The pending deal of the Medicine Hat Arena has expired, the city and local developer NewRock announced on Tuesday, with both sides stating they don't expect talks to resume.--News Photo Collin Gallant
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant
City Hall and a local developer are both stepping back from a three-year-old proposed deal to see the Medicine Hat Arena site turned into a higher-end residential tower, according to a release Tuesday morning.
NewRock Developments and the city’s land office came to a tentative sales agreement in 2019 to swap the land in exchange for either side paying either demolition costs, utility servicing costs as well as some tax subsidy.
That had not been finalized however, as uncertainty from the pandemic persisted and deadlines were extended.
This week, both parties said in a joint statement they don’t plan to continue discussions.
“Today is a different day than when the contract was first signed,” said Rochelle Pancoast, head of the city’s strategic management and analysis office, which oversees the land department.
“The passage of time, changing economic conditions and evolving long-term city interests have created a scenario where a reset is prudent.”
Both parties state they have no further comment on the deal, but that the cancellation has not soured relations.
“Though this particular arrangement didn’t work out as planned, we remain engaged on other projects with the city and are committed to a successful professional relationship,” said Kirk Wright, chief financial officer with NewRock Developments Inc.
The company advertised in early 2020 that it hoped to build the “Alto” mid-rise condominium project, offering panoramic views of the river valley in central Medicine Hat.
City officials said the project would add a new dimension to the housing market, and provide initial focus to the “Waterfront District” redevelopment project.
Last fall the land was rezoned following an application by the city’s land office from “community service” to a recently created designation of “high-density mixed use.”
That zoning allows ground-level commercial bays in taller residential towers with lesser parking requirements.
In a release, city officials said they could have a revised plan for the site in the spring.
“Staff will revisit short-term options for the arena lands and the city would welcome NewRock and other interested parties to the table on any future proposals or marketing efforts related to the site,” said Pancoast.
The sale and tax-abatement agreement to transform the Medicine Hat Arena lands to high-end housing was considered a key economic growth strategy by the previous city council. It was hailed as a way to spark redevelopment in a central area while clearing the need for the city to demolish the rink, which had been closed since 2017.
The original deal, announced in 2019, would have seen the land transferred at no cost to NewRock, which would become responsible an estimated $3 million in work to demolish and contain asbestos or chemical residue from the cooling system at the 50-year old facility.
Council agreed to subdivide the land and upgrade utility and road access to the site, which eventually cost $2.7 million.
Further, council granted a new-at-the-time tax abatement strategy that forgive a total of $400,000 of the resulting building’s tax bill over several years.
No tax break was eventually paid however, as the closing date was extended through the economic uncertainty of 2020, then further as several planned “farewell to the Arena” events passed without demolition proceeding.
Since the 2019 tentative agreement, the province loosened restrictions on when and how much property tax subsidies can be offered by cities to entice development.
