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This Month's Issue:
St. Albert: Smart and Steady |
State of the Economy 2016
Every year the City of St. Albert's Economic Development department creates a comprehensive report that details the current economic environment, with a focus on what it means for the community. This report, titled State of the Economy, is full of valuable insights that city council, administration, business owners, and residents can all use to make more informed decisions. As the outlook begins to brighten for Alberta coming out of the latest recession, it appears St. Albert has weathered the storm with some resilience, outperforming the province overall on many key indicators.
When looking at new housing starts, St. Albert had a record year in 2016, driven primarily by a large increase in high density units. Some of the key contributors to the new residential growth were Botanica, Grandin Parc Village, Erin Ridge Gate, and Giroux Estates.
When examining business licence growth by type, we see strong growth in all three categories. Residential business licenses are the brick-and-mortar stores, and non-residential licenses are those required by non-local contractors who are doing work in the community. By far, the largest component is local (residential) businesses, which have been growing despite the poor economic conditions in the province. A large portion of the growth in 2016 came from the shopping centre in Erin Ridge North.
Finally, if we look at the industrial building space growth in St. Albert, the trend shows very steady growth, with a large jump every now and then from large projects, such as the first AGLC warehouse (1981), the Enjoy Centre (2010), and another spike coming in 2017 when the new AGLC warehouse in South Campbell Business Park is added to the total. As the new business park in South Riel is constructed, and the Employment lands begin building out, St. Albert is forecast to have very strong industrial growth in the coming years, well above the historic average. For more economic insights, the interested reader should consult the State of the Economy 2016, located here:
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Upcoming Events
March 31 - April 2
April 13
April 29 - 30
June 19 - 23
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St. Albert Centre Renovations make for a new mall experience
The news of Target's bankruptcy and subsequent withdrawal from the Canadian market caused consternation among many in the retail world. But Primaris Management Inc
.,
the owners of
St. Albert Centre
, approached the issue as an opportunity.
Led by general manager Jillian Creech, Primaris began work on
revitalizing an aging city landmark.
The new mall design will increase the floor space available for lease by over 110,000 square feet, effectively increasing the size of the mall by 33%. Not only will this increase the variety of stores available to shoppers, but it will also change the overall layout of the mall. The new design will implement a loop in the mall, adding a new entrance to better tie in the parking on the north side. The walking loop also serves to increase exposure for retailers to shoppers who are interested in browsing as it allows for a unique shopping experience to and from each mall entrance.
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Dyson Auto Tap and Hand Dryer |
Not only are the upgrades functional, but they also give the mall a fresh, open feeling that must be experienced to be fully realized. The new section features higher ceilings, skylights allowing for natural light, upgraded light fixtures, and much more. Amenities were also upgraded and no expense was spared to provide the utmost quality to guests of St. Albert Centre- look no further than the beautiful Dyson automatic tap and hand dryer combination (pictured right) for evidence of the new style. There is more seating and gathering areas and less permanent kiosks in the halls, a look that will also be implemented in the older section of the mall.
While Mark's and Winners have already moved in to their new locations, further additions are just around the corner. The new London Drugs is scheduled to open in June, with retailers including Belissima Women's Clothing, Evena Naturals, Soft Moc, and Michael Hill opening later in the summer in the final corridor.
Primaris' investment of $23 million is a great show of faith in the economy of our City and in support of our community, but they don't plan on stopping there. Creech has an incredible vision for the Centre, and wants to ensure that it remains a premier gathering point for our community. Next on the docket are plans to spread some of the renovations to the older sect ion, explore options for the aging exterior, and perhaps an expansion of the food court to accommodate more variety- though nothing is yet confirmed. One thing that is certain: the renovations make visiting the mall an entirely new experience.
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2017 Provincial Budget Highlights--And What They Mean to Business Owners/Investors
The Province of Alberta has released its budget for 2017. Here are some of the budget's highlights for business owners and investors:
Spending
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Funding through
Alberta Enterprise Corporation to spur innovation, growth and employment in areas such as clean technology.
