WESTLOCK—The Town of Westlock recently announced several future developments that will help meet the housing needs of current and future residents.
The town announced a new rental property development on 105 Street on July 25, following a recent land rezoning on 103 Street to accommodate a row housing development and on July 30, Westlock officials, including Town of Westlock Mayor Jon Kramer, broke ground on a new subdivision in the town’s south end.
“We know that there is a lack of rental availability in the Town of Westlock so both of these new projects that have been announced (on 105 and 103 Street) are going to start to help address the shortage of rental accommodations in the community,” said Town of Westlock CAO Simone Wiley.
The new rental property, announced at the end of July, will be built at 9819 105 Street on a 15,000-square-foot vacant lot along Highway 18. It has remained undeveloped since 2011 and is now set to feature stacked row housing with eight units, led by TBT Investment Corporation.
That property underwent a rezoning to medium-density residential in 2020.
The $2.5 million project will include four three-bedroom and four one-bedroom units, with onsite parking and garbage collection and will provide quick access to downtown, schools, the library, and various services.
The town reviewed the project and assessed the existing infrastructure and services, which were found to be able to support the new development, which is expected to be completed in 2025.
“Westlock is committed to addressing the housing needs of our community and fostering reasonable growth,” said Wiley via a press release July 25. "This commitment supports the well-being of our current residents and attracts new families and businesses, fostering a vibrant and thriving community,” she said, noting the town’s housing development efforts are designed to ensure long-term positive impacts, including economic growth and improved quality of life for all residents.
“We are excited to bring this new housing development to life, contributing to the Town's growth and vibrancy," said Brian Squires, with TBT Investment Corporation.
Southview
At a special council meeting July 25, the town amended their 2024 capital budget to help fund the Southview residential subdivision project, which had an official groundbreaking on July 30.
This project is also intended to address the urgent need for residential lots in Westlock.
“This is just another one of the initiatives that the town has been working on to address the shortage of housing in our community,” said Wiley. “We know that there needs to be residential lots in order for new dwellings to happen, so we’re making some lots.”
The Southview subdivision will include 10 new lots in the existing residential community in the town's south end, and the groundbreaking marks the beginning of the required infrastructure improvements for the project, including the extension of 99 Ave. and 93 Street.
Each lot is expected to be about 55 feet wide and 120 to 130 feet deep, all zoned as R1 or single family dwelling, noted director of planning and development Danielle Pougher, who was on site for the groundbreaking ceremony. The first lots anticipated to be available for pre-sale this fall.
The project is funded through a combination of local improvement levy and municipal reserves. Original estimates for project cost were completed in late 2023, but additional stormwater infrastructure was identified as being required along 93 Street to address the overland flows in the area, through the design process.
Additional municipal funding was required for the project, which town councillors chose to fund from the street reserve after amending the 2024 capital budget.
“After going out to tender, the costs came in a little bit higher than we had budgeted so we went back to council to secure the additional funds that we needed in order to sign the contract,” said Wiley.
The land for the subdivision was purchased by the town in the summer of 2023 and in July, the project received rezoning and subdivision approval by town council and the Municipal Planning Commission.
Town of Westlock Mayor Jon Kramer, also applauded the Southview groundbreaking as one of the town’s many planned strategies to address the community's housing needs and provide much-needed housing options and various types of housing.
“You look even across Canada, the story you hear is that we don’t just need R1, we need a mix of housing so this past week we had our announcement of our eight-plex on 105 Street, so this is just one more aspect,” said Kramer, noting the good layout of R1 lots in a great location. “We’re excited for the other development that it’s possibly going to open up too.
“That Housing Accelerator Fund really is a game changer for our community in letting us do, in cost-effective ways, things we wouldn’t have been able to do,” said Kramer.
