House of Eights, known as Atlantic Canada’s premiere drop-in dance studio, has recently opened its doors in a new location at 5562 Sackville Street.
Southwest Properties’ Sackville Street location allowed for an exciting business expansion, featuring 3 dance studios, ranging from 1,100-1,500 square feet each, for over 35 dance classes a week, covering various styles ranging from jazz funk, k-pop, heels, contemporary, and more.
This was the vision that led its founder, Abady Alzahrani, to open his first studio 4 years ago. “Back then, there was a real need in Halifax for a place where people could just drop-in to practice and learn dance, and after testing the waters with a small sublet unit, classes filled-up pretty quickly, so I decided to go for it and found a bigger space a number of months later.”
With growing community support and the need to find a new location, Abady connected with Southwest to become a commercial tenant. “I knew Southwest as being a reputable company and landlord, having experienced it firsthand when I lived in one of its residential buildings, so when the space opened up, I connected immediately to become a commercial tenant.”
Colin Beiswanger, Commercial Leasing Manager for Southwest properties expresed excitement to have House of Eights in the Sackville Street property. “Abady is a fantastic owner/operator who has a passion for what he does.” Beiswanger added that the studio is a great addition to the area which has developed with an emphasis on health and wellness spaces, from the John W. Lindsay YMCA to Queensberry Rules Boxing Studio and now House of Eights.
The studio owner’s vision for the new studio was brought to life in under three months, with Alzahrani and Southwest collaborating on the design and buildout to make it a reality.