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A Calgary-based real estate developer was in town this week to announce plans to put two new subdivisions on the market this year, offering lots from 7,000 square feet to nearly three acres.

The new 130-acre development will be located west of Highway 4 and north of Highway 40, says Dean Kupchanko of Swansea Capital Corp., and he plans to infuse it with a historic theme, dubbing it Battleford West, the name that area was marketed under nearly 100 years ago.

If enough interest is shown in the pre-marketing campaign of Battleford West Properties Inc., construction on new homes could begin by late this spring.

Battleford West Properties Inc. will begin taking deposits on April 3, but are prepared to record expressions of interest prior to that. In fact, they hope to have numerous commitments by then.

Kupchanko’s optimism is based on research he’s done that indicates there a demand for serviced lots in the community.

“No one really knows what the demand is going to be, but it’s hard to imagine it will be a whole lot less than last year.”

There are actually two subdivisions within the development, with 32 country residential estate lots in the area named Country Estates, and 36 executive sized lots in the area called Telegraph Heights. (See map on page 2)

In addition, Kupchanko says if the initiative to twin Highway 4 from the Yellowhead to the Battle River Bridge is successful, he intends to develop a retail node, dubbed Old Towne Plaza. That portion could be two or three years away, depending on the twinning, which Kupchanko expects to include lighted intersections at 29th Street and 22nd Street.

The public will be able to access both Old Towne Plaza area and the residential areas from 29th Street and another access road to run between Country Estates and Telegraph Heights will connect to Highway 40.

He expects the lots will be priced slightly higher than what lots went for last year, but will still be affordable since they are all large. The pricing won’t be firmed up until the middle of February, but a lot in Telegraph Heights will probably be in the $60,000 to $90,000 range.

To help inform the public about his plans, Kupchanko has fired up a new website, www.battlefordwest.ca.

Kupchanko is also involved in possible development of a manufacturing plant which could produce ready-to-move houses for the subdivision. That plant could be located on land he is under contract to purchase in the town’s industrial area, what used to be called the Sedco area. If not there, he said, it could be located north of the subdivision, close to the Yellowhead Highway.

“I know there is a very serious effort and a very experienced group that is committed to making it happen,” says Kupchanko. “The market studies have been done and, really, we’re just in the phase now of producing a detailed business plan. Once that business plan has been finalized, the rest of the financing will be lined up and announcements will be made.”

The product would be ready-to-move homes, built in a controlled, indoor environment. With no weather issues, the quality is higher, says Kupchanko.
“There’s never frost on your level.” Production is on an assembly line basis, providing for more efficiency and lower labour costs. “At the end of the day,”
says Kupchanko, “what’s being found to be true in other markets is we can actually produce houses for less cost than you can by building them in the traditional stick built method.”

He hopes in the later phases of his subdivision development, if and when the
plant goes ahead, it would be producing houses for the nearby subdivision. “And these will be houses that will look no different than what has been built in Fairview this year or look no different than what has been built in Battle Springs,” says Kupchanko.

There are three reasons he thinks it’s a good idea. The first is that, from a business model point of view, it makes economic sense to make money not only on the lot, but the house.