A plot of land along College Drive that was once marketed as "Connaught Commons" is back on the market, according to the city's land department, after a conditional sale first announced in 2018 has fallen through.--News Photo Collin Gallant
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant
A controversial condo site is going back on the market four years after it was rezoned toward building a 61-unit development on the current green space in central Medicine Hat.
On Monday the city’s land department announced it is now accepting “expressions of interest” for 3.2 acres of land near College Drive and Primrose Drive.
That parcel was the subject of a $1-million conditional sales agreement made in 2019 between the city and Enclave Developments, which planned to build a 61-unit housing development on the site.
Officials with the company, which saw senior management changes two years ago, told the News last month it would focus on its “Coulee Ridge” residential community in the city’s southwest rather than the “Connaught Commons,” which was subject to design and architectural requirements, such as no vinyl siding, by the city.
A new listing price of $1.2 million is attached to Connaught land zoned for medium-density residential development and has similar guidelines in place.
A new marketing process calls for interested parties to make submissions by Apr. 28.
Residents in the Connaught community opposed the 2018 sale and development citing the loss of green space, traffic and ground water problems on the site that neighbours College Drive and the Connaught pond.
Three of nine councillors opposed the sale of the land that was once proposed as an alternative site for the Veiner Centre reconstruction. A rezoning application the following year was approved unanimously after Enclave Developments proposed some mitigation efforts and unveiled the plans showing a variety of ground-level, duplexes and town-home style housing in a bareland community.
The parcel was one of several marketed after council adopted a plan to see the land department evaluate its inventory and sell off land considered surplus to municipal needs. That was meant to spur private-sector development, and, in particular, investment within existing communities.
More recently council endorsed the previous council’s goal of encouraging redevelopment along existing municipal infrastructure lines to boost the tax base with new construction without adding costs of extending roads or utility lines.
