By Allison Werbowetsky
Swift Current
Dirt has finally been lifted at the site of the former Swift Current Union Hospital located between 4 Ave. N.E. and 6 Ave. N.E. Long-time concern over whether or not anything will ever be done with that open field is now over as a residential housing project is currently underway.

“They’re pretty much at the end of their detail design stage as far as their underground utilities, road system and overall layout. They’ve just recently advised us that they’ve selected a contractor, or are near selecting a contractor, for doing their deep underground install ... so they’ll be getting started relatively soon within the summer months,” said Trevor Feicht, manager of engineering for the City of Swift Current.

City Council approved a proposal by Sunrose Enterprises in September last year to build a series of residential complexes on that site.

The site, which will be called Sweetwater Estates when it’s all said and done, will be comprised of three sections containing a variety of single- and multi-family dwellings.

Phase 1 will be divided into 19 single-family condominiums and phases 2 and 3 will be subdivided and zoned for higher density multi-family units.

Architecture of the subdivision was designed by Sunrose Enterprises — which is headed by Darrell and Colleen Wallace of Swift Current — to fit in with the existing community aesthetics, something local residents and Council remained adamant about.

“I think it will be a good integration with the community that’s there. Obviously the wide open space that the community has now won’t be there, but the plan that Sunrose has put forward does put single-family residential adjacent to the single-family residential that is there now. The architectural styles that they’re suggesting are very compatible and will look good with what’s along 4th (Avenue) now. It will have some multi-family that is a little bit buffered by the residential, some green space and what not,” Feicht said.

It’s been more than two years since the former hospital was demolished and removed from the area and questions as to what was going to go there continued to raise concern as time went by. Feicht, however, describes it as nothing more than a typical hiccup.

“A lot of the time that went by had to do with the actual demolition of the site and transferring the site from the health authority over to the City. It wasn’t until then that we were actually in a position where we could proceed with doing an actual RFP (request for proposal) to seek developers who could develop the site. That process more or less happened about a year ago,” he said.
“By the time we had things finalized,

we were into winter so there was no way they would’ve been able to dig. Since winter, in fairness, they’ve been working at it quite hard ... It’s been going on close to a year with Sunrose, but it’s very typical in the development stages to take that kind of time. I think we’re going to start seeing some neat things out there.”

Following the completion of the initial paperwork, official lot layouts and final lot grading, Sunrose could begin sending workers on site to proceed with primary construction by the end of this year.

“They’ll definitely like to get a couple houses started in 2010, if not more,” Feicht said.

Delayed or not, Sweetwater Estates promises to be a positive economic development for Swift Current.

“The development plan that we’ve seen from (Darrell) Wallace and his company is top-notch, and it’s going to fit in great with the neighbourhood and provide another form of housing that’s maybe more central in the city whereas some of the other stuff is on the peripheral. It’s just another great option for residents or potential residents to look at within the city,” said Mayor Jerrod Schafer.