- This organization invests in Alberta-focused venture capital funds that finance early stage, technology start-ups. For more information, click here (http://www.alberta-enterprise.ca/)
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$13 million to attract and support new businesses and pursue regional economic development.
- The CARES (Community and Regional Economic Support) program funds initiatives that create a measurable impact and align with specific outcomes, such as improving the local business environment or enhancing support for businesses and industries that provide diversification to a community/region. For more information, click here (https://www.alberta.ca/community-regional-economic-support-program.aspx#toc-3)
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$46 million for apprenticeship delivery and new training opportunities.
Taxes
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$71 million for 2 tax credits to encourage investors to support small and medium sized companies and encourage business capital investments.
- The Capital Investment Tax Credit (CITC) encourages timely capital investments that create opportunities for economic growth, by offering a 10% credit of up to $5 million to businesses involved in manufacturing, processing and tourism infrastructure that make eligible capital investments of $1 million or more. For more information on this credit, click here (https://www.alberta.ca/capital-investment-tax-credit.aspx).
- The Alberta Investor Tax Credit (AITC) encourages investors to provide entrepreneurs with greater access to capital; a 30% tax credit is offered to investors who provide capital to small businesses involved in research, development, and commercialization of new technology/products/processes. For more information, click here (https://www.alberta.ca/alberta-investor-tax-credit.aspx)
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The small business corporate income tax rate was reduced from 3% to 2%, effective January 1st 2017. This was done to help small businesses deal with increased costs
deriving from the Carbon Levy.
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Imposition of a rate ceiling of 6.8 cents per kilowatt hour for electricity prices.
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2017 Business Breakfast Recap
On March 15, the 2017 Business Breakfast was hosted by our department. This was the first year it was held at the St. Albert
curling club. We had a packed event with attendees ranging from local business and community leaders, to professional associates in Edmonton, Morinville, and Leduc-Nisku.
Following our Economic Development theme of "Smart and Steady", the topics presented ranged from visual updates of local development, Shop St. Albert social media campaign, and State of the Economy report to a message from new City Manager Kevin Scoble regarding zero-waste and alternate municipal funding sources.
If you missed our event but would like to see the presentations, you can view them here:
Our next business breakfast event will be held in Q1 2018.
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Show Us What You Got! #IGOTITHERE Shop St. Albert Social Media Campaign
The City of St. Albert Economic Development Department is starting a campaign on April 1, 2017 to encourage residents to shop in St. Albert. The "Show Us What You Got" campaign encourages shoppers to post a photo of their St. Albert purchases on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram with the hashtag #IGotItHere.
The hope is that the campaign will highlight that most things can be purchased here and residents don't have to automatically go to Edmonton for their needs.
Each month a prize will be awarded to one participant, a $100 gift certificate to the St. Albert business of their choice. Economic Development is encouraging all retailers to promote this with their customers.
Posts in six broad categories are being encouraged but all posts are welcome:
- Food and Dining
- Fashion
- Electronics
- Home and Garden
- Recreation and Sports
- Services
Promotional buttons for each of the categories have been made and businesses are encouraged to request a box of pins for their business.
I
f you would like a box of buttons for your business as a point of sale reference for the contest, please contact
Dawn Fedorvich
at
780-459-1743
or
dfedorvich@stalbert.ca
The campaign will also feature ads online and in the St. Albert Gazette educating shoppers about the impact they can have by spending their money in St. Albert. A training program on creating amazing customer experiences is also being worked on. More information will come when available.
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See Interior of The Collective in Downtown - Lease Spaces Available now!
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| The "300" - 300 sq.ft pop-up retail space |
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| The Collective Marketplace |
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| The Collective Shared Boardroom |
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The Collective Marketplace is a space where young adult can flourish into entrepreneurs in a safe environment.
We provide young entrepreneurs a place to start and grow their business and mentorship from successful business partners who are passionate about seeing new retail thrive.
