Although residents have seen work underway recently on the SmartCentres site, the date for start of construction still remains an unknown.
Corey Paiement, the city’s director of development services, says the development permit governing form and character has not been issued yet.
“SmartCentres is working to complete the conditions required prior to issuance of the DP (development permit). The city has not received the signed development permit from MOTI (Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure) which is one of the conditions,” he wrote in an email.
Paiement said a building permit application for the first building has been made but the permit has not been issued, noting that the city can’t provide a building permit until the development permit is in place.
The recent work on the property was the installation of the Hobbs Creek Drainage Works, which is a requirement of the phased development agreement that SmartCentres signed with the city. The ‘works’ is an oil and water separator to clean the water of the Hobbs Creek watershed before it flows into Hobbs Creek.
One of the city’s promises to SmartCentres in the agreement is that there will be no changes to the property’s zoning for 10 years.
Sandra Kaiser, SmartCentres’ spokesperson, told the Observer in an email that the company hasn’t awarded a contract for construction yet.
“We are still in the process of reviewing the tenders and a construction time line has yet to be established. We will continue to keep the community informed on our timing and progress.”