Although it has been pushed out of the spotlight by other projects, it appears The Meadows of Estevan is indeed moving forward.

At the June 25 regular meeting of city council, first reading was given to a rezoning bylaw for the much talked about project. 

Located in the city’s northwest corner, The Meadows is a masterplan neighborhood, which, according to the revised plan submitted to council will have space for over 1,700 dwelling units compared to the 1,300 initially projected.

The first reading of the rezoning bylaw is the latest happening in The Meadows story. It was initially reported last year that an Alberta development team was planning to construct a neighborhood on land located north of St. Joesph's Hospital and the west end of Wellock Road.

However, since that first announcement, there has been little in the way of development publicly, leading to much speculation about whether or not the project would ever get off the ground. In a recent article regarding the sale of land to another Alberta group for the creation of phase three of the Dominion Heights subdivision, Mayor Gary St. Onge admitted he was disappointed in the slow progress of The Meadows project.

However since that article appeared, the City and Essex Developments have apparently progressed to the point where a bylaw was introduced at the most recent council meeting.

In an interview with The Mercury, project manager Graham Cripps said he is pleased to see things moving forward and looks forward to getting to work on the project.

“It has taken longer than it should have but we are now at the point where, as engineers, we can be productive,” said Cripps. “The anticipation is we will be getting on with our grading soon. That is something that was hoped for in April but has been held up a little bit.”

Cripps said their current timeline calls for them to begin grading work and issuing tenders in 30 to 60 days, which “should get somebody out there by the end of August.”

The first phase of The Meadows will see lots for 32 homes created along Wellock Road, added Cripps.

“The intent in the first phase is to have Meadowview Drive, which is the spine road going north, and we will have some multi-family on that — duplexes, 12-plexes, eight-plexes. A decision has not been made on height, but they will be lined along Meadowview Drive.

“Also, as a requirement, a senior’s assisted living (complex) is part of that phase. From what I understand, it is supposed to be a 100-bed unit.”

Cripps added that future developments will begin moving forward in 2013. In all, there will be over 140 single-family lots available, which Cripps noted would be large lots to reflect the quality of the homes along Wellock.