The Village of Clinton is seeking grant funding to help build a road and 25-home subdivision on a village lot above Carson Street.
Chief administrative officer Murray Daly says the village has hired a grant writer to investigate other funding sources for the project after it was unsuccessful in getting a $900,000 COVID-19 infrastructure grant. The project, on the books for the past five years, would help bring more housing to the area, which has few homes to rent or buy right now and almost no available building sites to expand the town.
The area had been designated decades ago for a hospital, but that never materialized. Although the village could sell the lot to a developer, Daly says it wants to ensure the land is put to its maximum use, especially with growing demand for housing in the area.
“The village owns this lot but we can’t do a lot with it right now because it’s inaccessible,” he sysd. “We wouldn’t want someone subdividing it into two lots rather than providing a town in a bit of a crisis with 25 lots. A good number of people are coming here but the issue is just having that stock.”
The grant funding would go toward building the road as well as servicing the sites with water and sewer. The sites would be the standard single-family residential lot size. Daly says the road, which would wend its way up the Cariboo Crescent cul-de-sac next to the Round-Up Motel, is costly to build because it would be built up a 12 per cent grade and require a retaining wall.
Mayor Susan Swan says it makes sense to turn the land into housing, noting that “it’s crazy” in Clinton right now with more people buying and flipping houses. The site is ready to go but just needs the road in order to access it, she says.
The move comes as the B.C. government is nearing the completion of a new seniors’ housing facility in Clinton. Although Daly says the new facility could potentially open up 20 homes in the village, that depends on whether or not they decide to sell or rent their homes. The housing facility is slated to open this fall.
“Even if we get 10 new homes, it would open up the area,” he says. “It would be nice to see this lot, sitting there doing nothing, be opened up.”
editorial@accjournal.ca
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter