The former Scouts Hall in Crestwood and 1.4-acre parcel is subject to a new sales agreement to make way for new townhouse development, it was revealed at Monday night's council meeting.--News photo Collin Gallant
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant
The former Scouts Hall on Cuyler Road could be demolished to make way for new townhouses, according to an outline of a potential sale agreement presented on Monday to city council.
The facility, which sat on a city-owned parcel, was acquired by the municipal land department last summer for $1 from Scouts Canada while the city assumed liabilities related to demolishing the building that contained asbestos and amounts of lead in the downstairs firing range.
Council was told Monday that officials were ready to finalize a sale for the 1.4-acre lot at 79 Cuyler Rd., for $415,000 to an unnamed private-sector development company.
The initial plan is for the buyer to demolish the 3,700-square-foot building and construct 40-42 townhome units in three buildings.
The land, which backs onto a linear park and is near the east gates of the Medicine Hat Stampede Grounds, is currently zoned for community services. Large townhome developments sit to the east of the property.
The lot was listed by Invest Medicine Hat in November with an asking price of $668,000. Council must approve sales that show a substantial difference between list and final prices, which occurred Monday.
Administrators say the new offer represents fair market value for the site, which will be sold “as is, where is.”
Use of the land had been leased to the Scouts for 70 years, but the national organization began a Canada-wide campaign to reduce its overhead in the last decade.
Five years ago, a parents group attempted to rally support to take over local ownership and operations of the hall, but that effort failed and the Scouts began advertising the facility for sale in 2017.
