A St. Albert-based newspaper publisher and printing business got the green light from city council to build a new multi-million dollar facility in Campbell Business Park.
Great West Newspapers, which publishes 24 titles throughout Alberta including the St. Albert Gazette and See Magazine, received a development permit from city council Monday.
The decision paves the way for Great West to build a 5,800-sq.-metre (62,000-sq.-ft.) industrial building that will house about 100 full- and part-time employees.
As well as publishing and printing its own stable of newspapers, Great West operates a commercial printing business that serves the three western provinces and the Northwest Territories.
The company is hoping to break ground in spring 2011 and move in during the spring of 2012, said president and CEO Duff Jamison.
The land in question is zoned direct control, which requires that city council rather than the planning department approve the development permit. Council endorsed the plan unanimously.
“It will be a great addition to St. Albert,” said Coun. Len Bracko.
“It supports the full build-out of Campbell and it supports our economic development initiatives so good for them. I look forward to this,” said Coun. Malcolm Parker.
Great West has occupied its current leased space in Campbell Business Park for about 30 years. The company bought its land at 340 Carleton Dr. in 2005. The parcel also backs onto Veness Road.
The new building will cost about $15 million to build and equip, Jamison said. It will be almost double the size of the company’s current location, which is getting “cramped for space,” he said.
The expansion runs counter to the commonly held belief that the newspaper business is in decline. “That’s right, we’re a dying business. I forgot about that,” Jamison joked.
“The negative headlines you’ve been reading about our industry are really talking about the large metro daily newspapers,” he said. “But the community newspaper business is alive and well.”
Hockey league partners with St. Albert Sports City
A partnership between the Alberta Men’s Hockey League (AMHL) and the St. Albert Sports City complex could present an opportunity for future expansion, said AMHL owner and director Melanie Groeneveld.
Both organizations announced earlier this month they had entered into a partnership that will see the AMHL provided with preferential time slots in the St. Albert Sports City’s indoor sports area, a major component of the Major Sport Development Centre.
St. Albert Sports City is a proposed 120-hectare integrated real estate development of SAS Sports & Entertainment Group that would include a combination of residential, industrial and commercial development. The facility, if approved, would be built on a northwest quadrant of St. Albert.
Currently, the AMHL, which was started in 1983, has 82 teams in its winter program.
Groeneveld said a lack of available ice time is an issue among hockey teams in Edmonton and the surrounding area.
“We do get a lot of inquiries from teams in other leagues who want to join our league but we just don’t have any room to accommodate them. There is limited ice available in Edmonton and surrounding area,” she told the Gazette.
Don Henderson of SAS Sports & Entertainment Group said the company has had conversations from other sports groups.
“There have been an awful lot of groups that have indicated an interest,” Henderson said.
“Our intent isn’t to compete against Servus Place,” he said, adding that he thinks the two facilities will be “complementary.”
If completed, the facility would include five ice rinks and a baseball stadium, as well as several sport academies.
