City gets $17M for key infrastructure toward new development area

City gets $17M for key infrastructure toward new development area

Article content The city has accepted more than $17 million from other levels of government meant to create infrastructure to serve its new ‘growth node’ in the southeast corner of the city. The Doak Road expansion, south of the Co-op grocery store, was designated as an area the city could develop for housing and commercial interests, with the idea it could eventually house up to 7,000 residents. According to a letter to Mayor Steve Hicks from the Regional Development Corporation (RDC), funding towards the necessary infrastructure to support that kind of development was approved for $23,654,597 under the provision the city would contribute $6,308,682 (26.67 per cent) of that.

The remaining $17,345,915 comes partly from the RDC ($7,884,077 or 33.33 per cent) and partly from Housing, Infrastructure, Communities Canada (HICC), which contributed $9,461,838 or 40 per cent. According to a staff report presented to council Monday night, the money “encompasses the construction of new municipal water and sewer infrastructure, new roadway connections, and active transportation routes” to support the new neighbourhood’s development and properly connect the area with the rest of the city. That includes a water booster station for immediate needs, a new water reservoir to supply the community with potable water in the long run and new pipes “and associated utilities to service the area,” amounting to about 3,039 metres of water and sewer infrastructure.

The funding will also go to create new roads and sidewalks, suitable to be accessed by transit, and to upgrade the nearby sanitary lift station on the Wilsey Road, the document says. “This will certainly spur development in the area ... so it’s exciting to see this project move forward in the coming years,” Hicks said before a motion was made to adjourn.

A meeting to consider the funding agreement took place in-committee beforehand and was not discussed publicly.