The Town of Canmore has approved a controversial framework agreement that could potentially restart development on the massive Three Sisters project in the Rocky Mountain resort town.
Troubled developer Three Sisters Mountain Village slid into receivership in early 2009 and, since that time, receiver PricewaterhouseCoopers has been trying to find a buyer for roughly 1,495 acres of land on the south side of the Bow Valley town. Its efforts have been negatively affected both by the economic slowdown in 2009-10, and unresolved legal and regulatory issues - most notably where wildlife movement corridors will go and whether those corridors across Three Sisters lands will meet the expectation of provincial and municipal governments and the local environmental community that has fought for years to ensure development doesn't stop animals from moving safely through the valley.
Canmore council approved the controversial agreement in November after a public meeting that attracted close to 200 people. Canmore Mayor John Borrowman has conceded the agreement is only the first step in exploring options for Three Sisters, and may go nowhere.
But Borrowman and his council feel it may be a chance to get development moving again in a community that once saw $200 million annually in building permits, but recorded only $23 million in permits for the first 10 months of 2012.
from Western Investor January 2013
