Ryan McLaren says he and his girlfriend are looking forward to breaking ground in 2021 on their planned starter home in Arkell.
McLaren was the first to have his number drawn in the City of Whitehorse lottery Feb. 12 for one of two single-family residential properties in Arkell.
His name was one of 22 in the lottery.
Having his name drawn first meant McLaren got his first pick of the two lots, opting to purchase the 718-square-metre property at 96 Sandpiper Dr. It’s priced at $137,900.
It marked the first time he put his name in a land lottery, McLaren said in a Feb. 13 interview.
“It just kind of worked out,” he said.
He and his girlfriend opted to enter the lottery for land in Arkell as it’s a “good, established little neighbourhood,” he said. They had lived in the nearby neighbourhood of Copper Ridge previously and like the area.
While he couldn’t make it to the lottery draw, his mother Shannon Jenner was there and clearly pleased with the results.
“Too bad it’s not the (Lotto) 6/49,” she said with a laugh following the draw.
Meanwhile, Edwin Woloshyn had his name drawn to purchase the 663-square-metre lot at 94 Sandpiper Dr. It’s priced at $127,300.
He also was not on-hand for the lottery.
McLaren and Woloshyn now have until May 5 to finalize their agreements for sale, which includes full payment for the lot. After that if the sales don’t go through, the city will use the list of three names drawn for a standby list to sell them.
There are no set timelines when construction has to happen on the lots.
When ground is broken, the zoning regulations for both properties dictate front yard setbacks of six metres, rear yard set backs of three metres and side yard setbacks of 1.5 m and three metres depending on the property. The maximum height limit would be 10 metres and there are provisions to allow a garden or living suite in addition to the primary residence. Mobile homes could also be considered, though it would require conditional use approval by city council.
The lots are among a number of sites around Whitehorse the city began working to make available for residential development in 2017.
Other properties that were also part of the infill plans have been sold or are going through the process to be sold.
In the case of sites on Talus Drive in the Whitehorse Copper neighbourhood, an environmental assessment is being done to look at drainage before any further steps are taken.
Contact Stephanie Waddell at stephanie.waddell@yukon-news.com