MOOSE JAW — During one of its final executive committee meetings in October, city council awarded a property that the municipality had acquired through tax arrears to three businessmen for a value below the original asking price.
During that meeting, council awarded a tender for the sale of 246 Caribou Street West — formerly Caribou Auto Body — to the trio for $100,000, while it authorized the mayor and city clerk to sign the sale agreement and any related documents for the city.
In an email to MooseJawToday.com, city hall said that council’s approval of this sale was required because the sale price was below the previously approved amount; any sale below market value or the pre-approved price required council’s authorization.
The municipality acquired this property as a tax title property in September 2022, although city hall was unwilling to publicly disclose the appraised value of the lot until both parties had finalized the sale agreement. Moreover, the city was unwilling to provide additional details about the trio who bought the property until the agreement had concluded.
The city spokeswoman added that it’s unknown whether the property requires remediation, while utilities are available for the new owners.
According to one of the businessmen, the sale is not yet official since they have not yet received any agreement from the city and will likely take two months — or more — to complete. Further, there are still “more hoops” the business partners must jump through with city hall before the deal is done. This includes having the property rezoned and having their discretionary use application approved.
Once the businessmen have completed all necessary steps, they can then officially commence their project.
The 2024 municipal election is Wednesday, Nov. 13. The inaugural meeting of the new city council is Monday, Nov. 18, while the first regular meeting is Monday, Nov. 25.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to include comments from one of the business partners involved in the project.
