St. Albert and area residents got their first public look at the concept behind the Rampart Avenir clean technology community on Thursday evening and many liked what they saw.
Avenir would be a combination of residential and commercial development. The commercial component would focus on emerging technologies in the clean tech sector with the entire community used as a place to implement them.
The proposal would be located in an area in St. Albert's northwest corner, directly west of the North Ridge neighbourhood.
"This is not your normal community development project," said project director David Bromley.
The project would cost $1.8 billion over 10 to 15 years, Bromley estimated. It would see $100 million invested in clean technology on more than 40 hectares of light industrial land. It would also bring in more than 6,000 residents, more than 10 kilometres of trails and between $4.5 million and $5.5 million to the city in taxes.
When looking for a place to base his concept, the former St. Albert resident looked at the U.S. Midwest, California, Texas and Ontario, Bromley said.
St. Albert was the right fit because the Capital region is a growth area for residential development with a large available land base. Also St. Albert has a highly trained population, is fairly close to the oilsands and the cold winters provide a good opportunity to test new building concepts and materials, Bromley said.
Partner Gerry de Klerk of Rampart Capital Corp., which owns most of the land in the Avenir development, said it would be easy to do a traditional mixed-use development, but they're trying to do something different because the future will be different.
"The future will involve new technologies that will be used all over the world and we'd like those technologies to be developed in our area," he said.
Melcor Developments, another partner that owns the remainder of the Avenir land, saw the concept as a way to develop its portion sooner but also sees merit in the type of development.
"The public sentiment for embracing clean technologies … is growing," said vice-president Peter Daly. "We think that there is a grand opportunity to bring a new model for developers."
The project also has affiliations with Canada's National Research Council, the National Institute of Nanotechnology, the University of Toronto's clean technology business incubator and Enertech Capital, a clean-tech venture capital firm.
The open house attracted a number of people in the sub-30 demographic, a rare sighting at such events.
Punam Grewal, 25, was drawn to the presentation. The Edmontonian recently earned a masters of science in sustainable building and likes the Avenir concept.
"It's great for Alberta but I want to see how they're going to make it happen because it's bigger than anything that I've ever seen or heard of," she said.
Patrick Sullivan, a 28-year-old electrician, was also intrigued.
"I'd like to become a resident," he said. "It seems to me like it's a world leading thing."
Sturgeon County farmer Ken Pacholok thinks it's a "tremendous project" with a great team that will provide high quality jobs over the long term.
"It's out there, but you know what, there's nothing wrong with that," he said. "There's nothing wrong with innovation … with good new ideas."
Local businessman Andy von Busse is concerned that the development will focus on residential and leave the industrial for later, only to return to council to ask for re-zoning as has happened in the past.
"With St. Albert really trying to get to that 80/20 goal, that would be one of my concerns," von Busse said. "The concept — it's a great idea."
Bromley said that the industrial component is located on an old landfill where residential wouldn't be allowed.
Hurdles
The Avenir project is exciting and "complex in every aspect," said Mayor Nolan Crouse.
For starters, the Avenir concept requires successful approval of a complementary project being organized by local businessman Pat Cassidy.
Cassidy has an option to buy the parcel directly east of the land controlled by Avenir and it's Cassidy's land that would contain the industrial areas that are part of the Avenir concept. Cassidy is working on his own application to the city and will hold an open house sometime in April.
There's also the need for provincial highway money for the completion of Ray Gibbon Drive and an ongoing negotiation between Sturgeon County and St. Albert concerning the way development along the border is approved, Crouse said.
Then there's smart growth, the city-driven proposal that calls for all light industrial development in the same area where Avenir is proposing residential. This is expected to come to council April 6.
"If you're looking for crystal clear at this point it's not because each one of these has to fall into place in some fashion," Crouse said.
Bromley thinks the Cassidy project is on solid footing and Ray Gibbon Drive will happen eventually. He's had good feedback from the county and, concerning smart growth, he simply feels his project is a better use of the land.
"I don't see it as insurmountable at all. I see it as very process oriented now," he said.
