By TERRY PUGH
A proposed 150-unit rental townhouse project in Warman’s Southlands neighbourhood could help alleviate the housing crunch in the region.
The project, which still needs to be approved by Warman City Council, is proposed for a parcel of land on the east side of Industrial Road between Haichert Street and Eldorado Street. It would be directly south of the newly-constructed Warman Childcare Centre and Warman Ultimate Cheerleading gymnasium.
The project envisions a total of 150 multi-residential units constructed in three phases. Each phase would consist of five buildings, with ten apartment units per building.
The two-storey townhouse buildings would each contain six one-bedroom apartments on the main floor, with four two-bedroom apartments on the second floor. Each apartment unit would have its own separate outside entrance; with external stairs to the upper-floor apartments.
Before the project can proceed, however, Warman City Council must first approve a bylaw to rezone the land from CS-Community Service to R3-Residential. Council will also need to consider a discretionary use application from the developer of the project.
Warman City Council approved first reading of the rezoning bylaw at its regular meeting on Tuesday, October 14. Second and third readings of the bylaw are slated to come up at a city council meeting in November. A public hearing will also be held at that time.
City Council first discussed the proposed project at a committee of the whole meeting in mid-August. At that time, councillors asked questions about whether the project had adequate parking space for residents, and whether there would be concerns regarding traffic flow in and out of the property onto Industrial Road. A report from the city administration at that meeting in August indicated the project met all the requirements laid down by the city.
However, there would need to be a formal agreement between the developer and the city regarding snow clearing and overall maintenance for a proposed alley that would accommodate parking for residents of the third and final phase of the project. City officials say the developer would need to be responsible for maintaining the alley.
During the October 14 city council meeting, Warman Mayor Gary Philipchuk noted that some residents of the area had expressed concerns to him about the proposed project. He added that those concerns were allayed once the residents learned the townhouses would be only two storeys high. They had been under the impression the development would be a large four-storey apartment building.
According to the developer of the project, the overall goal is to provide affordable rental housing.
A description of the project provided by the developer (who was not named) was contained in a city administration report to the October 14 council meeting. It stated that bringing new rental units onto the market will not only help meet market demand for new housing, but also keep a lid on rental prices by increasing the supply.
“Our new rental product is typically occupied by younger people who are actively working to better their lives, go to school, or are working jobs in the area,” stated the report from the developer. “New rental product brings a higher-class tenant to the market than older stock and those higher-class tenants have a way of being more reliable workers.”
The developer pointed out that its stacked townhouse model provides each tenant with their own private entrance and all their own amenities.
“The design of the buildings allows each person to have a space that is entirely their own without the common areas and overlap that exists in an apartment building,” stated the report. “This design gives tenants a sense of ownership of their space and allows for each person to take pride in their environment.”