The province of Alberta, which bought up 17 homes along the Elbow River that were damaged by 2013’s flooding, is now holding off on knocking them down as it is reconsidering its options.
The then-PC government paid $49M for the homes in the southwest community of Rideau with the original intention of demolishing them because of flood risk.
However, now that the Springbank Reservoir has been approved, the NDP government is now reconsidering the plan, wondering whether knocking down the homes still makes sense.
Nenshi says he originally proposed the idea of redevelopment to the province. “Some of these lands might be developable again and they might be able to be remarketed. Some may be needed for mitigation, they may be exactly where we need berms.”
According to Infrastructure Minister Brian Mason, there is no timeline on when the issue will be resolved.
