The Nova Scotia government has banked a prominent piece of land in Halifax’s south end.

On Thursday, the province closed a deal to buy the former office and property of the Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia on South Street for $19 million. The money comes from the government’s strategic land fund.

“As a growing province, we need to be strategic about land purchases and take action when opportunities arise,” Public Works Department spokesperson Toby Koffman said in a statement.

“Acquiring land this way allows us to take a longer-term view that will yield better value for Nova Scotians.”

Koffman said there are no current plans for the land, but he noted that purchases from the strategic land fund are used for things such as health care, housing and transportation.

The property on South Street is in an area where there have been a lot of recent housing developments, is a block from the Victoria General Hospital and IWK Health Centre and is near Dalhousie University and Saint Mary’s University.

Cabinet signed off on the purchase earlier this month using an order-in-council.

Karen Adams, CEO of the Workers’ Compensation Board, said in a statement that the money from the property sale will go toward supporting benefits owed to people injured on the job and their families over the long term.

“This sale is a step forward for the financial sustainability of the workers’ compensation system,” she said.

WCB moved to a new office in Dartmouth last November.

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