Potential sale of Flats parcel to Meadowlands

By Collin Gallant on December 19, 2018.

cgallant@medicinehatnews.com @CollinGallant

A move to sell obscure blocks of property from the city’s land bank has resulted in its first sale and a plan to build a five-storey condo building in the River Flats near the South Saskatchewan River.

On Monday council heard a lengthy hearing and debate on rezoning a parcel of open space land on Primrose Drive for potential sale to condo developers.

However, a lesser known item later in the agenda saw the council approve the sales process for a different parcel, located at 954 Second St. SE to local company Meadowlands Development Corp.

The two parcels were among five placed on the market this fall by the city’s land department in an effort to meet council’s wish to get excess land off the books and spur private sector development in existing communities.

The land on Second Street, located between Luthor and Parkside Manors and Lions’ Park, is subject of a $574,000 conditional sale, which includes a 10 per cent deposit and a closing date of June 28, 2019.

“It’s a great piece of dirt that came on the market and we put in an expression of interest and now a purchase agreement,” said Curtis Presber, Meadowlands’ chief financial officer. “We’re excited to get going on it.”

The building, located behind the Lions Park berm with a great view of the river valley, would have underground parking, main-floor public businesses, then four floors with a total of about 50 condo units, Presber said of initial plans.

“The views from all floors of this should be outstanding and with the berm now, there’s mitigated flood concerns. It should be fun but we don’t yet have a definitive timeline.”

The currently vacant land comprises about three-quarters of an acre and is already zoned for medium-density residential development, though adding commercial space would require a change to mixed-use designation.

The lot sits between Luthor Manor and Lions’ Park, near the intersection of Second Street with Woodman Avenue.

Such development was envisioned in the River Flats Redevelopment Plan, approved in 2012, which calls for a mix of multi-family residential and commercial spaces nearest the river and Arena area in the North Flats.

Monday’s public hearing on the Primrose lot included a philosophical defence of infill development from several councillors.

While imploring councillors to vote against the Primrose changes, Mayor Ted Clugston told members that redevelopment on several other parcels in the city inventory would be welcome by neighbours and communities.

During the land and properties budget presentation, general manager Grant MacKay said the department expects relatively slow residential lot sales to continue across the city, but “substantial” infill development projects could move ahead in 2019.

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