INNISFAIL – The first big move forward for new housing in town has been made by an Ontario-based developer to turn more than 136 acres of pioneer farmland near the northeast shoreline of Dodd’s Lake into a modern resort-style development.
The move to construct 101 townhouses above the northeast shoreline of Dodd’s Lake, located to the north of 50th Street and west of 50th Avenue (C&E Trail), follows town council’s formal approval of the overall project on Aug. 28.
The ambitious 10-phase development plan is expected to take more than a decade to complete.
The developer, Evertrust (Innisfail) Inc., has plans to build hundreds of top-end homes, including high density townhouses, lower density single-detached dwelling homes, semi-detached (duplex) dwelling units and multi-family residential units.
There is also a plan to have a central community node fronting onto Dodd’s Lake that features mixed-use, at-grade commercial buildings and four to six storey residential units.
On Oct. 17, the town’s Municipal Planning Commission (MPC) conditionally approved the new 10.3-acre residential subdivision; the overall project’s first phase that will have one environmental reserve lot, three municipal reserve lots and 101 residential high density (R4) lots.
Meghan Jenkins, community services director for the Town of Innisfail, noted the conditional approval is dependent on Evertrust Development satisfying eight conditions set out in a subdivision report prepared for the town by Red Deer’s Parkland Community Planning Services.
“This is a definitely a next step and a milestone in the process but how quickly these conditions are fulfilled is really up to the developer, as well as how quickly something will actually start happening on the site,” said Jenkins.
The most important condition facing Evertrust is satisfying the town that all arrangements for servicing the subdivision have been made in accordance to Section 655 of the provincial Municipal Government Act.
These include the planning and engineering work needed for public roadways, public utilities, other public and franchised services, as well as future connections to municipal water and/or sanitary sewer services, and payment of applicable offsite levies.
Jenkins added all eight conditions must be met before the subdivision is registered at a provincial land titles office and actual land parcels are created for sale.
She said subdivision approval is valid for a year, but the developer can request an extension if those conditions are not met within that time frame.
Jenkins said when all conditions are met, with engineering plans for services approved by the town, actual townhouse housing construction can begin on the project’s first phase.
The anticipated starting price point for these townhouse units is $299,000.
However, Jenkins emphasized the timing of the construction of the first phase is “entirely in the court” of the developer.
Mayor Jean Barclay, a strong proponent for more quality housing in the town, is hopeful the first phase project will move forward in 2024 with the 101 townhouses.
“There's a huge housing issue that needs to be addressed. Certainly, that type of housing (townhouses) is just what we need, certainly one of many types of housing but that fits the bill,” said Barclay, noting there has been “momentum” over the past year with commercial development in town.
“There's a lot of momentum and you hope housing is going to be a part of that,” added Barclay. “But it takes time and at times it can be frustrating for everybody.
“I know we get a lot of feedback on housing issues and lack of housing,” she said. “It's not easy to move things forward the way you want to.”
