Photo: © Town of Mundare
With just C$1 and an attractive business plan, you can become a landowner in a Canadian city, which is the centre of Ukrainian culture and is located in the most picturesque province of the country.
Major Canadian cities are becoming less affordable. The demographic boom, luxury housing construction, and the influx of foreign investment have led to rental prices far beyond the reach of Canadian families and middle-income individuals.
High prices and unreasonable buying and renting conditions push young people out of Canadian urban centres. In rural and small communities, this trend turns out to be an economic good and opportunity to cope with acute labour shortages.
Some municipalities make quite impressive offers to compete for the attention of Canadians, who are tired of the high cost of renting. For example, last December in the city of McAdam, New Brunswick a plot of land was sold for as little as C$1 to attract potential homeowners.
A municipality in Alberta has recently offered a similar deal. With only C$1 and an attractive business plan, you can become the owner of a land plot in the commercial district of the town of Mundare.
But here is a catch: construction on the site should begin within six months after signing an agreement with the city, and the first floor below residential floor space should accommodate commercial space.
The proposal was first published in January 2018. Representatives of the municipality confirmed that the proposal is still in force. Here is how it works, according to the official document:
- You provide the city with an offer regarding the size of the building under construction and the purpose of the building
- If the city council agrees with this proposal, it signs an agreement with a developer, and you make a deposit in the amount of C$1,000 per lot
- You have 90 days from the date of signing the agreement to obtain a development permit
- Construction of the building should begin within 90 days of the development permit being issued
- If the deadline is not met, the land is given back to the city, and the deposit is not returned
- New buildings will have to comply with municipal architectural controls
Mundare is a small town in the central part of Alberta. It is located 70 km east of Edmonton. According to the 2016 census, 852 people were registered in the city of Mundare.
For some time, the population of the town consisted almost entirely of Ukrainians. Mundare is an important Ukrainian-Catholic centre in Canada. It is home to the Canadian oldest Basilian Monastery and The Basilian Fathers Museum located near the Ukraina Park. Mundare also has the world’s largest monument to the garlic sausage (kovbasa).