The City of Meadow Lake has issued a request for proposals to redevelop the old Northland Pioneer Lodge building. (file photo/meadowlakeNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

New use for old site

City seeks development proposals for old Northland Pioneer Lodge building property

Jun 5, 2023 | 12:12 PM

The City of Meadow Lake is looking at ways to redevelop the old Northland Pioneer Lodge property.

It issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) posted to SaskTenders.ca under Competition Number COML-2023-004-PD for the re-development of the old lodge site, located at 513 Third Street West.

The city would like to see the single-storey building redeveloped for a use that “complements the existing development in the neighbourhood, and contributes to the overall enhancement of the community.”

Neil Marsh, city planning and development manager, said the city has already received some interest in the site.

“The tender doesn’t close until June 30,” he said. “We won’t know until then who is interested. But there have been expressions of interest… We look forward to seeing all the proposals.”

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Marsh added the existing building could be upgraded and repurposed.

“The hope is that someone can take it on and redevelop it into some new use, rather than demolishing it,” he said. “It will depend on what use the developer had in mind to put it to. Some types of uses might require considerable renovation and rebuilding, and others require less. But it is an older building. It was built in various stages through the years. So, regardless of the use it will require some upgrades.”

Marsh added if no one wants to use the building as it exists, there is also the opportunity the purchaser could have the building demolished in order to build a new structure on the property as another option.

He reminds interested parties that the property is zoned for residential use.

“It would have to fit within the requirements of the residential zone, that exists for permitted or discretionary uses,” Marsh said. “It’s a unique building. The residential zone does permit for different types of non residential uses. So, there is potential for it to be any number of [purposes]. It’s quite exciting to think about what someone might turn it into.”

As part of the process, once the request for proposals period closes, any submissions received will be reviewed internally. Then, at some point council will look them over, and discuss the proposals with the proponents.

“It will be up to council to make the decision,” Marsh said.

The city noted it’s in the process of subdividing the property to exclude the northernmost building and parking lot, known as the Seniors Activity Centre. The Seniors Activity Centre property will be retained by the city. It is not part of the Request for Proposals (RFP) as it does not include this portion of the current site.

The city previously announced it purchased the old Pioneer Lodge building on Third Street West earlier this year.

The facility was replaced by the new NorthWest Community Lodge at 30600 Highway 4 in Meadow Lake that had its official grand opening in August 2022.

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Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @meadowlakenow