There has been a significant amount of development in the last 5 years between Burnside Dr. and Hwy 118, most notably the creation of Dartmouth Crossing, but there has also been a lot of new building in Burnside. While most of these buildings are tilt up basic concrete and steel boxes housing all sorts of private sector business.
not aesthetically pleasing but cheap and functional.
However some public sector entities have been setting up and they seem to have much more money for designer custom buildings.
New RCMP Headquarters
Canadian Blood Services
NS Coroners Office
Source: http://halifax.retales.ca/public-vs-private-burnside/