The plans by Nicor Developments Inc. to build residential neighbourhoods on 52 acres of the former Souris Valley grounds will include park space, and a memorial, said Mayor Debra Button.
Council approved the sale of the land to Nicor at their Jan. 23 council meeting, and the company now has to obtain the necessary permits and approvals before they commence construction, possibly as early as this spring.
"We are very excited about this new development project. It is a tremendous sign of the momentum our city has," said the mayor.Addressing public concerns over the park land on the Souris Valley grounds, the mayor commented, "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," Mayor Button.
There is also a plan to honour the history and legacy of the Souris Valley site by putting up a memorial.
Mayor Button noted Nicor has won awards for how they have treated heritage properties in many of their urban development projects.
The development will not need the SaskPower Trades Training building, or the Sun Country maintenance building, to be relocated in the next 10 years, but the mayor said she didn't rule out that new homes may be found for those facilities in the next 20 years.
The plans by Nicor is for three phases of development, with 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," said Mayor Button.
