City looks at servicing northwest land

By Collin Gallant on June 8, 2018.

cgallant@medicinehatnews.com @CollinGallant

Councillors could soon know cost estimates and a potential timetable for breaking and servicing a section of city land earmarked decades ago for heavy industry, a city committee heard Wednesday.

Having the 640 acres in the city’s far northwest available to offer for sale to a potential large industrial enterprise was the original plan when the area was annexed in the 1980s.

Since then, planners often said they could bring the land to market with services very quickly, if the need arose.

How that could actually happen — and more importantly, what it could cost — will be outlined soon to city council, said city land and business support manager Grant MacKay, to service the southernmost quarter-section.

He told the development and infrastructure committee this week that creating a business case for the southernmost 80 acres was launched this summer after Aurora Cannabis visited the city to site a new 1.2-million square-foot production facility.

The company eventually acquired 72 acres further south in the privately-owned Box Springs Business Park.

“That was the impetus for us to look in to the viability and cost related to (servicing) that land,” he said. “The goal is to bring that to council to weigh against their economic development program.”

At council’s direction, some planning work could be folded into the land department’s workload for 2019 and 2020, he said.

Committee member, Coun. Jim Turner, has supported the idea of having land ready to go when potential investors arrive in town.

This week he said he’s looking forward to seeing the land department’s study, but servicing land before its needed can be costly.

Also, companies typically have a project timeline of several years, as well as particular utility needs that may not match what’s in the ground.

“It could be very pricey, and do we invest $10 million to $15 million because ‘maybe’ we’d be able to sell that land?” he told the News.

“It’s a catch-22. But in every other community you go to, you see signs, ‘industrial park serviced land’,” said Coun. Jim Turner. “We don’t have that.”

Extending sewer, water, gas and power lines, as well as drainage and roads requires an up-front investment, and the longer it remains waiting to go into use, financing costs rise.

Unused utility infrastructure also increases rates to existing ratepayers who retire the debt via utility rates.

CAO Merete Heggelund told the News it makes sense to have a blueprint and know potential costs for further developing the area.

“We’re looking at what makes sense at this point in terms of pre-investment and whether it will be part of the economic development strategy of council,” she said, adding that some work is proceeding to meet current demand.

Specifically, the Aurora and the Hut 8 data processing facilities, on city-owned, leased land off Box Springs road, led to this month’s decision to build a new power substation for the area.

“A part of it is for current customers that are coming (on to the system), and part is pre-investment for future customers that will tie in,” she said.

Earlier this year, council also approved the Northwest Storm Sewer Trunkline, which will see construction begin Monday on Saamis Drive.