Workers wrap up clearing piles of dead trees in Whistle Bend after clearing the lots for future development. Photo Courtesy of Macklen Linke/CKRW.
Whitehorse, YT – The development plan map for the neighborhood of Whistle Bend looks a bit like a colour by numbers at first glance, with the neighborhood cut up into little sections labeled 1, 9B, or 12 but this picture is expected to look a whole lot different in the coming years.
The latest action that came to Whistle Bend came with the clearing of trees just off of Casca Boulevard in zones 12 and 13. The Yukon Government started clearing the lots a few weeks ago in preparation for the eventual construction of large businesses and some public use services.
“It’s kind of in the center of Whistle Bend. So it’s a denser area of development,” said Laura Prentice, Director of the Land Development Branch at the Yukon Government. “It’s unique in that it has some commercial lots that aren’t available in the rest of Whistle Bend. So these commercial lots could be like larger builds or high rises, they could be offices, they could be commercial, and residential.”
The Whistle Bend development map shows the construction phases at various stages of completion. Map Courtesy of Yukon Government.
The freshly barren site is zoned for 15 large lots and several public service lots with one being targeted for a High School and one targeted for city use which could mean a fire hall. There are also plans for multifamily housing units, mixed-use commercial, and a greenbelt that will also be preserved and run through the freshly cleared area.
Although the development of commercial infrastructure is a ways off at the freshly cleared site businesses may start popping up soon along Keno Way with the lots having been sold in phases some years ago. This fits within the overall goal of filling the centre of the neighborhood with services so that folks living there don’t have to travel far to do their errands.
“Having a coffee shop on Keno Way and a daycare and post office,” said Prentice. “Some of those facilities will start drawing folks to the center and I think you’re gonna see a lot of growth there.”
She expects that once the first couple of businesses open up, it won’t be long for Keno Way to turn into the commercial street it was set to become.
Parts 9A and 9B in the western portion of the neighborhood are being wrapped up this year with plans for the construction road to turn into a future walking trail.
Phases 10 and 11 and in the design phase and the latest phase to be completed was Phase 7 with 130 lots being released for sale this upcoming spring.
“Whistle Bend is designed as a complete community with all the services,” said Prentice. “It’s kind of a mini city.”
