Apartment construction in Halifax prices on two decisions more than any others: structure (wood frame or cast-in-place concrete) and height (mid-rise or high-rise). The Altus Group 2026 Canadian Cost Guide prints a band for each combination — here they are, as published, with the caveats the rows carry.
| Building type | Printed range | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Mid-rise, wood frame | $205–$255 CAD per sq ft | Altus Group 2026 p. 5 |
| Mid-rise, cast-in-place concrete | $250–$345 CAD per sq ft | Altus Group 2026 p. 5 |
| High-rise, cast-in-place concrete | $305–$375 CAD per sq ft | Altus Group 2026 p. 5 |
All ranges are hard construction costs only.
All three rows are printed by the same guide on the same page — this is a side-by-side reading of one publisher's table, not a blend.
Altus 2026 band covers condominium/apartment buildings up to 6 storeys; the mid_rise_apt cell spans 5-10 storeys, so the upper part of the cell is not covered by this band. Altus 2026 prints identical values for Calgary and Edmonton in 53 of 57 building types (this type is one of the four exceptions); Winnipeg reads as Edmonton minus a flat 5 on both ends in most rows and appears derived rather than independently measured. Source row: "Up to 6 Storey Wood Framed Condo" (Altus 2026 Canadian Cost Guide, page 5).
Hard construction costs only. Excludes land, legal, marketing, off-property site services, purchaser upgrades, tenant incentives, property taxes, municipal fees, soil and environmental tests, contingencies, management costs, levies, professional fees, equipment and furnishings, insurance and bond costs. Excludes GST/HST/QST; includes PST where applicable. Altus printed type: "Up to 12 Storeys" (CONDOMINIUMS/APARTMENTS). Altus prints this band as 'Up to 12 Storeys' concrete condominium/apartment. Our mid-rise cell is defined as 5-10 storeys, so the printed band spans a wider height range than the cell: it covers 1-12 storeys. Loaded under mid_rise_apt with cast-in-place concrete to keep the structural system honest; read the coverage as the publisher's, not the cell's.
Hard construction costs only. Excludes land, legal, marketing, off-property site services, purchaser upgrades, tenant incentives, property taxes, municipal fees, soil and environmental tests, contingencies, management costs, levies, professional fees, equipment and furnishings, insurance and bond costs. Excludes GST/HST/QST; includes PST where applicable. Altus printed type: "13-39 Storeys" (CONDOMINIUMS/APARTMENTS).
Structure is the fork
Read the first two rows against each other: same occupancy, same city, same publisher — the concrete band starts roughly where the wood band tops out. That gap is the price of the structural system, not of location or finish. It's why early feasibility work should treat wood versus concrete as a cost decision, not just an engineering one.
Height moves the band again. The high-rise concrete row sits above the mid-rise concrete row on both ends — taller structures carry different lateral systems, foundations, vertical transport and code obligations, and the printed range reflects it.
Read the caveats before you use the numbers
Every row above is hard construction costs only — land, soft costs, municipal charges, financing and HST are excluded; the full exclusion list prints on each figure. Two rows also carry a coverage caveat we reproduce rather than smooth over: the publisher's wood-frame band covers buildings up to six storeys while our mid-rise cell spans five to ten, and the concrete band is printed for buildings up to twelve storeys. Where a printed band covers a wider height range than the cell name suggests, we say so on the figure instead of silently mapping it.
What the corpus does not print for Halifax apartments: a low-rise (four storeys or fewer) row, and a band specific to purpose-built rental as distinct from condominium construction. We don't extend a printed band past its printed coverage — if your project is a four-storey rental, the honest answer is that this guide doesn't cover it, and we'll tell you that rather than guess.
Run your own cell
The free cost check resolves occupancy, structure and finish tier against the live corpus and returns the cited band with its source — or a refusal, with nothing charged, where no guide covers the cell.