Okotoks town council has approved a recommendation from administration to resume ownership of a downtown property where a distillery was slated to be built.

The McRae street property, commonly referred to as the "Landmark Site," was sold to Two Pines Ventures in December of 2018, with the ground-breaking ceremony having occurred in February 2020.

After the construction deadline of September 2020 passed, it was extended to March of this year, and after that lapsed, the developer informed the town the project would not be moving forward.

The town was left to either exercise the option to buy the land back, or to forego that option, leaving the land in the hands of the developers.

Wishing to explore other opportunities for the lot, council approved the recommendation from administration to buy the land back.

Councillor Ed Sands spoke to the motion, stating that while the cancellation of the much-anticipated project is disappointing, it was important to reacquire the land.

"To have it, I'm going to use the term 'possibly languish' in the hands of a private developer where it might sit low down the priority list, we want to see something happen and we can only do that if we own the land. It may seem a curious thing to buy it back, but it's to show some urgency that we want to see something go on in that land."

Councillor Tanya Thorn expressed similar sentiments, expressing disappointment in how the project played out, as well as relief that the town was able to purchase the plot.

"I'm glad we had the foresight to put the Purchase Back clause into the original purchase agreement to prevent exactly the scenario we're in right now, so I think this allows it to come back to us and for us to regroup... and determine what is the most effective use of that for today's current environment and control that a little bit more."

The cost of the buyback is $325,000, minus the cost of legal fees, leaving the total cost at $321,726.73.

Funding will be sourced from the town's General Capital Reserves.

 

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