More than two years since the idea for a ‘clean-tech’ community was first floated, the backers of Avenir have handed city council an ultimatum: let’s get on with it or we’ll bolt to one of your Capital region neighbours. Officials with Rampart Avenir refuse to say where they might end up, but have mentioned that two municipalities are more than interested and presumably won’t throw up roadblocks like St. Albert Place. It could be a bluff or it’s possible Avenir is prepared to buy land elsewhere so it can develop conventional houses trumped up as clean-tech, next door to a business park that’s part of the “cutting edge technology” equation — but owned by someone else — and a pie-in-the-sky sports city concept that’s been kicked around a few times with no success.
The ultimatum is an obvious display of frustration from a company that’s scratching its head over why city council still isn’t sold on such a ‘groundbreaking’ new neighbourhood, despite plenty of hype. Avenir has worked city council over from the initial announcement of an $8-billion development for St. Albert’s northwest. Due to the clean-tech focus, Avenir would be unlike any community in St. Albert, overlooking the fact none of the housing would actually feature clean technologies but would be a ‘testing ground’ for technologies, based on market demands of course. Comparisons were made to research campuses in Kanata, Ont. and plenty of potential partner names have been dropped with technology giant Cisco being the latest. Avenir is suddenly touting a data utility concept that would allow heavy data using technology companies and oilsands professionals to set up shop in St. Albert.
It appears some councillors are buying what’s being sold — either that or they’re just willing to take any new development, no matter the type or what it might mean for St. Albert in the long term. Coun. Wes Brodhead said, “If the absolute worst happens, what we have is a residential development that looks like the rest of St. Albert and is that all that bad?” It’s a good question and, overlooking the fact Avenir would become a leapfrogged cluster of isolated houses, the answer from most residents attracted to St. Albert’s residential neighbourhoods would likely be a resounding “not at all.” After all, that’s what the market wants and that’s what sells.
As often is the case, government has bigger picture issues to consider and the first priority for a city council in St. Albert has to be taxes, taxes, taxes. If you think that’s a heady problem today, imagine what’s in store for residents if nearly all 1,336 hectares of the annexed lands, minus the commercial strip along St. Albert Trail, develop as residential. That’s a lot of new roads, sewers, garbage toters, trucks, sanding and street-cleaning crews, bus stops, buses and drivers to pay for. And guess who’s going to foot the bill?
The city needs more industrial land at its disposal and the Avenir/SAS holdings are among the most logical spots — along the future Highway 2 bypass at the intersection of secondary highway 633. It might not happen at that specific location, and it might take decades to realize, but city council needs to start walking the walk on economic development and listen to the advice of the experts at its disposal, including its own business and tourism department, and open St. Albert up for business. A sliver of a business park and 600 home-based businesses in Avenir aren’t good enough and while a commercial area would help St. Albert’s tax situation, it wouldn’t create the kind of decent paying jobs that inject dollars into the economy like a light industrial park. The true worst-case scenario is not just another residential neighbourhood, but a missed opportunity to help address a problem that threatens St. Albert’s long-term viability in the region.
