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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Homes North paid more than $1,140,000 in land, cash and services for the property it plans to covert into a subdivision of as many as 120 manufactured homes near Kam Lake, according to information released by the Department of Public Works and Services.

The price is based on an appraised value of $840,000 for three downtown lots the company traded to the territorial government for the development land, plus $300,000 in cash Homes North paid to "offset any differences in value," said Brian Nagel, director of infrastructure and operations.

Homes North will also cover the cost of clearing the site occupied by the Pentecostal Church on 49 Street to make way for a new office building adjacent to the government's Stuart M. Hodgson Building.

The appraised value of the subdivision land, a swath of forest and rock between Kam Lake and the North Slave Correctional Centre was $925,000, said Nagel.

"How do developers make any money?" Nagel wondered.

One way is to pass on costs to home buyers.

The estimated cost of homes in the new subdivision is $340,000 per unit, Homes North developer Les Rocher told a special meeting of city council on Monday, but that could increase by $17,000 if the city sticks to its demand that Homes North pay in advance for servicing the land with roads, water and sewer lines.

"In the past, we didn't pay for infrastructure to be brought to the property line," said Rocher, who is asking the city to leave things as they were to keep prices competitive.

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