The City of Trail will hire a development consultant as it tries to redevelop a couple of vacant properties.
It follows a recommendation from the city’s downtown development advisory committee, which is looking at the future of the properties at 901 Helena Street and 900 Spokane Street, where the former Eaton’s building and C.S. Williams clinic were demolished last year.
A report from the committee said it has done a lot of work to look at “housing trends, funding models, and partnership opportunities,” and spoken to a variety of non-profit groups and private companies.
They say development expertise is “critical.”
“Advancing these sites will require a qualified development consultant with experience in housing delivery, funding acquisition, and project execution,” they wrote.
Senior government funding will also be key to make the project viable, given construction costs, they added. But there is a demonstrated need for condos, purpose-built rentals, seniors housing and workforce housing in Trail.
More needs to be done to analyze the site, they said, including assessing its infrastructure capacity to figure out what will be built there. But the city doesn’t have the capacity or the expertise to lead a complex housing development project, and access to government funding is very competitive, they wrote.
So they recommended the city seek proposals from a development consultant to move the project forward. They suggested hiring someone to do a feasibility analysis, with priority given to the larger property at 900 Spokane. The consultant would also provide “Land use, design, and market guidance to support a development-ready concept that includes non-residential floor space on the main floor with housing above.”
The consultant would further lead community consultation, find funding sources, and support a referendum process if the city has to borrow money.
The committee suggested the city set aside up to $25,000 to support the feasibility study. The consultant is expected to seek grants to cover further costs. The committee hopes someone can be in place around September.
Councillor Thea Hanson, who sits on the committee, said it is “very common practice” to use development consultants.
She said the timing of the project will depend on the availability of senior government funding. “I would love to see something ready to go, so come that federal funding opportunity, we have a concept-ready plan to move forward with,” she said.
Council received the report last week and approved the recommendation to seek a consultant and earmark the $25,000.
