The last residents moved out of Midfield Mobile Home Park in early 2018, but it may take a few more years before anyone else gets to live at that location.

The trailer park was closed by the city because of the crumbling underground water and sanitary lines.

The utilities have all been removed. Environmental testing and geotechnical work is now being done on the site as part of the process of determining what can or cannot be built there.

The area that used to be the mobile park home has been fenced off, with large signs warning against trespassing. (Rebecca Kelly/CBC)

Information needed

A senior project manager with the city's real estate services, Carol-Ann Beswick, said it's essential to get that information before planning work on the new mixed-use community truly gets underway.

Carol-Ann Beswick with the city's real estate services says planning a redevelopment like Winston Heights Village can take several years. (Scott Dippel/CBC)

"We will know more details in the fall, so when we do engage with the community, we'll have a really good sense of what parts of the site will be able to take certain height in building. So two storey, four storey, eight storeys based on the geotechnical investigation," she said.

But it will still take a fair amount of time before any redevelopment actually occurs on the site.

Following the start of the community engagement plan, Beswick said a conceptual plan of the new community known as Winston Heights Village will have to be drawn up.

That will determine what infrastructure and utilities are required from the city to service the site.

Then the city's land use process will have to be followed before a For Sale sign can be pounded into some portions of the land.

"It takes time. It can take several years before you actually see vertical buildings on the site," said Beswick.

Not all of the city land may be sold

She said the city may decide to hang on to portions of the mixed-use site as it envisions a range of residential options, including affordable housing.

The city will also be wanting to ensure that any new development integrates well with the existing communities around it, and that it will connect with regional pathways, Beswick said.

The site is bordered by 16th Avenue on its south side and by Moncton Road on its western flank.

The property includes the former Midfield Mobile Home Park, as well as land that used to be home to an RCMP building and a former Calgary fire station that's now being used as an Alberta EMS hall.