The biggest piece of undeveloped land in Canmore is close to being out of receivership after four and a half years in limbo, but a council decision to postpone a bylaw on Tuesday night (Sept. 3) has put the entire process at risk.
The biggest piece of undeveloped land in Canmore is close to being out of receivership after four and a half years in limbo, but a council decision to postpone a bylaw on Tuesday night (Sept. 3) has put the entire process at risk.
Three Sisters Mountain Village has been held by PricewaterhouseCoopers since it entered into receivership on Feb. 27, 2009.
Now, former TSMV owners Blair Richardson and Don Taylor are confirmed to have put forward an offer to purchase the lands as is, which was endorsed by PWC and the creditors of the land HSBC Canada.
But spokesperson for the purchaser Chris Ollenberger said the developers are seriously reassessing the offer after council voted four-to-two to postpone first reading of a bylaw that proposed a resort accommodation district adjacent to Stewart Creek golf course in Three Sisters.
“We are evaluating a number of different things in light of what happened yesterday because the message from town council was not good about the business environment to make a significant investment in and it causes a lot of rethink and it causes a lot of pause, so right now we are doing an evaluation to see what the next steps are and to move forward how to mitigate some of this risk, ” Ollenberger said. “With the actions of council last night, it is not clear what kind of message they are trying to send.
“One that was received very clearly is they are not very interested in commercial tax base expansion or opportunities and it is not apriority for them, which is interesting because it is in their Municipal Development Plan as well as the priority to adjust the tax base balance. ”
PWC was working with the municipality up until June this year on an Area Structure Plan for the development. However, citing differences with administration and council, and at the direction of HSBC, it shelved the plans and walked away, choosing instead to put the lands up for sale as is with Collier’s International.
Richardson’s and Taylor’s prior experience with TSMV and as secured creditors, were part of the reason PWC has recommended the sale to the court in an affidavit by Paul Darby filed Aug. 30.
“The Receiver is supportive of and believes the purchase agreement to be commercially reasonable and in the best interests of the estate of Three Sisters for a number of reasons, ” states the affidavit, which went on to list the inability to work through the development approval process as another reason to sell.
“HSBC informed the receiver that it was no longer prepared to fund the significant costs associated with such a process. ”
Both Taylor and Richardson were creditors East West Partners ownership of TSMV before it entered into receivership. In total, TSMV’s creditors are owned approximately $95 million, however details of the sale price proposed in the purchase agreement were sealed by the court.
Canmore Mayor John Borrowman and MLA Ron Casey both welcomed the news of the potential sale, saying it is good news for the community.
“Of course it is good news, ” Casey said. “Anytime you have land tied up in a receivership it affects everyone.
“To have it sit there given the infrastructure in place and work on planning that has gone on doesn’t make sense at all. ”
One unresolved issue TSMV will have to contend with is the establishment of the last required wildlife corridor in the area. A long-standing issue, Casey said its final design will depend on what is proposed on the lands adjacent to it. The corridor approval is in the hands of Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development, while the ASP approval is under council’s jurisdiction.
Borrowman said he is glad one landowner and developer, who have experience with the planning process in Canmore, may purchase the entire 1,495 acres of land. The mayor voted against the postponement on Tuesday night, along with Councillor Gordie Miskow.
“This is great news I think for the valley and we have said for the last year working with Pricewaterhouse that we want to see the lands out of receivership, ” said the mayor. “We have a history with the owner and that is good - we know each other.
“I am looking forward to the first opportunity to get together with the new owners and picking up the conversation we had with Pricewaterhouse on how we can together plan for the future of our community. ”
Ollenberger also expressed a willingness on behalf of the proposed purchaser to work on the relationship with council and the municipality.
“I think there is a very strong willingness to want to move forward and bring resolution to things like the wildlife corridor, because nobody wants to see that thing dragged out forever, ” he said. “We are happy to move forward, but trust and communication are key components that need to be addressed by this council. ”
