The Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission’s new liquor distribution centre is on track to open in 2017, on time and on budget.
The massive building is taking shape at the site at the north end of Boudreau Road near the Anthony Henday. The steel skeleton of the future office building and warehouse has been rising rapidly during recent months.
Construction on the facility began shortly after the building contract was awarded to Edmonton-based construction company Dawson Wallace Construction Ltd. in January.
“The steel framing for the office section of the building is almost complete and the warehouse framing has started,” says Michelle Hynes-Dawson, spokesperson for the AGLC.
The projected completion date is late fall 2017.
The new warehouse will serve as the province’s main shipping and receiving point, and distribution centre for spirits, wine and imported beers.
The 473,000-square-foot building will eliminate the need to lease additional storage space at three facilities in Edmonton, saving the AGLC an estimated $5 million per year in operating costs.
The budget for the project is $153 million, funded from the AGLC’s operations.
With more than 22,000 liquor products available in the province, the design concept of the distribution centre takes into consideration future expansion of the facility, says Hynes-Dawson.
AGLC’s current warehouse located at 50 Corriveau Ave. will remain open and be used to store lower-volume specialty brands of liquor.
“As planned, renovations of the existing warehouse will not start until the new warehouse is fully operational … work is projected to begin in 2018,” says Hynes-Dawson.
Research prepared for the AGLC by PricewaterhouseCoopers found that having more than one liquor distribution centre in Alberta would result in inefficiencies for the industry, as well as higher costs for retailers and consumers.
More than 1,000 jobs related to the AGLC headquarters and warehouse operations, including current construction, will remain in St. Albert for the long-term, adds Hynes-Dawson.
The AGLC purchased 22 hectares (55 acres) of land next to Veness Road in the Campbell Business Park in 2014. Landscapers broke ground soon after to complete site grading, underground services and stormwater management. A request for construction proposals was issued publicly in the fall of 2015.
