Town council has committed spending $3.75 million to start construction on a new high-end residential development at Napoleon Lake.
In approving the expenditure, which is to be funded from the town's Land Acquisition/Servicing Reserve, town council was told by administration it will be recouped by the sales of lots, which is hoped to bring in about $5.1 million.
Craig Teal, the town's director of planning and development, told council on Aug. 26 the new development will cover an area of just under 13 acres on the east side of Napoleon Lake. The new neighbourhood, which will be called Napoleon Meadows, will have 42 single detached dwellings in a “p” loop road network design that is currently popular in the City of Red Deer but unique to Innisfail.
“They (p loops) tend to be very popular because they have public space in the middle and they are on a dead-end road,” said Teal, adding the area has access to park and open space amenities such as the trail system and Centennial Park. “We have a lot of traditional cul-de-sacs and crescents but this is our first p loop layout.”
Council's Aug. 26 approval for the project to move forward now means the project goes from the conceptual stage to detailed design. It also means the town will now proceed with construction of the new neighbourhood, which is being split into two phases.
Phase 1 will see the construction of new roads, sanitary sewer connections, water lines, sidewalks and streetlights. Phase II will see landscaping and the addition of park amenities at an estimated additional cost of $580,000.
“It is not a geographic phase one or two. It's more of taking on all the infrastructure necessary to make the concept reality,” said Teal. “In one budget we are going to do all the pipes and the roads, and another budget because we can hold off doing all the landscaping, tree planting and path construction in the open space area.”
Teal said the lot sizes for Napoleon Meadows would be larger than what has been seen in recent years in Innisfail. He said seven R-1A type lots would have a minimum width of 66 feet fronting onto 60 Avenue and facing west towards Napoleon Lake. The other 35 medium-sized R-1B type lots will have a minimum width of 52 feet fronting onto the subdivision's internal p-loop road. The size of the new lots compare to the town's traditional lot width size of 48 feet, noted Teal.
“It will be a very nice neighbourhood. Not sure on the nicest part,” said Teal, adding the town is also involved in the new high-end Upland Aspen area for high-end condos. “Some of them (in Napoleon Meadows) will have nice views into the lake.”
He said he is hoping groundwork for Napoleon Meadows will begin before the end of 2013 or by the spring of 2014 at the latest.
Teal said he is expecting lots to be ready for sale by late July or early August in 2014. He said prices for the lots have not yet been set.
