All 15 Takhini North residential lots available in the city's land lottery Tuesday were taken.

The nine single-family lots ranged in price from $89,000 to $111,000, including the GST, while the six duplex lots went for $166,000 to $175,000, with all prices related directly to lot size.

Senior city planner Mike Ellis said 37 individuals paid the $60 application fee to enter the first of two Takhini North lotteries scheduled for this year, the next one being in the late fall.

Some of the successful applicants have the same last name. That suggests there is a chance lots may be turned back by families who applied for more than one just to increase their chances of being selected, Ellis said.

He said a standby list was created from those who were unsuccessful.

Given the total number of applicants, and the number of multiple family names, overall, it doesn't appear as though demand for urban lots in the city is as heated as some might believe, Ellis said.

In last September's first-ever city land lottery for 14 Porter Creek lots developed on the site of the old Stan McCowan Arena, there were 24 applicants and 10 lots taken, though the rest of the lots, except for the one multi-family lot, have since been taken.

Construction is just now beginning on the two Porter Creek lots set aside for five townhouses each, Ellis pointed out.

He said the intention was to get the Takhini North lots out early enough for construction this year, adding there still may be time for some activity.

Unlike the territorial government policy requiring land lottery winners to build before they can sell their properties, the city policy permits successful applicants to sell without building.

Winners in the Takhini North lottery have until Oct. 9 to come forward with the $5,000 deposit to hold the single-family lots or the $7,500 for each duplex lot – $3,750 a side. Title must be raised no later than Dec. 18, or the applicants forfeit their deposits.

Unlike the territorial guidelines, there is no two-year deadline for the completion of a dwelling.

Ellis noted that applicants were not allowed to use corporate names, and city staff has recognized some of the names on the list of winners as those of local contractors.

The residential lots range in size from 5,300 square feet, or slightly larger than the average downtown lot measuring 50 feet by 100, to 7,700 square feet. The duplex lots varied in size from 9,300 square feet to 10,200.

While the single-family lots are smaller than the urban lots sold in the Copper Ridge subdivision over the last few years, they're not much out of line with earlier Copper Ridge lots, Ellis said.

He also pointed out setbacks have been relaxed so that property owners can place their homes closer to the street – three metres (10 feet) rather than the standard six metres – to expand the size of the back yard.

"Every lot we sold backs onto or is adjacent to green space,” Ellis added.

"So the lots may not be as big, but you are getting direct access to publicly owned green spaces.”

It will be the same with the three single-family and nine of the 10 duplex lots in the next lottery, he said.

In the lottery later this fall, there will also be three multi-family lots that allow for apartments large enough to accommodate an average of 33 units.

Also available will be one mixed-use site, which will allow for a mix of commercial and residential, such as a coffee shop or hair salon on the bottom and residential accommodations on top.

Ellis said there will be an additional 17 single-family lots and 19 duplex lots available in next year's lottery.

The total Takhini North project is estimated at $13.85 million, of which $9.85 million was earmarked for the reconstruction of the existing neighbourhood, with $4 million set aside to build the new section.

If all the projections come in on target, and the city is able to sell the lots for the appraised value, taxpayers will be left with a bill for $350,000 after all is said and done, Ellis explained.

He pointed out, however, that the bid for this year's construction came in lower than expected.

"Some of the multi-family lots could sell for higher than the appraised value because we are going to be asking for bids,” he said, adding the city will not be accepting any bids lower than the appraised value.

Also contributing to the $13.85-million project cost is a $2.5-million federal government contribution toward the reconstruction of the former federal government subdivision, and local improvement charges assessed against existing property owners.