Planned apartment appears stalled
Developer has yet to buy land after saying he hoped to begin construction before winter
Shane Magee
Northern News Services
Wednesday, April 19, 2017
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A developer who planned to build a three-story, 26-unit apartment building on School Draw Avenue has yet to purchase any land for the development.
Alberta developer Robert Findlay speaks at a city municipal services committee meeting last August about plans to build an apartment building on School Draw Avenue - NNSL file photo |
Alberta-based developer Robert Findlay told Yellowknifer last August that in a perfect world, he wanted to get construction underway before cold weather set in last winter.
No purchase agreement has been signed with the city for the 2,618 square metre property at the entrance to Tin Can Hill. The land remains listed for sale at $585,000.
"The property is still available for whoever comes – if we have a new purchaser, we will contact this one and let him know," said Wenyan Yu, acting director of planning and development for the city.
Findlay, of Findlay Group Inc. in Calgary, is the son of former Yellowknife mayor Robert Findlay.
Findlay had been in contact with the city as recently as March to say he was still dealing with "internal procedures," Yu stated in an e-mail on April 13.
That broke several months of silence.
The Findlay Group website is no longer active. An e-mail, voicemail and Facebook message seeking an interview for this story were not returned. In an interview in March before he made contact again, Yu said the city last heard from him in December, when he asked the city about potentially getting a tax abatement on the property.
"I think he's still considering the feasibility issue regarding this lot and he didn't move forward because he asked if we can provide further abatement," she said.
"We have standard signing terms and conditions so there's no tax abatement on this."
In June last year, Findlay approached the city, saying he was interested in developing the property.
Plans presented to councillors in August last year show a building constructed of shipping containers that Findlay said would be "lower-price-point" apartments.
He's worked on affordable housing projects in the Calgary area in recent years, he told council in August.
The zoning for the site limited it to a 21-unit building, so Findlay came to council seeking approval for a zoning variance.
That was granted in August. After the meeting, Findlay said he still had several steps to go before starting construction such as geo-technical and environmental reports about the land.
After the purchase, he said he would seek a development permit.
Neighbours raised concerns the development would cause issues with parking and traffic.
The lot he sought to develop has been on the market since 2012.
The city has received multiple expressions of interest however, due the financial and environmental challenges, no agreement has been reached.
