City sells $1.35-mill of property for two new developments
By Castlegar Source
The City of Castlegar will soon be $1.35 million richer, according to a press release issued today.
“The City of Castlegar has sold two city-owned properties to private sector interests (pending public notification period),” said the release. “The former City Centre Motel site at 1101 – 2nd Street ($145,000) has been purchased by a developer who intends to build multi-family housing on the site, targeted at the College’s rapidly growing student population.”
The release went on to say that a five-acre parcel at the West Kootenay Centre lands adjacent to the West Kootenay Regional Airport ($1,200,000) has been purchased by a developer who intends to construct commercial services on the site.
“This is a first sale of what will ultimately be mixed-use commercial development of the 39 acre site – the last remaining large block of commercial lands in the West Kootenays.”
Mayor Lawrence Chernoff said this is an important step forward in the city’s economic diversification.
“These purchases indicate strength of investment interest in Castlegar,” says Mayor Lawrence Chernoff. “These developments mean jobs and economic growth for our community, and a new housing option that will support the vibrancy of Selkirk College. Together with a number of other initiatives on the go, we are working hard to be a community that residents are proud of, and that is investment and tourism-friendly.”
The money from the City Centre Motel site will likely go to reimbursing the city for the demolition of the condemned building in 2011, according to city CAO Chris Barlow, who added the $1.2 million from the sale of the airport parcel will probably go toward developing an intersection to access the large block of commercial properties.
“In both cases, the developers have a six-month due diligence window to prove the viability of their project,” Barlow said. “In both cases, if development doesn’t move forward, the city has reserved the right to buy the land back at the same price.”
He said we’ll know more about timelines and potential ground-breaking in the months to come.
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