The Town of Okotoks announced last week approximately one-third of the 3.3-acre D'Arcy affordable housing site is going up for sale to prospective private builders aiming to develop privately-owned, market-rate housing or possibly, additional affordable housing units.
The section of land north of Okotoks will also be home to units built in collaboration with the Brenda Stafford Society for the Prevention of Domestic Violence (BSS) and Westwinds Communities (WWC).
Development and sustainability director Jeff Greene said the original development plan was for all the land to be used for the BSS and WWC developments.
"Once we arrived at a layout that worked for them and for the Town that was the piece that was not required for either of those parties," he said.
The northeast portion of the parcel, which borders Willow Crescent, has already had interest from buyers, Greene added.
Although the Town would like to use the land sale to recoup some of the costs associated with purchasing the land, Greene said there are still plenty of options for possible developments, all of which are up for consideration.
He added that situations such as this are considered from three lenses - economic, social and environmental.
Selling the acre to a private developer for market rate housing would allow the Town some cost recovery, while installing another affordable housing project would meet various social objectives. If a plan was submitted that contained elements such as solar panels or other environmentally-minded aspects, that would meet the organization's environmental goals.
"The Town will entertain offers to purchase - we're still certainly interested and open to somebody that is interested in developing an affordable housing product on the site," he said.
Consideration of requests submitted thus far will begin in the next few weeks.
According to the Town, WWC, is set to build 52 below-market rental units in two buildings, completed in two phases. These units will provide housing for families, couples, roommates and seniors who are currently on housing wait-lists. A program for youth is also expected ot be facilitated through this build.
Phase one of the WWC construction will have 20 units, while phase two will have 32 - all combined in a 52-unit stacked townhouse development.
The BSS is set to build 42 supportive housing units with common spaces and in-house services for women and families affected by domestic violence. The Town said the development is based on the BSS' Calgary service model, which has been in place for 25 years.
The land for development was purchased by the Town in 2019 for $2.6 million, with partnering organizations taking on costs for site development, permitting and construction costs for their portions of land.
Construction on the site is expected to begin this fall, pending the securing on funding by BCC and WWC, Greene said, adding that some construction will begin this summer in the form of site servicing and access road development.
