During a City Council meeting on January 23, Weyburn City Council approved a development plan from Regina-based Nicor Developments for the old Souris Valley Hospital site, contingent on oversight of the project by city officials.
"We are very excited about this new development project. It is a tremendous sign of the momentum our city has," said Mayor Debra Button.
Button also acknowledged a number of valid public concerns about the property's development.
"There is a great deal of public park land in that area that the people of Weyburn enjoy. These include walking paths, ski trails and bird watching. We have assurances from Nicor that these areas will be disturbed as little as possible. They are motivated to keep those promises, not only because we will be monitoring them closely but also because the beauty of public park land is a selling feature for them," Button said.
Nicor has also committed to honour the history and legacy of the Souris Valley site by erecting a memorial. Button noted that Nicor has won many awards for the respect the company has shown for heritage in many of their urban development projects. Nicor has also promised to gather feedback about their proposed plans.
Button also noted that the plan will not require either the SaskPower Trades Training building or the Sun Country Health Region maintenance building to be relocated in the short term 10 years, but did not rule out that new homes may be found for those facilities in the longer term 20 years.
The City has been in discussions and negotiations with Nicor for some time. The Nicor plans include a three-phase residential development plan with the first phase likely to be ready to go by summer. The plans include a mix of housing, including rental units, single-family dwellings, multi-family dwellings and larger homes.
"We hope to see more and more developments like this in the future. The Souris Valley site was too large for the City to redevelop on its own, so we are very happy to have a partner. For Weyburn to continue to enjoy growth and energy, we will need to continue to attract investments in the community like the one Nicor has committed to make."
