By TERRY PUGH
A proposal for a 150-unit rental townhouse project in Warman’s Southlands neighbourhood was given final approval by Warman City Council at its meeting on Monday, November 10.
Council voted to give second and third reading to Bylaw 2025-15, a bylaw to rezone the parcel of land where the development will be built from CS-Community Service to R3-Residential. First reading of the bylaw had been passed at a previous council meeting on October 14.
Following the approval of the rezoning at the November 10 meeting, council also voted to approve a discretionary use application for the rental townhouse.
The project will be constructed on a parcel of land on the east side of Industrial Road between Haichert Street and Eldorado Street. It will 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 will consist of five buildings, with ten apartment units per building.
The two-storey townhouse buildings will each contain six one-bedroom apartments on the main floor, with four two-bedroom apartments on the second floor. Each apartment unit will have its own separate outside entrance, with external stairs to the upper-floor apartments.
A formal agreement will also be signed 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.
According to the developer, the overall goal is to provide affordable rental housing.
A description of the project in a city administration report to the November 10 council meeting 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.”