An initial 11 lots at Fraser Place are being put up for sale by the Town of Hay River in a sealed-bid auction announced on Thursday.
The development is part of the town’s efforts to increase the housing inventory available in the community.
“We’ve been operating with essentially a zero residential inventory, so this will replenish that,” said town senior administrative officer Glenn Smith.
The project was approved in 2021 after the area was rezoned, though it received pushback from residents concerned about the removal of green space and potential loss of trail access.
The town has said two-thirds of the area’s green space – a riverside crop of trees behind existing homes – will remain, as will access to walking trails.
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Smith said zoning bylaw updates completed by the town in recent years will allow single and multi-family properties at Fraser Place, alongside accessory dwelling units – additional buildings on a property sometimes referred to as “granny suites” or “in-law suites.”
Depending on the lot size, Smith said some parcels could accommodate future duplexes or fourplexes.
In September, the town announced $2 million in grants to incentivize the building of dense housing. Hay River is offering a $35,000 incentive for the building of new multi-family residential units and $20,000 for accessory dwelling units.
Prospective Fraser Place buyers will have until noon on January 24 to submit their bids for land, the forms for which are available online.
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The minimum bids for plots are between $78,400 and $110,600 and range from 6,631 to 9,149 square feet (2,021 to 2,789 square metres).
Smith said that the primary demand for these plots is likely to come from community members who are looking to build new, though he added there might be some interest in building multi-family homes and reselling them.
The town is also advertising the sale beyond Hay River, said Smith.
“Relative to the rest of the North, lot sales and construction costs are lower, so there’s a bit more of an element of affordability,” he said.