Vendor Opportunities
Apply to:
Ben Huising
Youth Asset Development Coordinator,
Community & Social Development
The Collective
#100 - 43 St. Thomas St.
Ph: 780.470.2059
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Attention Business Retention & Expansion Professionals! BREI 2017 Conference, June 19 - 23
BREI is pleased to announce its
2017 Annual Conference
to be held in
Edmonton, Alberta
. Slated to be hosted by the
Westin
, this conference will feature top-notch business retention and expansion speakers with a mix of tracks to include both educators and practitioners of BRE.
Speakers include:
- Stephen Mandel, former Mayor of Edmonton
- Todd Hirsch, ATB Financial
- Roger Brooks, Roger Brooks International
- Brad Ferguson, EEDC
- Rhys Chouinard, City of St. Albert
View the information on the
official website
and register today for the
world's largest BRE conference
!
Follow the conversation on Twitter
#BREyeg
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New Businesses in St. Albert
Commercial/Industrial Businesses
BK Wine and Spirit 403-499-8000
2-512 St Albert Trail
Liquor Store
Domino's Pizza #39005 780-458-0005
B-81 Liberton Drive
Pizza Delivery & Take-Out Restaurant
Fusion Underground Ltd. 780-460-5996
25 Carleton Drive
Trenching and Installation of Underground Services
General Nutrition Centres Company (GNC) 416-333-3487
310-935 St Albert Trail
Nutritional Supplements Vitamins, Protein
Marshalls/Homesense 905-405-8000
110-915 St Albert Trail
Retail Store Selling Clothing, Shoes, Packaged food and Toys
Shell Gas Station 780-458-2029
927 St Albert Trail
Shell Canada Fuel and Convenience Store, Cigarettes & Carwash
St. Albert Nature School 780-718-0389
215 Sturgeon Road
Outdoor Based Nature Preschool
Unique Cleaners 587-290-2669
102-150 Bellerose Drive
Dry Cleaners
Home-Based Businesses
Alberta NP Consultants 780-996-8889
Home Health Care - Nurse Practitioner
Armor Auto Electric Repair 780-901-4777
Repair and Install of Electrical Systems and Components
Laramie Tracz Photography 780-404-3908
Mobile Photography
Peregrine Fire & Safety Ltd. 780-455-6905
Fire Protection Installation & Inspections (Sprinkler & Alarms)
Sargent Shine Auto Detailing 780-264-0891
Mobile Auto Detailing - Cleaning Interior/Exterior of Vehicles
Spoil Me Décor 780-884-2559
Online Décor and Furnishing Business
The Medicine Shuttle Inc. 780-710-1334
Delivery of Prescription Drugs to Homes & Institutions in St Albert & Edmonton
Triple C's Contracting 780-937-2709
Landscape, Snow Removal
Valor Construction Inc 780-665-5354
Residential/Commercial Renovations, Builds, General Contractor, Construction
Working Feet Compressions 780-655-3879
Mobile Business Selling Compression Stockings
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Monthly Growth Stats
Single Family Housing Starts
Single Family Dwelling Resales
Building Permits Issued
Retail Trade
Analysis
PUBLISHED - Mar 21, 2017
Alberta's retail trade value increased by 4.8% in January 2017 compared to January 2016, to $6.44 billion. Nationally, retail sales increased by 4.5% over the same time frame. In Alberta, sales for building materials (-10.6%) and food & beverage (-6.5%) saw the largest declines, while sales at gasoline stations (+21.9%) and in motor vehicles and parts (+12.6%) increased the most.
Building Permits
Analysis
PUBLISHED - Mar 10, 2017
In January 2017, Alberta municipalities issued $1.2 billion in building permits, up 8.5% from January 2016. Nationally, building permits increased 17.1% over the same time period. In Alberta, institutional and governmental saw an increase of 216.9%, while all other building types experienced declines: residential (-2.5%), industrial (-25.0%), commercial (-15.1%).
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City of St. Albert | info@stalbert.ca
29 Sir Winston Churchill Avenue | St. Albert, AB | T8N 0G3 |
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