaker opening a retail location in the province.
Tesla will be moving into 236 Brownlow Avenue, the former home of Lawtons Drugs, as reported by All Nova Scotia. Avison Young director Michael Brown confirmed Tesla will be occupying the entire building, which according to the most recent lease listing comes in at 60,739 square feet.
This would put it on par with the Tesla showroom under development in CF Lime Ridge Mall in Hamilton, Ontario, which was billed as the automaker’s largest location in Canada at more than 60,000 square feet.
The building will require $1.3 million worth of renovations, according to a permit filed with the city. When complete will feature a showroom, service area, and office space for employees. According to the lease listing the building was constructed in 1989 but renovated in 2018, and features 150 parking stalls.
Tesla has been looking to expand into the Halifax area for more than two years. Drive Tesla first reported on job postings seeking Sales Advisors and Service Technicians in Dartmouth back in October 2020, but nothing materialized in the months that followed.
The new Service Center will be a welcomed addition for owners in the area. Tesla currently services owner vehicles through Mobile Service and a lease of three service bays at Chapman Autobody, the province’s only Tesla certified collision repair center in the Atlantic provinces.
According to Kurt Sampson, executive director of the Electric Vehicle Association of Atlantic Canada, there are now about 850 Teslas in Nova Scotia, up from the last estimate of about 750 in January.
One of those was Canada’s first Tesla police car, which is now on duty in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia.
Tesla Model 3 joins Nova Scotia’s Bridgewater Police Service
