A developer says it will probably take about five years to fully build out Chinook Estates, the former high school track and field area behind Grouchy Daddy's.
A ribbon cutting ceremony was held July 11 for Phase 1 of that project, a four-storey, 22-unit condo building.
In total, Chinook Estates covers about 3.37 hectares. The land used to serve as a track and field facility for Olds High School. But when the high school was moved to its present location adjacent to Olds College, the land was no longer needed for that purpose.
Josh Remai, president of Spanwest Building Corporation, the firm constructing buildings in the area, says plans are now being formulated for development of the remainder of the site, which has been divided up into five lots.
Remai said ideas include creating a kind of strip mall behind Grouchy Daddy's to provide space for doctors, dentists, etc.
Other ideas include development of another condo or townhouse project, apartments for rent, and possibly a hotel. A small park would also be located on the east end of the site.
"Right now we're just in the development stage of producing some financial numbers on how many units would be acceptable on each piece of property and how much money it would cost to build those, to see if it's a feasible investment or not," Remai said.
He projected the total cost of developing the site over five years to be about $32 million.
"It's really going to transform this piece of property that didn't earn anybody any tax money into quite a lucrative (space)," Remai said.
"And it's also going to build out the centre of Olds, which the town really thinks is important -- we think it's important as well -- to keep people in the downtown area. You guys have a nice downtown."
A road in the shape of a cul-de-sac has been developed into the area. Remai said it's a northward extension of 51st Avenue. It will eventually feature traffic lights at the intersection with Highway 27 (46th Street).
Remai said at the moment at least, there are no plans to develop any more roads in the property.
He told the Albertan the existing condo building and the plans for another condo building or apartments or townhouses reflect council's desire to increase the population density in the downtown core.
Remai also predicted the other buildings constructed on the site will not be any higher than the current condo building in order to meet that goal of higher density without getting too high.
He described the density envisaged as "medium density."
"It's quite an aggressive plan that the town and us put together. And I think so far, it's done really well," Remai said.
"So we're really excited to cut the ribbon on the building -- the first one -- and hopefully we'll be able to create some more jobs and some more economic activity in Olds over the next five years probably."
Mayor Mike Muzychka is also pleased to see redevelopment of the area underway.
When a public hearing was held on bylaws for the project in February 2017, some residents objected to the proposal, fearing it would hurt their property values, as well as increase noise and traffic.
Muzychka said the town and Spanwest Building Corporation have taken steps to solve those issues, primarily by redesigning access for condo residents.
Now, they can only access the property via the cul-de-sac. They are not allowed to utilize a lane on the north end of the property. It's reserved for emergency vehicles like fire trucks and ambulances.
"Josh has been fantastic and Chinook Estates has been fantastic and worked with us to address those concerns and lighten the load off of this laneway," Muzychka said.
He said Spanwest has also planted several trees and shrubs and undertaken other landscaping to make the area more attractive.
