The Town of Okotoks has taken another step towards increasing the amount of affordable housing in town.

An offer is being negotiated to purchase a three-acre parcel of land in the D'Arcy neighbourhood at the corner of Sandstone Gate and Northridge Drive.

Jamie Dugdale, Corporate Strategist for the Town of Okotoks, says this parcel of land stood out to them for a particular reason.

"I know there's not a lot of services up there yet, but it was critical that we get a site that was close to some shopping for people that they wouldn't have to drive to, so that was one of the key considerations we had."

The future project is a partnership with Westwinds Communities and the Rowan House Society.

Westwinds has proposed a 60 unit housing complex with 15 units allocated as market housing and 45 as non-market, or affordable, housing.

The Rowan House Society is looking to build 16 units for transitional housing support which would provide families with local access to services instead of having to head to Calgary.

Dugdale says there are still a number of planning steps that need to take place once they get beyond this first one.

"The land use will have to be rezoned first, then shortly after that there will be a subdivision process which basically formally creates the parcel and then finally, probably the most lengthy piece, is the development permits," he explains. "So that's when the actual details of the site design, housing types, and the building get sorted out and worked through by the applicant and the development authority, and that typically takes several months."

The purchase of the land falls under Council's current budget allocation for affordable housing.

Westwinds and the Rowan House have agreed to repay approximately 50 per cent of the cost for land.

The cost for the site in D'Arcy will be released when all conditions have been met.

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