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City aims to purchase Bayview Estates Simon Whitehouse Northern News Services Published Friday, March 23, 2012
No construction has taken place on the 7.31-acre Niven Lake property in close to five years. Former owner Bond Street Properties was in the midst of building a 24-unit condo project before abandoning it. Mrdjenovich and his company Nova Builders purchased the property in late December 2009 but it remains idle. The city expropriated a 900-square-metre piece of the property last year to house water and sewer lines, a move that was bitterly fought by Mrdjenovich. But the bad blood seems to have been set aside now that the city wants all of the land. The area is zoned R3, which is multi-residential, which can provide for townhouses and up to four-storey apartment buildings. Mrdjenovich said he is optimistic the city will complete the purchase within the next few months. "I think they are going to buy it, I guess these days you have to be optimistic," said Mrdjenovich, who did not disclose a sale price. "Well, I just got my money back, no profit, no nothing. But it is OK. Better than a poke in the eye." The property was listed at $5.6 million on the Coldwell Banker website before he bought it. Even though the purchase hasn't been finalized that didn't stop the city from issuing a request for proposals to developers last week. Council had directed administration to go ahead with requests for proposals, March 12. The deadline for submissions is Monday. Council is expected to approve the final submissions through land and disposal bylaws that will come not too long after the deadline. "If the city was to obtain the land, they would have do an acquisition bylaw," said Mayor Gord Van Tighem. "If the city was to sell the land, they would have to do a disposal bylaw." If there are any changes in the lot survey, like cutting it into smaller parcel, council would be responsible for resurveying, depending on the submissions. Van Tighem said the city is hopeful building will take place by spring in order to address the city's housing needs. "There's an agreement in place allowing the property to be sold so that other people can build there," he said. "The best way to do something is without having to do any money," he said, adding that flipping the property would be the ideal situation for the city to pay for the property to avoid "taxpayer participation." "The key thing is we have sat with an eyesore for a number of years now and hopefully we have found a way that is manageable for the community to develop it into housing that we definitely need." City discussions on purchasing the property have been ongoing since a closed-door hearing was held Oct. 27 to deal with the expropriation issue. "Bayview has been like a millstone around the neck of the city, even though it is a beautiful piece of land, because it has been tied up in bankruptcies and resales and property speculation. It is not being addressed," said city councillor David Wind. "Depending on if the proposals are such that it makes sense to go ahead, we may have a solution to Bayview Estates." Wind says he would like to make sure future development is compatible with surrounding homes, and that it will not put taxpayer money at risk. Coun. Bob Brooks says how the project will proceed will depend on what proposals come in. "We are looking at trying to find a way to bring these properties out for the public to give us new proposals," he said. "Somebody may wish to reinvigorate the project which I doubt. Either way, parcels will be a lot smaller, so it allows for a lot more developers to utilize the potential of the area." Other city councillors questioned also view the recent developments as a good news story that will allow development to proceed. "If all the RFPs get fulfilled which we suspect they will, we know there is reasonable interest out there," said city Coun. Cory Vanthuyne, adding the city won't sit on the land, but wants to get the lots out to winning proponents before spring.
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