Cormode and Dixon Construction is moving into the planning mode for a new downtown development after being the only bidder for site 26 on the former Motorways trucking yard lots downtown.

"We're excited for the opportunity,” Jacob Heigers, general manager of the company's Yukon operations, said in an interview this morning.

Cormode bid $230,000 for the 651-square-metre lot, which had a minimum upset price of $208,000.

The property is one of five across from the Kwanlin Dun Cultural Centre between Keish and Black streets.

Cormode officials are envisioning a possible multi-resdiential development with some office space as well. Heigers said the exact details haven't been finalized, and work will now begin on those details.

Since the company didn't want to lose the site, he said, it put its bid in at $22,000 over what the city had set at the minimum, a price they believe is reasonable.

That bid represented the largest difference from what the city had set in its minimum prices at.

The smallest difference came from the Yukon Teachers' Association for site 38 at Black Street and Second Avenue next to the Roadhouse.

It bid just $3 over the minimum upset price of $327,000 for the 745-square-metre lot.

The association could not be reached for comment on its plans for the site this morning.

As Cathy Small, the city's subdivision and lands co-ordinator, said this morning, the bids had to be more than the minimum price set for the nine properties which were up for bid.

With only four bids coming in for different properties, all were successful.

The highest bid came from Lumel Studios, which bid $539,539 for site 24, a 1,430-square-metre piece of property at Keish Street and First Avenue, one of the five across from the cultural centre. It had a minimum upset price of $539,000.

Finally, James Maltby offered $210,000 on site 25, another 651 square metre lot between lots 24 and 26. Its minimum price was also set at $208,000.

The successful bidders now have until Friday to sign the sale agreement with a closing date of July 12.

That means the prospective property owners could opt out of the sale agreement by the July 12 date with a $500 penalty.

Meanwhile, the other five lots that didn't receive bids will be sold over the counter.

Small said officials have not yet determined when that will happen, but she said those details will be announced soon and there will be a two-week advertising period.

The prices will be set at the minimum the city was seeking in its bids, ranging from $208,000 for another 651-square-metre site to $788,000 for the largest of the properties – a 1,900-square-metre site at Black Street and Second Avenue.

The limited number of bids didn't come as a big surprise to Small, given the number of construction projects already underway around town, but the different nature of four bidders did.

Small noted there may be more interest in the properties once they're made available over the counter.

The site has been proposed for development now for years, with the lots first going on sale in 2008 with prices ranging from $290,000 to $651,000.

The lots went unsold and were finally taken off the market while the city made a number of zoning changes to the site to help sell the properties.

After no interest was shown the next time the city put out tenders on the site, the city subdivided and redesigned the lots along Second Avenue. That removed an easement which would have restricted development, and removed one lot from the plan.

The easement is now set to serve as a boulevard area.

In 2010, it was found that further remediation work was needed in the area. The sites were taken off the market again until that work was done.