DRYDEN — For decades, past city councils have eyed 30 acres of lakeside land for its development potential. Now that potential is closer than ever to becoming reality, according to Mayor Jack Harrison.
Two provincial funding decisions totalling $5.1 million will enable the City of Dryden to extend infrastructure to Van Horne Landing and down Claybanks Road.
Harrison told Newswatch the infrastructure work, which can begin in the next couple of years, will enable construction of hundreds of housing units.
Ten of the 30 acres belong to the city. The other 20 are under control of the provincial Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) and include storage facilities.
The province’s Housing-Enabling Core Servicing program announced $2.1 million in funding to Dryden for infrastructure work in late January. The same day, $3 million in Housing-Enabling Water Systems funding was also announced.
The MNR has agreed to declare its 20 acres surplus so the city can develop it, Harrison said.
“It’s exciting,” he said. “We think there’s anywhere from 300 to 500 units that can be put into that area.”
High-density housing is at the centre of the city’s plans for the future new subdivision, he said.
“We think there’s a shortage of that in our area. I’ve heard it from the business community many times that there’s a shortage of housing, especially for their employees in the retail market — quite a shortage of housing for their employees.
“So we hope to develop multi-residential housing. That’s kind of our priority. But I think we’re still at the conceptual stage of this.”
City officials “need to start really thinking about how best to develop” the acres, he said. “I hope that we’ll have opportunity for public consultation as well.”
The city plans to “engage a planning expert and solicit public feedback on what the subdivision will look like, now that we have funding to install infrastructure,” Harrison said.
It’s a “multiple-year development,” he said. “It’s going to take two to three years to get started (with home building).”
Putting in the water, sewer and road infrastructure could start next year, he said.
— NWOnewswatch
