Gaining Control Getting a grass fire under control in very windy conditions on Friday proved to be a good challenge for members of Estevan’s Fire Rescue Service team. The flames climbed the valley ridge on the south side of the city behind the commercial and industrial district. The fire even posed a threat to some homes on the top of the valley ridge before firefighters were able to beat it back. Photo by Norm Park.
Horticultural Tour ⇢ B6
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Housing prices in Energy City slowly levelling out By Alex Coop and Jordan Baker acoop@estevanmercury.ca jbaker@estevanmercury.ca
Estevan’s housing shortage may finally be turning the corner. New residential building permits issued by the City of Estevan through May 2014 were just under $7 million, while last year at this time the number sat around half that. “I think there’s finally enough product in the market, we don’t have a shortage anymore,” said Lynn Chipley, sales representative for Century 21. “We went from a shortage, to a small surplus, and I think over the next 12 months it will all be absorbed quite readily.” The North Point condominiums in the Dominion Heights community, Chipley said, are a large contributing factor to the minimized housing shortage in the area, adding the sheer amount of product being built by Trimount Developments alongside their plans for future development will prevent the city from falling back into the housing crisis it’s faced for years. “We shouldn’t be the highest in the country, and I think that was simply a case of supply and demand,” she said. Dominion Heights is adding more than 50 lots to the community, and Jason Fleury, president at Trimount Developments, said letters have been
issued to residents, who will be able to move in during the first week of August. Aside from a troublesome winter, Fleury said construction has gone relatively according to plan, adding the Fairview Villas have gone “really well,” and will be nearing completion later this year. Though much has been accomplished this year, new projects are already fast approaching. “We’re launching a new two-story townhouse project which will come out probably in the next two weeks,” he said, noting the pre-construction launch will take place in about a week and will back into a park which they are donating to the community. The project has been named Parkview Townhouses. Wilhelm Construction is finishing up work on the Marisa Condos, a 55-unit condominium building by Trinity Tower. Matt Dorling of Pinetree Developments, the company that’s building the project, praised the modular condo project, which was the first of its kind in Estevan and significantly sped up the construction process. “Our whole building from start to finish has taken 7 1/2 months to complete, which is about six months faster than any other contractor probably in Canada can do that building for,” he said. Final permit inspections took place on July 17. Dorling and an architect will be performing an owner’s inspection on July 25 to look for any
deficiencies, which Wilhelm Construction will be able to deal with during the remainder of July. Occupancy will begin Aug. 1. Estevan has completed the preparation of lots south of Wellock Road near St. Joseph’s Hospital. Now dubbed Royal Heights Phase 3, that development will see 21 new single-family homes built and lots are now on sale for between $103,000 and $139,000. With road work nearing completion to connect Wellock Road with Sister Roddy Road by the hospital, that will open up the northwest part of the city, making it more convenient for the greater number of commuters expected in that area of town. Meanwhile, perhaps the largest proposed development, which would be built north of Wellock Road and west of Dominion Heights, has been slow to get going. The Meadows has been in various stages of pre-construction work for a few years, but if construction starts, the first phase alone would add almost 130 new single-family lots. Jackie Fitzgerald, realtor with Better Homes and Gardens Prairieview, noted there is a surplus of available housing on the Estevan market at the moment, though it doesn’t seem to be slowing the construction of more new units. “It’s a guessing game as to what’s going to happen here. The oil patch plays a big part of everything,” she said, but added, “there’s still stuff going on in Estevan.”
Bypass route delayed a month By Alex Coop acoop@estevanmercury.ca
The commercial heavy-truck bypass near Estevan is behind schedule by about a month. According to Joel Cherry, communications consultant with the Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure, the severe wet weather that has blanketed the southern part of the province over the past several weeks has forced grading to slip three to four weeks behind scheduled completion. Grading is now expected to be delayed
until late September. When it comes to the overall progress of the bypass, nearly half of the earth has been moved and placed for the construction of the roadbed. The contractor has been working in areas that are less wet, and is continuing with the installation of culverts, explained Cherry. All utilities are almost relocated or lowered accordingly. The Mercury reported in late June that the Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure will be monitoring the traffic flow along Highway
39 west and east of Estevan or from Highway 47, to determine how interchanges may be introduced onto the bypass. The interchanges will be implemented to improve traffic flow when volumes on the route increase. “Really, at this stage, anything is on the table in terms of how we go forward and where we go from here. It’s all going to be based on the traffic volumes as they grow. It will be dependent on the traffic volumes, how the community grows, that type of thing,” said Mark Rathwell, who spoke with the Mercury on June 25.
Issue 12
SERVING THE ENERGY CITY FOR 112 YEARS
Homes at risk from fire
An investigation has been launched and charges are pending following a grass fire in the valley close to a commercial and industrial subdivision on the south side of the city on July 18. The blaze also threatened to spread to a few homes on the upper reaches of the valley ridge on McDonald Road Friday afternoon. Ten members of Estevan Fire Rescue Services were able to beat back the flames that posed the most serious threat shortly after they arrived on the scene at approximately 1:30 p.m. The service’s Deputy Chief, Dale Feser, said the firefighting efforts were made more difficult due to a very stiff northwesterly wind that allowed the blaze to advance rapidly, fueled by plenty of overgrowth. The topography didn’t make the fight any easier either. “A lot of the work was done on foot,” said Feser, who added that five pieces of major fire fighting equipment were also deployed along with the personnel. “People in residences from 106 to 114 McDonald Road were asked to evacuate as a precautionary measure,” said Feser, referring to the upper valley edge homes. Power ⇢ A2
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