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In terms of sheer size of industrial space, the Nisku- Leduc industrial area east of the Edmonton International Airport also ranks in the top 10 largest industrial park areas in the world.
West of Edmonton in Parkland County, the Acheson Industrial Area is among the largest and fastest- growing in Western Canada. Industrial parks offer the convenience of a variety of complementary industries being clustered together.
“If you’re a manufacturer, you like to go where other manufacturers are because they work as a cluster,”
Bruce says. “So if you’re painting something, or molding something, or fabricating something, there are probably a couple of businesses involved to create the final product. So they like to keep it sort of in a general location.”
And while the industrial parks offer land that’s already serviced and available, there is also unserviced land that’s more of a blank canvas.
“There’s lots of greenfield opportunities where people can come in and tailor-make their service requirements to meet the needs of their particular plant,” Bruce says. “Value-added agriculture, for example, has
a large commitment for water that will need special infrastructure requirements. So they may choose to have a greenfield site so they can develop the site as they need it.”
Proximity to Alberta’s oil sands in the province’s north also makes the region an attractive choice.
“The industrial parks we have down here essentially provide all of that fabrication work and other things
for the oil sands. That’s why there’s something in the neighbourhood of 3,500 trucks a day moving from the
“THE INDUSTRIAL PARKS
WE HAVE DOWN HERE ESSENTIALLY PROVIDE ALL OF THAT FABRICATION WORK AND OTHER THINGS FOR
THE OIL SANDS. THAT’S WHY THERE’S SOMETHING IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF 3,500 TRUCKS A DAY MOVING FROM THE EDMONTON REGION UP TO FORT MCMURRAY”
— MALCOLM BRUCE,
CEO OF EDMONTON GLOBAL
Edmonton region up to Fort McMurray,” says Bruce, adding Edmonton shops can transfer what they do for the oil sands to almost any industry, helping diversify the economy.
Edmonton’s metro area consistently ranks among the most affordable for industrial land prices — the latest report from CBRE Canada found only Winnipeg had a lower average sale price per square foot than Edmonton.
“The Edmonton metropolitan region is the fifth largest economy at about $107 billion a year, and represents a third of the GDP for the province of Alberta, and yet we have this affordability,” Bruce says.
But the Edmonton region has more than just industrial land — it also has the skilled workers to go with it, Bruce notes, adding more than 63 per cent of Edmonton adults have a post-secondary education.
Housing prices in the region are also among
the most affordable of any metropolitan region in Canada, further helping to attract investment because companies know there’s a stable and highly educated workforce to draw from.
“It’s an affordability story that, quite frankly, is resonating,” Bruce says. “You can buy a home here, you can raise a family here and have money left in your jeans pockets to go off and do other things.”
Companies know that if they build something
in the Edmonton region, they’ll have the talented workforce they need to maintain and grow it, he adds.
“The quality of the workforce and the world-class capacity here means they see a future, because they’ve got growth.”