New Dawn Development has purchased 20.45 hectares of land in Sparwood to develop a residential area with approximately 200 units.
Sparwood officials said the District agreed to sell the land to the development company for $818,400 in a special meeting on Jan 10.
According to council documents, the land located at 1500 Sparwood Heights Drive has been set aside for residential development since 1978.
Mayor David Wilks said initial designs show that New Dawn Developments intends to build a mix of single-family, duplexes and four-plexes, with about 200 units in total.
“It will provide more stable housing for those who want to live in Spawrood and work at the mines or elsewhere, ” said Wilks. “It will probably provide an opportunity for first-time home buyers to get into the market for a lower value than what may be there now when you look at duplexes and four-plexes.”
For now, that land is being used for cross-country skiing and other outdoor recreation, but that will likely change once construction begins.
“As with every development, there is a certain amount of land that will have to be set aside for parks. We’ll have to talk about that with New Dawn and see what’s available for us in the long-run”
The offer to purchase came in the form of an unsolicited offer from New Dawn Developments.
Wilks said he’s glad to tee this kind of investment come to the community.
“It’s certainly needed, especially with Teck moving forward with their significant administrative building,” said Wilks.”We’re happy to try to work with everyone trying to solve a housing issue that is not unique to just Sparwood.”