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Local business communty cautious about Avenir

The local business community is still cautious about the Avenir concept while the project’s developers continue to do everything they can to drum up interest.

The local business community is still cautious about the Avenir concept while the project’s developers continue to do everything they can to drum up interest.

Gerry de Klerk, CEO of project partner Rampart Capital Corp, toured the site with media in tow Thursday. He explained how the $1.8-billion concept proposed for St. Albert’s northwest would combine residential with research and development of clean technologies.

“We’re the only platform in North America, certainly, maybe the world that does it … whatever we develop here will be a commodity to be exported to other areas,” de Klerk said.

While the forward-thinking concept has garnered interest throughout the region, the local business community remains cautious.

“They’ve certainly been very organized and I’d say very assertive about what their plans are and what they’d like to see for that area,” said Malcolm Parker, chair of the St. Albert economic development advisory committee.

The committee likes the Avenir concept but has questions about the inclusion of residential when the city has earmarked the area for industrial development.

“The important thing is that the industrial develops at the same pace as the residential,” Parker said.

Otherwise, the development doesn’t help St. Albert move toward its goal of an 80/20 split between residential and non-residential taxes, he said.

The business community has been listening and the project merits attention, Parker said.

“I think anytime anybody comes forward with what I would call a dream, let’s look at it and see if it fits,” he said.

The business community is swirling with rumours about Avenir and it’s hard to know what to believe, said chamber of commerce chair Mike Howes.

“We’re cautious,” he said. “I think they’ve got a lot of internal problems to solve before they ever turn any soil.”

“From a chamber standpoint … we just want to make sure that the commercial-industrial component goes in first,” he said.

de Klerk is expecting to come before council in April. He is a Dutch-born financier who’s based in Vancouver. He also maintains a presence in Los Angeles and Amsterdam. His company is also involved in producing feature and documentary films.

Rampart bought the land nearly four years ago from a long-time family friend, de Klerk said. He said he recognized that annexation was inevitable and felt the land value would increase. He also said he’s already turned down offers that were two-and-a-half times what he paid.

For the Avenir concept to come off as planned, a neighbouring development being orchestrated by St. Albert businessman Pat Cassidy would also need council approval.

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