Medicine Hat council approves Amazon hub, motel housing conversions at its meeting Monday

The property sits directly across Allowance Avenue from a low-density residential neighbourhood.

The proposed package distribution and trans-shipment facility will serve residential and commercial customers within roughly a 30-minute driving radius of Medicine Hat.

About 25 delivery vans would operate from the site, with staggered dispatches in 20-minute waves.

City Council agenda documents said the facility is expected to operate seven days a week and employ about 40 people, with roughly 10 people in the building at any given time.

City of Medicine Hat Senior Planner Brad Irwin said during a presentation to council that the employee count could be between 50 and 70.

Freight will be unloaded and sorted inside the existing warehouse, and no packages or inventory will be stored overnight.

Planning staff identified the early-morning truck arrivals as a potential noise concern due to engine idling, vehicle manoeuvring and cargo handling.

Planning staff said the activity would be limited to the two semis during the roughly 90-minute window, with unloading and sorting taking place inside the building.

The operation plans to use Tractor Avenue and Maple Avenue for regular access rather than Allowance Avenue S.E.

The 2.77-hectare property is part of the former Ogilvie Flour Mill complex, which is listed on the city’s Heritage Inventory and Place of Interest List.

The proposed changes to the building are limited to interior renovations for sorting, staff amenities and logistics equipment, with no exterior heritage alterations planned.

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The Ranchmen Motel has been approved to convert into multi-unit residential housing. (Image Credit: Jesse Gill/CHAT News)

Council also approved the rezoning of the Ranchmen Motel at 535 16th Street S.W. to allow the property to be converted into multi-unit residential housing.

The property was rezoned from a Regional Commercial Special Use District to a Neighbourhood Residential 2 District.

A representative of the applicant said the property has already been operating as an extended-stay facility, with some tenants living there for more than 10 years.

He said the project would renovate the existing motel units into self-contained residential suites with kitchens, bathrooms and living spaces.

The representative said the property currently houses seniors, students and lower-income tenants and that financing for the project has been approved and depends on the property being residentially zoned and intended for affordable housing.

During the public hearing, council heard from resident Kaleb Orge, who was in favour of the bylaw, but raised questions about the property’s location and access to amenities, including its distance from grocery stores.

Planning staff said the property is more than 1.3 kilometres on foot from the nearest full-service grocery store and about 450 metres from a transit stop.

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The Sun Dek Motel has been rezoned from commercial to residential to allow for long-term housing. (Image Credit: Jesse Gill/CHAT News)

In a separate matter, the Sun Dek Motel at 855 Gershaw Drive S.W. was also rezoned from Regional Commercial Special Use to Neighbourhood Residential 2.

Planning staff said the two-storey motel is also in an area where municipal policy generally discourages residential development because of its location within the city’s West Employment Sector.

However, staff said both motel proposals support broader city policies encouraging housing diversity, reuse of underused properties and infill development.

Council approved both motel rezonings.

Mayor Linnsie Clark said the projects are a win for the city because they would repurpose existing properties while adding lower-income housing.

“Someone to be interested in redeveloping them is amazing for the city, and that they are also going to be providing lower-income housing is fantastic,” Clark said.

Clark said the additional housing could also help employers attract workers to Medicine Hat, where affordable rental units are not always readily available.

“When people come here looking for work, we are, relative to other cities, a very affordable city, but that availability of affordable units is sometimes not there,” Clark said.

The two properties could provide smaller units for people who may not need or be able to afford a single-family home, including seniors, Clark said.

“I’m really excited to have those come online with the city as that type of housing,” she said.

Clark noted the city has limited regulation around short-term rentals such as Airbnb, which could affect the availability of housing and motel rooms, depending on how property owners choose to use them.

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Consideration for rezoning 22 Sierra Green S.W. was postponed until the Oct. 19 meeting. (Image Credit: Jesse Gill/CHAT News)

A public hearing concerned a proposed rezoning at 22 Sierra Green S.W. in Saamis Heights Phase 7, but council postponed further consideration until the Oct. 19 meeting.

The application would rezone the property from Neighbourhood Residential 1 to Neighbourhood Residential 2, allowing the applicant to consolidate the lot with a neighbouring parcel and pursue construction of a four-unit row house facing Sunwood Crescent S.W.

Planning staff said row housing is not permitted under the existing N-R1 zoning but is allowed under N-R2.

Staff also said the proposed change would remain consistent with the neighbourhood’s planned density.

The rezoning does not approve construction of the row house itself, as a separate development permit application and review would still be required.

by Jett Schwaier

Medicine Hat council approves Amazon hub, motel housing conversions at its meeting Monday

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