St. Albert will continue discussions on fast-tracking a major infrastructure project on the west side, in an early attempt stimulate the local economy post-COVID-19.
In anticipation of an unannounced provincial stimulus package, city council gave administration the green light Monday to collaborate with Rohit Land Developments to prioritize getting a parcel of land St. Albert has set aside for a future recreation centre to “shovel-ready” status.
But that servicing could benefit the broader area, and staff said it could also stimulate development in the Lakeview Business District. The Rohit parcel is west of Ray Gibbon Drive and south of Villeneuve Road.
If all goes according to plan, city staff said shovels could be in the ground on sanitary sewer this year, provided all environmental permits are obtained in time.
Early estimates put the project’s price tag at $9.9 million.
“I think this one has a good opportunity to create quite a few jobs in St. Albert and stimulate the economy here,” said Mayor Cathy Heron.
Chief administrative officer Kevin Scoble noted St. Albert now has a shortage of developable land with utilities hooked up, following the March announcement of Uline locating a 600,000-square-foot shipping distribution centre in Riel.
“We’re at the point now where we actually have a shortage of serviced land again. With those recent announcements, a good chunk of our serviced land has been consumed,” he said. “For further growth, we do need to get servicing going.”
Council has not yet committed any dollars to the project, but city staff said the landowner – Rohit – has nearly completed its preliminary design for servicing options. They are supportive of accelerating timelines on design and construction for services and working alongside the city, staff said.
The main utility project being considered in this instance is sanitary sewer, and manager of infrastructure planning and asset management Jason Casault said once that is in place, it would facilitate the other utility components, including water and storm water.
“We better make that clear, like everybody’s saying, ‘Wow we’ve got all this land that’s serviced now’,” said Coun. Ray Watkins. “No, it’s not all serviced.”
He also cautioned the city in how it reimburses Rohit for their work on preliminary design.
“There’s a process in place. And we don’t want to be on the hook for a whole bunch of money to pay for a whole bunch of detailed design that is usually up-fronted by a developer and is recovered through the (off-site) levy process,” Watkins said.
Coun. Wes Brodhead spearheaded the initiative and said St. Albert has an opportunity "to position a needed piece of infrastructure as potential for stimulus funding should it arise."
Administration will bring servicing options back to council during their May 25 meeting.
In January, council decided to accept a land donation offer by Rohit where they could locate future community amenities, including a recreation campus.
St. Albert is not the only one preparing for a potential announcement of funding from other levels of government. Last week, Calgary created a COVID-19 recovery task force that is compiling a list of shovel-ready projects, in anticipation of stimulus package announcements.
