City council has given first reading to a bylaw that would clear the way for what may be one of the most important residential developments to hit Estevan in years.
West D Construction of Regina is proposing to build a modular home park, which they are calling The Ridge, on a vacant section of land at the south end of the city. According to information provided to council, these homes would have a much lower price point than typical new residences in Estevan, making them a potential solution to the City's worrisome lack of affordable housing.
Mayor Roy Ludwig said the City is very excited about this development, which would be located on land just south of the Willow Park Greens mobile home park.
"Council has been working with our land development officer (Rob Denys) for years on what can we do to help our lower to middle income people get established so they don't have to rent forever," he said.
The proposal is similar to one the City planned to undertake two to three years ago. However, with the recent interest in Estevan from private companies, they have taken a step back from land development.
Under the plan, the land in question would be zoned as bare land condo. Homeowners would purchase their own lot and home and pay a monthly condo fee, which would go towards maintenance and amenities in the park.
Ludwig said the idea of people owning their land and home makes the proposal very appealing to council.
"They will have their own lot, their own home with their own yard that they can enjoy with their kids and pets," Ludwig said. "Under the guidelines of this development, it will be under the same structure as a condo complex. It will be a respectable park there will be certain guidelines that have to be met by the homeowner and the development at large. It will be a well received and well looking development."
In an interview Thursday, Kurtis Dmuchowski, the owner of West D Construction, said he was initially looking at a development in Weyburn when Estevan came up on his radar screen. Realizing the need for housing was perhaps even greater here, Dmuchowski began looking for land.
"I was happy to find some property that I could develop," said Dmuchowski, who added his ultimate goal is to create a very attractive community of its own. "I am trying to build something that is attractive for owners/occupiers, potential investors just an attractive community.
"(It will be) landscaped, there will be grass it will be a well maintained, very attractive place to live and potentially raise families."
Dmuchowski said at this point, his plan has 440 lots available. As for timelines, the bylaw is expected to receive second and third readings at the Aug. 26 meeting of council. Should it pass, Dmuchowski plans to begin work on Phase 1 of The Ridge soon after.
"If everything goes well, we don't get bad weather or an early winter, there will be homes available for occupancy in November. I'm using the local (home) manufacturer SRI. They build a great product and obviously they are close; they're almost across the street."
On the topic of price, Dmuchowski said the 1,100 square foot homes, three-bedroom, two bathroom homes, will start at $249,900.
"It is certainly affordable housing. When you look at a typical 1,100 square foot home in Estevan, anything new is in the $400,000 range. In my development, the owners will own their land, there is no lease, no pad site rental. There will be a nominal condo fee since we will be responsible for our own garbage removal and snow removal, so there will be a nominal fee to look after those kinds of things."
If the project gets the green light in August, which, given the enthusiasm of council, seems likely, one of the biggest challenges will likely be preparing the site, as the land for the park is in the area that flooded in 2011. With that in mind, the City has made it a requirement that the site must be raised half a metre above the flood peak.
Dmuchowski said he has contracted an engineering firm that is familiar with the area and is confident the measures they plan to take will alleviate any future problems.
"There will be some site drainage that didn't exist. The site will be raised to where it's above the one in 500 years flood elevation. Any of the low spots on the site will be raised so the water can drain off the site rather than get pooled on it," Dmuchowski said.
"Almost 90 per cent of the site is above the one in 500 years flood elevation. There are just a few things that we need to do to ensure that the entire site is above that. We have no concerns whatsoever. We know that we will have alleviated any issue that there might be."
Dmuchowski added the response from council and the public has been very positive. According to a site plan provided to The Mercury, just over 30 of the 85 lots in Phase 1 of The Ridge have already been sold.
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