Nathan VanderKlippe
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Jan 11/02) - Through all of the debate and ongoing efforts concerning development at Niven Lake, one factor has remained constant: the lots are just too expensive.

The original plan for the subdivision called for 366 single-family units in the area. So far, 25 of those have been opened for sale (of which eight remain unsold) and another 18 will be made available through a ballot draw Jan. 18.

But the average cost for a developed lot there has been around $75,000, tens of thousands more than lots typically cost in the private sector.

"Development costs are extremely high in the Niven Lake area due to the variation in contours of the rock outcrops and things like that, which adds to the development cost," said lands manager Monte Christensen.

"The original scheme was designed to accommodate mainly single-family lots," he said. "(But) if we can increase the number of units in the area without increasing the cost to the linear infrastructure -- roads, water and sewage -- we can reduce the average development cost per unit."

So the city has sat down with representatives from the local business community and all levels of government to hammer out a new plan for Niven Lake.

Although the results of the consultations won't be finalized until they come before council in a few weeks, preliminary plans call for significant changes to the area. Key among them is putting large segments of houses onto trucked services to cut costs. A first glimpse at the new map also shows that space originally allocated for a possible school will be transformed into medium-density houses.

When all is said and done, the number of units planned for Niven Lake could be as high as 650. Although estimates vary, the reworked plan could bring the price for developed lots down to $35,000.

That is, if city plans go through. By the end of January, 43 lots will be up for sale, with another 86 ready for the auction block later this year.

But council is still pursuing the idea of selling off the entire area in one fell swoop. That idea emerged briefly last year, but soon died from lack of interest.

Selling the land in one huge chunk would allow some economies of scale, especially by allowing the use of blasted rock from one area as fill in another area, rather than carrying out the two operations independently.

Now, Mayor Gord Van Tighem said he has been in discussions with five developers about the land.

One suggestion that has emerged from those discussions is that the city zone the land for development -- and retain control over its progress through the development permit process -- but give the land away for free to developers. Some developers have argued that the city would quickly recoup its costs in tax revenue.

But the city has already poured $3.3 million into the property, of which it has regained just over $1 million in land sales, leaving it with a $2.27-million Niven Lake debt burden.

Instead, said Van Tighem, the city could sell the land at the typical per-acre going rate of undeveloped land, and leave the rest to local contractors.

Either way, Van Tighem said, a reworking of the map "needs to be precluded by finding a developer or developers that want to work with it. So my focus has been on talking to developers and trying to get something going that way. That's the only way we'll get any volume."

He added that council will have to review "whether the city wants to continue as developer or whether we want to open that up for private development."