Athabasca University’s decision to leave St. Albert brings to an end the institution’s 20-year history with the city of St. Albert.
Athabasca – in taking up to 60 employees of the business faculty with it – can be viewed as a big loss for the city, which aims to increase economic activity. It’s unfortunate, but may not be as big a drain as it first appears – certainly it won’t result in lost tax revenue.
True, it doesn’t help the city’s Business and Tourism Development plan – published in 2008 – aiming to have 20 per cent of city taxes coming from non-residential assessment and 20,000 people working in the community by 2024. Currently our non-residential tax base accounts for 13.2 per cent of city revenue. Make no mistake, no loss is good, but what is actually going is a satellite office that few citizens realized was actually there. And certainly staff who lived and shopped here before will likely continue to do so.
Why did Athabasca decide to pack its bags and what do the answers mean for our city’s future economic development?
Deborah Hurst, the dean of business at Athabasca, cited rent and no suitable 18,000-square-foot space as two of the major reasons the university has decided to pull roots and move to Edmonton.
St. Albert will always have difficulty competing Edmonton when it comes to providing office space cheaply. The capital has an array of building space available ranging from new to old, while many of our assets are on the newer side and therefore more expensive to renters.
The lack of office space is a barrier to growth in St. Albert, according to St. Albert Chamber of Commerce president Lynda Moffat. She says the city cannot attract businesses if there is no place for them to rent. That is just common sense.
What is the solution? As Moffat points out the new employment lands would be a great fit for Athabasca University, but those lands are not yet serviced.
Economic development officer Guy Boston added he spent years trying to find a workable plan to keep Athabasca within the city limits. Boston said they went as far to set up meeting between the university and potential investors. It is not like the city failed its due diligence on this one.
Unfortunately, sometimes, it comes down to simple economics and fit. Athabasca found the space it was looking for the price it could afford to pay.
Whether or not Athabasca is gone for good remains to be seen and Boston said he will continue to work to get them back. The key may be to follow up Moffat’s advice and determine whether the City needs to get into the development game itself or by joint venture. If the assets we need to create economic growth do not exist we just may need to take a much more proactive approach to entice developments that will help provide the city with a better range of commercial space.
