City hopes to sell off last of Southlands lots

The city’s land department will market a block of reconfigured, but generally small, residential lots hoping to sell off the last of its 10-year-old inventory in Southlands.

The east side of Somerset Way, planned in 2006, was a row of seven duplex lots that remained unsold when a complete inventory review took place in 2014.

At that time, the city’s small lot offerings were slim, and they were since reworked into 13 parcels, priced mostly below $90,000, for detached homes.

The size of city lots however, has been constantly criticized in the development community, especially in new section of Saamis Heights where sales were non existent until discounts were offered last year.

At Wednesday’s development committee meeting, where a pricing strategy received initial approval, land managers said smaller, less expensive lots have been popular in the past and could be again.

“The market shifts and that’s happened in Saamis Heights as well, but we’re trying to provide a balance between size and cost,” said Jane Zwicker, the city’s real estate marketing officer.

She described “a run” on smaller lots at the time of the 2014 review.

Land office manager Grant MacKay said last year was an extremely poor year for new home construction in all price ranges.

“Our sense is that so far in 2017, things seem to be turning upwards,” said MacKay. “Builders seem to be looking for a lower priced product that they can turn around and market. “We’re seeing some uptake.” Only 24 city lots sold in 2016, but the first quarter of 2017 has seen 16. The budget goal is 40 this year and 50 in 2018, at which point new parts of Ranchlands could come to market.

MacKay said when Somerset and the rest of Southlands was being planned, several hundred lots per year changed hands.

The street plus one other parcel represent the last vacant lots in Southlands west of South Boundary Road.

“It’s important to revise our strategy,” said committee chair Coun. Robert Dumanowski. “But it’s important to ask the question, ‘Why did we strike out here?’”

The Somerset lots have some challenges — they are blocked from backing on to South Boundary Road by a sound fence, and to the north there is a large commercial parking lot.

Coun. Les Pearson said he felt land would be well-suited to lower cost, multi-family housing.

“I support this (change), but it is a shame that a developer did not see the potential,” he said.

Prices set by an independent appraiser top out at $160,000 for the largest, pieshaped corner lot, but most range between $77,500 and $83,000.

The total proceeds would be $1.3 million, and would recuperate initial investment, recent re-servicing work, plus the mandated 15 per cent return, said officials.