MELFORT — The City of Melfort has purchased 72 acres of land in the South Gate neighborhood along Highway 41.
“The significance to the City of Melfort is it offered highway frontage, which we’re short on as a community,” said Rick Lang, the city’s mayor. “It gives us another avenue to develop and promote businesses that need that highway frontage.”
The purchased land is located on the north side of the highway across from the Melfort Campground.
Brent Lutz, director of development, planning and community relations said that by acquiring the land, the city can control the timing of future zoning, subdivision and servicing of the property. He said with this purchase, the city will be in a position to offer a suitable development land for both large commercial land users to small businesses.
He stated that the development of the land may take a decade or more. Initial plans involve a subdivision plan to register the south portion of Hodgins Drive and the existing approach from Highway 41.
A grading plan will be established and water and sewer services will be extended to this area in the future as demand for commercial and development arises.
“There is a plan in the works to encompass all of that land, we haven’t fully decided how it will be used,” Lang said. “Some of it will be commercial. Potentially some of it, not including the highway frontage, may be transformed to residential.”
