Primrose parcel ready to sell despite councillor’s concerns
By COLLIN GALLANT on May 11, 2019.
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant A potential $1.3-million price tag and sales strategy is ready for a greenspace that city council re-designated for housing development late last year, though a committee chair is concerned that building guidelines will only be fully addressed when a final sale approaches. “I think we should have done it at the onset,” said Coun. Robert Dumanowski, who heads council’s development committee, which heard the issue Wednesday. He adds that more details will be made public when the item appears on council’s May 21 agenda. “I suspect some more colourful debate.” The three-acre lot near Primrose Drive and College Drive was the subject of a heated public hearing in December as nearby residents opposed the potential medium-density development. In the end, council voted 6-3 in favour of the change, which opened up the possibility of building apartments, condos, or townhouses on the municipal parcel at the entrance to the Connaught community. On Wednesday the city’s land department presented its marketing plan including price and process of accepting proposals from private developers. From those proposals, council would select a winning proposal, and guidelines for density, building materials, streetscape and landscaping would be applied at that time, prior to a final agreement. Such a plan provides “the greatest opportunity to achieve both the best price and best development is realized,” according to item. “Site specific design guidelines will be imposed on a purchaser to ensure that the resulting multi-family development is sensitive to and consistent with the appearance of the surrounding neighbourhood,” it continues. Residents of the area said building on the site would detract from the community and bring traffic problems. Councillors approved the change however, stating that concerns could be mitigated by placing conditions on what type of building was allowed, and that the city, as the seller of the land, had power to take or leave offers that didn’t fit with the community. Dumanowski said this week that considering the controversial nature of the land, that should be settled up front as a matter of transparency. He felt the city should also engage a third party to study potential water table issues in the area, which nearby residents have argued prevented previous attempts to develop the land, which has existed for decades as a manicured greenspace. “We have a responsibility as a government, that if we have concerns that those are (disclosed) to a potential buyer,” said Dumanowski. Background provided by the land office states that some mitigation would be required and traditional foundations would likely not be allowed when building permits are approved. Administrators said in December that, in general, modern construction techniques can counteract such problems. Land administrators brought forward the proposal last fall after initial talks with a local developer about the possibility of constructing a bareland condominium complex on the site. Such subdivisions are typically detached or semi-detached structures, not multi-story complexes similar to apartment blocks. No final agreement exists, however. The potential sale meets council priorities to sell surplus land for private development and encourage projects that would add density in existing neighbourhoods, roads and utility systems as a way to boost tax and utility revenue at lower cost. The sales package notes the housing at the location – near the trail system, Medicine Hat College, other greenspace, transit service and main roads – would be desirable. The price for the vacant space breaks down to $401,700 per acre. 22-21
