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A
community rich in history has a bright future.
The community realized a record year for development in 2008, with
$7.55-million worth of building permits issued by the Town of Fort
Macleod.
“That’s a very good year,” Fort Macleod Mayor Shawn Patience said.
The strong showing in 2008 eclipsed the record set in 2007, when
the town issued building permits worth $7.49-million.That kind of
development in residential and commercial properties bodes well
for the future of Fort Macleod.
Two future projects will also help to spur the local economy. The
Alberta government selected Fort Macleod as the site for the
$200-million Alberta Police and Peace Officer Training Centre, at
which about 1,400 police and peace officer recruits will be
trained each year. The police college is expected to create 75 to
100 permanent jobs, as well as many spin-off opportunities.
Although no date has been announced when construction will start on
the police college, Premier Ed Stelmach and the provincial
government remain committed to the project. Another project that
has huge implications for the future of Fort Macleod is the
realignment of Highway 2 and 3 as part of the province’s plans for
a freeway that runs uninterrupted from Alaska to the United States
border.
Fort Macleod is the only community the freeway is expected to pass
through, providing the only highway commercial property potential
between Calgary and Coutts.
The highway realignment will open the south side of Fort Macleod
for commercial and residential development.
“We look forward to the exciting opportunities that will bring in
terms of highway commercial expansion, adding to the community’s
already tremendous potential,” Patience said.
The presence of broadband Internet access has also created new
opportunities for businesses that translates that it is no longer
necessary to be in a major center.
Within the town is an inventory of commercial lots for development.
Existing commercial uses have traditionally located adjacent to
the highway and in Fort Macleod’s historic downtown district.
Fort Macleod has Alberta’s only provincial historic area.
West of Midnight Stadium the Town of Fort Macleod owns land along
Highway 3 at the most westerly boundary of the community.
There is the potential for almost two square miles of commercial
development on the east entrance to town on Highway 3. The area
has convenient access to the freeway corridor. Parcel sizes can be
custom-ized for a variety of users from50-acre parcels to one to
two acres.
There is a strong potential for the development of a major truck
stop and all the spin-off uses from such a development, including
truck repair shops, truck washes, container storage and
distribution warehousing, which Fort Macleod officials say are
excellent and compatible uses for the land adjacent to a major
freeway.
The Town of Fort Macleod has the ability to offer all services
required including water, sewer, fire suppression, high speed
Internet and electrical capacity.
Any major distributor, manufacturer, producer or service facility
that requires full freeway exposure with ease of access and full
services is a potential client for this corridor.
At present, industrial development is in the Airport Industrial
Park and in linear strips adjacent to the Canadian Pacific
Railway.
The areas south of the proposed Highway 2 and Highway 3 realignment
have been identified as future locations where heavy industrial
development would be promoted. The area has large tracts of land
and excellent access to both rail and highway transportation.
Most properties are on the Multiple Listing Service (www.mls.ca). |
