Alberta politicians went back and forth over the funding Lakeview Business District last week, with local representatives advocating for cash to service the land.
On Wednesday Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley spoke to the St. Albert and District Chamber of Commerce, announcing a commitment to fund part of the servicing of the Lakeview Business District if elected.
The Lakeview Business District is a currently non-serviced portion of land covered under the West ASP which is partially owned by the city. It sits west of Ray Gibbon Drive and north of Big Lake.
But by Thursday afternoon an Alberta minister called an NDP proposal to partner with the City of St. Albert to fund the servicing of a new business district "a lot like corporate welfare."
Alberta's Minister of Northern Development Brian Jean responded to a question from NDP MLA Marie Renaud in the legislature, criticizing the recently proposed opposition plan.
"I did listen to that announcement and I thank the member for the question. I was kind of surprised because it sounds a lot like corporate welfare based on the announcement," Jean said.
"There's only one taxpayer and that is Albertans. We have to manage their money properly and fairly and we'll do just that.”
By Friday, local Morinville-St. Albert MLA Dale Nally weighed in and said he was working with his UCP colleagues to secure funding for Lakeview.
Nally, who is finishing up his first term as MLA for the riding, said in a statement the business district is important for St. Albert.
"As Minister Jean said, there are ways that the province can support this development and our government is committed to clearing roadblocks and finding ways to help see the project to completion," Nally said in a statement.
"I am working closely with my colleagues to share the importance of this project and secure the funding necessary for the infrastructure that is needed."
Nally said he has "no doubt" it will be the UCP government that supports the construction of Lakeview Business District.
St. Albert Mayor Cathy Heron said the announcement by the NDP was welcome news and noted the next step to get the west side of development underway is to start the work on Lakeview, which is slated to become an industrial area in the city.
“It's our number one priority,” the mayor said.
“We get calls all the time looking for people that want to set up in St. Albert and we are out of land.”
Heron said to fund the servicing of the district, the city will be looking for a partnership between the city, province, and feds, with each group paying roughly one-third of the cost.
The mayor said they don’t have a final number on the cost of the project, however she estimates it could be anywhere from $60 to $80 million. A lot of the costs are recoverable through offsite levies, Heron noted, which is a way developers pay back some of the costs for the services once the land is developed.
“The actual cost of the public is maybe $30 million,” Heron said.
If the funding for the district comes through this year, Heron said she could see shovels in the ground by next year, and building going up by 2026.
The provincial election is slated for May 29, 2023.
