The final piece of The Quarry development puzzle has been put in place.
At a special meeting Feb. 5, Cochrane town council voted 5-2 in favour of the development proposal for the final eight-acre section in the northwest corner of the town’s central business district.
“There was a lot of discussion around this one,” says Cochrane town Coun. Jeff Toews following council’s special meeting on the issue on a Friday night. “Now we have the guidelines.”
Toews voted in favour of the plan which, he says, is an improvement on the earlier business development in The Quarry he refers to as “cookie-cutter.”
“If the developer sticks to what we’ve asked for, it’s going to be a very vibrant area that’s going to connect beautifully to our Historical Downtown,” Toews says of the final Quarry development piece approved by council. “I’m very honoured to work with the rest of council on this one. We’ve held to our guns and I think everyone’s really put forth their best ideas and listened to the community.”
The northwest Quarry development’s key attributes include a pedestrian-friendly street which will provide an east-west connection while having a strong landscaping presence. There will be mixed-use buildings with retail on the ground floor and residential office space above, a proposed public gathering space and private gathering spots like patios. Building construction materials are “western heritage” in nature, including stone, planking, brick and glass.
“You know what the biggest story of the Quarry is?” asks Coun. Ross Watson. “That was 70 acres in the middle of our town we’ve been working on for 25 years to get reclaimed. And the final eight acres are going to be done.”
Coun. Tara McFadden and Coun. Morgan Nagel voted against the plan for different reasons. McFadden wanted more of a pedestrian-oriented environment without as much space allotted for vehicles. While saying he liked the design for the final Quarry segment, Nagel felt the public should have had more access to the planning process.
