Empty city lots to be used for storage
Temporary storage on 50 Street for construction materials
Cody Punter
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, July 9, 2014
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
It may be a while until three city-owned lots on 50 Street are developed, but at least the city plans to put them to use in the meantime.
Three empty lots on 50 Street purchased by the city in 2012 will remain undeveloped for at least another year according to Mayor Mark Heyck. He said the city conducted more than 300 hours worth of consultations regarding potential uses for the lots over the course of the winter. - Cody Punter/NNSL photo |
According to Mayor Mark Heyck, the city is planning to use the vacant lots between the Raven Pub and the Smart Bee Convenience Store to store construction materials, such as gravel and piping, that will be required for the recently begun reconstruction of 52 Avenue.
Council had previously discussed using that space for a parking lot or a designated food truck area after the demolition of Corner Mart and the Instaloans store last fall.
However, Heyck said using the lots for storage would help fill an immediate need for the city's busy summer construction season.
"There's not a lot of vacant space around 52 Avenue, so that's what Public Works is looking at right now," he said.
Heyck said it is unlikely any permanent development will take place on the empty lot before next summer.
He said city administration spent the winter conducting more than 300 hours worth of interviews with dozens of organizations and businesses that have a vested interest in seeing the lots developed.
The feedback from those consultations is currently being reviewed by administration and will be presented to city council sometime later this fall, he said.
"We'll determine what steps council wants to take at that point," said Heyck. "The sky is the limit right now."
Based on previous discussions, Heyck said there is a divergence of opinions among councillors as to what should happen there.
"There are some councillors who want to see them put on the market right away and try to sell them. There are other councillors who I would think would like to be more patient and wait and see if something develops over the next two or three or four years in terms of a major transformative project that could happen in that space," said Heyck.
The three lots were purchased by the city in 2012, with a view to revitalizing the downtown core. When the three properties were last taxed in 2011, they generated a combined tax revenue - including municipal and school taxes - of $16,652. While the city is currently losing annual tax revenues from letting the lots lie fallow, Heyck said the potential for the right project to breathe life into the downtown would eclipse the thousands of dollars it is currently missing out on annually.
"The opportunity for the three empty lots to revitalize the downtown into a growing, thriving downtown core with lots of new development happening is going to generate far more tax revenues in the future than whatever minor loss we see from the city owning those three properties for a year, or two, or three" said Heyck.
Deneen Everett, executive director for the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce, said the patient approach advocated by Heyck makes sense.
"Obviously, that is a high traffic area of town and it's prime downtown space, so yes, I certainly think it's reasonable for them to take their time and get it right the first time around," she said.
Everett said the chamber has been consulted by the city, but would not elaborate on the nature of those discussions. She said the chamber will weigh in again once administration brings forward its final report to council.
"Once we receive that information, we will distribute it to our membership," she said. "Then we'll provide the city with the input we hear from our membership."
