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Grande Prairie Feature | Defying the Odds
“We’re still a buyer’s market like the rest of the province, but we do have pockets of activity. In many cases, we still have multioffer situations happening,” says Lesley Craig.
estimated to cost $38 million. This comes just three years after Pembina Pipeline opened its new regional headquarters in the city. The ace up Grande Prairie’s sleeve, however, might just be its economic diversity. While deeply rooted in oil and gas, the region also accounts for 13.6 per cent (3.3 million hectares) of Alberta’s cropland. And Grande Prairie is ground zero for northern Alberta’s forestry sector, with four large operators (Weyerhaeuser, International Paper, Canfor and Norbord) combining as the region’s top industrial employers. “Overall, we’ve had a pretty healthy economy – even through these last two downturns,” says King. “That’s not just because of our diversity in oil and gas, but also the diversity into agriculture, forestry and services.” A recently released Vital Signs 2019 report by the Community Foundation of Northwestern Alberta noted the region’s total market size exceeds $4.7 billion in retail spending due to its growing trade area population of almost 290,000. This year, the city became home to both Canada’s largest Ford dealership (Windsor Ford) and a single-storey Canadian Tire location. In October, Melcor Developments acquired a 283,235-square-foot retail power centre containing 15 buildings for $54.8 million. “It’s one thing for me to be a booster of the community. These kinds of investments speak to a level of confidence in the value of making longterm investments in our community,” says Given, adding a new $730-million regional hospital and cancer centre will also open in 2020. Grande Prairie’s housing market continues to record strong gains, with year-to-date single-
Lesley Craig, president of the Grande Prairie & Area Association of Realtors.
family starts remaining flat and multi-family increasing by 460 per cent. “We’re still a buyer’s market like the rest of the province, but we do have pockets of activity. In many cases, we still have multi-offer situations happening,” says Lesley Craig, president of the Grande Prairie & Area Association of Realtors, noting the average selling price in 2019 has remained relatively consistent year over year at around $305,000. “We still see the Grande Prairie housing market staying pretty steady moving forward into 2020. And while we’ll unlikely see those big jumps in prices that we saw in 2008-09 again, it will B continue to be a safe place to invest.” OE
18 • Business of Energy • December 2019