Open House planned for new development
By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Strathmore West is planning an open house, June 10, at the Remuda Building to showcase their Area Structure Plan (ASP) which has been submitted to the Town of Strathmore.
This ASP lays out the framework of the development of Strathmore West, being located west of Wildflower Road and south of Township Road 244.
In all, Strathmore West seeks to develop 346 hectares for residential and commercial use over the next several years.
“Our ASP will change the structure plan, will change the (land use) from agricultural to a mix of residential and commercial, and we are hoping to have a bunch of people from Strathmore come out, talk to us, talk to our experts, learn about the project, and that will help us as we ultimately go before council and make a development proposal,” said Neil Sweeney, vice president of communications for Strathmore West. “Ultimately it will be determined by council, but we believe once the development is fully done, there could be somewhere in the order of 10,000 people in the development over the next probably five to 15 years.”
Of the 346 acres currently proposed within the ASP, 128 are currently located within Wheatland County.
According to a release distributed by Strathmore West, the town concurs with an application to transfer the land from the county to the town and has submitted a Notice of Intent to the province to annex the affected portion.
“Obviously, dealing with one municipality, one local government is easier than two, so we have been working with Strathmore on that, and we have been working with our planning department in terms of what information the community will need to make a decision,” said Sweeney. “We have done a number of our studies, typical environment, land use, transportation, those kinds of studies to ensure that we are ready to answer the questions posted by not only people in Strathmore, but town council as the development proposal goes forward.”
He added Wheatland County has been supportive thus far regarding the annexation of the land for the purposes of the project. These lands in particular were chosen as they were available for purchase and being close to Strathmore, currently established amenities will be of benefit to the future community.
The project plan intends to include housing of all varieties, including single-family detached, townhomes, apartments, and condominiums. There is no plan as of yet regarding development of any designated affordable housing units, but the discussion is not off the table.
The information session scheduled for June 10 will begin at 5 p.m. and will run until 7 p.m. Following this, an exact date to meet with Town of Strathmore council has not yet been set.