Five bids for Princess Site
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
We need your support!
Local journalism needs your support!
As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed.
Now, more than ever, we need your support.
Starting at $15.99 plus taxes every four weeks you can access your Brandon Sun online and full access to all content as it appears on our website.
Subscribe Nowor call circulation directly at (204) 727-0527.
Your pledge helps to ensure we provide the news that matters most to your community!
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Brandon Sun access to your Free Press subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on brandonsun.com
- Read the Brandon Sun E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
*Your next Free Press subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $20.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/07/2023 (1177 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Five bids were received for the vacant lots along Princess Avenue that used to house the Strand Theatre among other things, and negotiations are underway with one of the bidders.
That’s according to Brandon Downtown Development Corporation executive director Emeka Egeson, whose organization has been tasked with trying to sell the property jointly owned by both the BDDC and the City of Brandon.
Though he said he was unable to disclose information about the bidders or the selected bid, Egeson said more information about the process should be disclosed before the end of 2023.
Since the property is jointly owned, he said the authority to approve the final sale belongs with the committee assigned to deal with it, which is made up of representatives from both groups. However, some aspects relating to the sale may still end up in front of Brandon City Council.
In May 2022, the BDDC successfully pitched the City of Brandon on an idea to sell the property for just $1 in exchange for the eventual developer promising to make any buildings put on the land at least three stories high and have buildings cover at least 40 per cent of the lots they’re sitting on.
If those conditions aren’t met, the city retains the option to repurchase the land for the sale price.
At the time, the assessed value of the land on Princess Avenue, Ninth Street and 10th Street was $1,173,000.
Egeson argued at a Brandon City Council meeting that developers were uninterested in buying the property for a more normal price as they believed it would be hard to turn a profit.
Council also approved a tax increment financing program for the land, which would exempt the property owner from paying any incremental property tax increases caused by developing the property for the next 20 years.
In 2016, Brandon University purchased the land for $1 from Landmark Cinemas — before the Strand was demolished — in an attempt to preserve the old theatre and create a downtown presence, but the project never got off the ground.
» cslark@brandonsun.com
» Twitter: @ColinSlark