The future business district on the west side of the city is a main pillar of the city's future, according to speaks at the city's annual economic development breakfast.
On Tuesday morning, St. Albert Mayor Cathy Heron spoke to the city's business leaders about the importance of the district, which is currently empty land that sits to the west of Ray Gibbon Drive and to the north of Big Lake.
"Investment in Lakeview Business District will maintain the momentum of economic growth along Ray Gibbon Drive," Heron said.
"This is going to improve Alberta supply chain and will support growth within the region and all of northern Alberta."
According to city data, St. Albert has the lowest amount of industrial space in the region, sitting at 0.6 per cent vacancy.
As of the end of 2022 there was a renewed optimism in office building occupancy in the Edmonton region and in St. Albert, said Christian Benson, manager of investment, attraction, and growth at the City of St. Albert.
Office space in St. Albert has a 3.7 per cent vacancy rate down from a high of 5.8 per cent. In person shopping has started to increase post pandemic and Benson said seven out of ten shoppers prefer to pick up their goods in person.
St. Albert is the eighth largest city in the province, Benson said, and in the last five years the city has averaged building 450 new residential housing units per year, with a high watermark of 701 units in 2017. There were 557 housing units built in 2022, the second highest in the last five years.
In 2022 there was $150 million in housing value built into the city, Benson said.
The development expert said the city is adapting and they are increasingly building homes for those of all income and age levels.
As St. Albert grows Benson said the city can expect to see more density and vertical growth, similar to Riverbank Landing.
“There's plenty of reason for optimism that I've heard and seen for the future. The residential sector will continue to grow as Alberta experiences unprecedented growth in population,” Benson said.
“Recent stats suggest that both immigration and future…population growth for 2022 is resulting the largest population (influx) seen in Alberta and almost 40 years, resulting in in a growth rate of 1.3 per cent,” Benson said.
