Village Creek presents big real estate opportunity in Pigeon Lake

Whether you’re looking for a new home, or you want to sink your teeth into a major commercial development, or something in between, there is a big real estate opportunity coming up at Pigeon Lake, Alberta.

On October 21, consignors Terry and Barbara Myers will be selling their Village Creek property in the Ritchie Bros

Terry Myers shares the story Village Creek’s rich history

People often ask me how ‘The Village’ came to be. It makes me smile. What a journey.

When we sold out of our business, we returned to our cabin at Pigeon Lake for the summer. Knowing that I’d be looking for a new challenge, our good friend Bud King suggested we look to do something ‘right here at Pigeon Lake’!

And so we looked. We thought we might build a 4-plex or something. Made some offers, but got nothing. Then another good friend, Bryan Wyley, suggested a piece of land across from the Black Bull Golf Course.

I fell in love with it and promised Barb that I would study it over the winter. If nothing worked, we would just resell it. But I had ideas – lots of ideas.

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And so many things fell into place. There was a much larger permanent population in the area than we realized (4,000 within a 10km radius). There was more highway traffic than we realized. The area was severely under serviced.

So, we did some rough plans for a Towne Centre, businesses, services, etc., and sent it out to over 2,000 households in the area, asking, “What do you need? What do you want?”

The response was overwhelmingly enthusiastic and provided a wealth of information. We asked for peoples’ top 10 ‘needs’ in terms of stores and services, and over the next few years, we delivered on all 10!

Our good friend Susan Knopp was instrumental in the design. We wanted it to be attractive and welcoming, rural, and charming. My wife Barb said we should have a ‘Towne Square’ in the middle. We loved that idea.

We did studies. We got some believers that invested, and in May of 1996, we opened the new ‘Village Market’ grocery store and 5 other businesses, all grouped around the Towne Square.

Over the next few years, the Village just grew and grew, adding new businesses, the Village Creek Country Inn, Essentials Spa, 2 condo projects, a small business park, and 3 Residential Communities.

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Somehow The Village has attracted businesses that are special. The Spa, the Inn, the Ecocafe, the Village Emporium, the Clothing Store, the Market, Chef’n’s, Daisy McBeans, all have loyal followings. And all but one have been there over 20 years!

Of course, the financial crisis of 2008 and the drop in oil prices slowed things down. And just as things started looking up, COVID hit!

But now, we think The Village is poised for major expansion. Unfortunately, at 79 years of age, I can’t do it. And so, we have taken a bold, but we hope fruitful, move, to put our remaining 7 properties up for an unreserved auction with Ritchie Bros. on October 21.

The population is there.

The Zoning is done.

The Lake is close.

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The Highway is there.

The Black Bull Golf Resort is across the Highway.

The creek valley is there.

The walking bridge to the Village is there.

There are 2 attractive storm drainage ponds.

Alberta is Canada’s fastest growing province.

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There are 1.5 million people within about an hour.

What else could you want?

Yes, I’m biassed, but 30 years ago we started with nothing but raw land. Now you have an incredible base. Your turn!

What to know about The Village property

Terry trusts that the right people, with the right visions, will lay claim to these wonderful properties. They are not speculative properties; they are subdivided and zoned, ready to go:

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• Huge 14+ acre parcel zoned commercial, bordering the highway, one the creek, easy access off Highway 13, and has a pond on one flank. An Artist concept shows this property could easily handle a new hotel with conference centre, a state of the art Spa, cabins, etc.

• 26 acre parcel zoned Hamlet Residential. A Deferred Reserve Caveat reduces the usable property to about 16 acres, but still ample enough for about 45 residential lots!

• Strategic (and gorgeous) 1.07 acre site, on the highway, across from the County Emergency Services Complex, and on a pond!

• 1.69 acre site on pavement right in The Village. Originally established for a seniors complex, the community group was unable to get government funding. A rare parcel. What would your vision be?

• .71 acre strip along the west side of the Village Lane Condos zoned Hamlet Residential. There are 2 buried water tanks on the property for emergency fire suppression. Ideas?

• 2 tree-covered corner lots in Village West waiting for your plans!

See this incredible property first hand

Upcoming information session will be held at Village Creek Country Inn in Pigeon Lake on Tuesday, October 14 at 1pm.

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