The Town of Cochrane is proceeding with the process of selling a 2.52 acre plot of land located at 2nd Ave. and 2nd Street in the historic downtown area, but at least one councillor wants to avoid getting ‘burned.’
Known as the old town hall site, Mike Korman, economic development manager for the town, said the location holds many values and is considered to be a key site for redevelopment.
Coun. Jeff Toews, however, said he wanted to proceed with caution as to who or what businesses would be looking to open at the prime location, as he feels that he got ‘burned’ by the Quarry site, and that he doesn’t want the same thing happen again.
Korman said council would be privy to all the RFQs (requests for qualification) that administration receives, so each member would be able to envision what the area would look like prior to them approving it.
Korman outlined all the steps necessary to prepare the old town hall site for sale, and they include the closing of 1st Ave. between Highway 1A and 2nd Street – a process that involves Alberta Transportation and could take up to a year to complete. The best-case scenario for the road closure would be January 2016, with the worst case being next August.
The town must also commence land use rezoning for the area to prepare the site to receive RFQs.
Rezoning, a land assessment and RFQs are expected to take place during August and September, with request for proposals being accepted in October and November, the selection of a developer in December and the land sale and development permits all taking place from January 2016 through May 2016.
Some of the potential uses identified by Korman to council for the site included an indoor market, an upscale hotel and high technology offices, among other possibilities.
Some of the values attributed to the location include it being an attractive and inviting gateway that would create a link to downtown, help to retain and attract new business, keep employees in the downtown core, revitalize downtown and East End business and promote connectivity and walkability of downtown.
