The Town of Olds has confirmed that Cam Clark Ford is in the process of buying the entire former site of Olds High School off of Highway 27.
The Town of Olds has confirmed that Cam Clark Ford is in the process of buying the entire former site of Olds High School off of Highway 27.
Norm McInnis, the town’s chief administrative officer, said the town has helped Chinook’s Edge School Division, which owns the land, market the property.
In return, the school division dedicated the strip of land the town is using to extend 51 Avenue to Highway 27 to the town.
A new intersection is necessary where 51 Avenue meets the highway and McInnis said a developer looking to buy the former high school property is responsible for the costs of the intersection.
"And that (developer) is Cam Clark," he said.
A representative of Cam Clark Ford has told the Olds Albertan earlier this year that the company was looking at the possibility of building a dealership on the eastern part of the property, which is for sale.
But this is the first time it has been reported the company is looking to buy the entire property, which is now separated into two sections by the extension of 51 Avenue.
The Cam Clark Ford representative declined to comment on the pending purchase of the full property.
McInnis said the company is in the process of submitting a foundation plan for the eastern parcel that will serve as a primary dealership but he was not sure what the company’s plans are for the west parcel.
It is on the west parcel of the property that a spruce tree donated by a now-deceased Olds College horticulture instructor and planted by a retired French teacher from the high school in 1995 now stands.
The demolition company that knocked the school down in 2010 left the tree standing at the request of the school division and the community and a number of people in town want the tree saved or moved if the property is developed.
Although moving the tree to the current high school site in the east part of Olds was considered, that course of action is deemed expensive and risky to the tree’s survival.
The town and school division have stated they would do what they could to protect the tree when the property is sold.
Allan Tarnoczi, Chinook’s Edge School Division’s assistant superintendent of corporate services, would not comment on any bid to purchase the property, other than to say it was still for sale.
He did say a number of parties have expressed interest in the property and any proposal to buy the land would have to be approved by the school division’s board.
As for the extension of 51 Avenue, McInnis said the town is carrying out the work on the intersection of the roadway and the highway and Cam Clark Ford will reimburse the town for that work.
"All of those discussions have taken place with Cam. He’ll be paying back approximately $400,000 for the highway intersection back to the town as part of his development agreement."
Although there is no plan to install traffic lights at the intersection now, once 51 Avenue is extended beyond the highway in the future and the school division’s property north of the highway—which is not included in the pending sale to Cam Clark Ford— is developed, McInnis said lights will then likely be a requirement.
The new section of 51 Avenue is tentatively scheduled to open on Sept. 18.
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