St. Albert has placed seventh on a top-10 list of Canada's locations for real estate investment.
The ranking comes from a report issued by the Real Estate Investment Network (REIN), a private sector research organization. In all, four Alberta cities made the list, with Calgary first, Edmonton third and Red Deer ninth.
St. Albert's strengths are its strategic location, consistently low vacancy rates, high rents and strong increases in property values, the report states.
St. Albert has also become a major retail centre for the northern region while adding to its industrial and commercial job base, the report states. The city is also poised to benefit from the opening of the northwest leg of the Anthony Henday Drive, which is targeted for November 2011.
The forecast looks five years into the future. REIN president Don Campbell believes companies will seek to locate in St. Albert to tap into its educated work force and improved access.
St. Albert's ability to take full advantage of the Henday opening will depend on city council's ability to identify and zone new industrial land, Campbell noted in an interview.
“The city has got to really get on this now about how are they going to zone, where are they going to zone … where do we want to put the new manufacturers and distributors and not to turn it all into retail and housing,” Campbell said.
With 70 industrial lots available between the Campbell area and South Riel, the city has an ample supply for the near future, said Mayor Nolan Crouse.
“For the most part we're ready. What we're not ready for is the longer term, the 10 to 30 year supply,” Crouse said.
The city is also not ready with a supply of 10 to 20 acre parcels needed by large-scale operations, he said.
Chamber of commerce chair Mike Howes agreed with the report's assessment that St. Albert will soon become a hot spot.
“It's something that we've been saying for a long time. It's nice to hear somebody from outside the community agrees with us,” he said.
The city might have to adjust its municipal development plan to provide the type of land that's in demand but St. Albert's location means it's just a matter of time until it's a prime real estate locale, Howes said.
“I think it's going to happen with or without us,” he said. “When Edmonton is building out the way it is, we're the next place to stop.”
There's already been increased industrial interest since the Henday construction started and increased demand will help the city identify and designate the next area of industrial land, said Larry Horncastle, director of St. Albert Business and Tourism Development.
“The activity in the market will spur private development,” he said.
