Jorge Barrera
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Nov 09/01) - City council is expected to make more building lots available in a bid to ease the housing crunch.

Members of the Public Services Committee voted Tuesday to recommend council offer 18 new lots in Niven Lake's second phase for development. Eight lots remain unsold in the first phase, but they have been deemed "considerably less desirable for building" due to the fact that the lots have too much or not enough bedrock.

Yellowknifer has learned that at least two parties have shown interest in purchasing lots in the second phase. It's going to cost the city between $500,000 to $800,000 to get the lots ready for development. With water and sewer pipes already in the ground and the skeleton of a road built, the city still needs to build a lift station.

The move still needs full council approval.

Mayor Gord Van Tighem said the city is also close to signing a deal that would release 60 residential lots near Kam Lake to developers.

The city is also looking at ways to boost residential development in the downtown core using tax breaks and grants.

"The premise of these incentives is that there is a fair bit of room for redevelopment in the downtown core," said Dave Jones, city planner.

But future stimulus and development is doing little to ease the crunch now.

Yellowknife is hovering near a zero vacancy rate -- technically the rate is two per cent. Only 35 five homes appear in current sale listings.

"This is extremely low," said Shane Clark, president of the Yellowknife real estate board.

Low income crunch

This is a huge drop from the 300 homes on the block and an 11 per cent vacancy rate in the summer of 1998, he said.

Lyda Fuller, executive director of the YWCA, said the housing crunch is stressing her organization's resources and putting lower income people in tough positions.

"I can't tell you how many are in a housing crisis, but I can tell you we get a few phone calls from people who are beside themselves looking," she said.

The YWCA hopes to build low-cost apartments and is looking at federal lands around the city, said Fuller.

Fuller thinks the city should re-examine its role in spurring more low-end residential development.

She points to Fraser Tower's recent change from apartment block to hotel as a backward step the city should have avoided.

Coun. Ben McDonald said there is little the city can do if everything falls within zoning guidelines.

"We have to find solutions that wouldn't run us afoul of the law," said McDonald.

Fraser Towers sits in a high-density residential zone but still managed to turn half of the apartments into hotel rooms on a zoning loophole.

One developer is taking advantage of the rental squeeze.

Mike Mrdjenovich's Nova Construction is building a 60-unit apartment building near Rat Lake.

Clark expects another major move from developers before the snow melts.

"There'll be something happening," he said. Clark didn't reveal any more details.

Van Tighem said the city overreacted in the past and got itself into trouble over similar situations.

It's time to let professional developers to do their job, he said.

"We are going about this in the right way," said Van Tighem. "Right now we are in a slow time."