An economic report presented to the Rocky View County (RVC) Policy and Priorities Committee (PPC) April 5 indicated for the first time in the County’s history, the 2015 non-residential tax assessment exceeded the residential assessment – meaning more of RVC’s revenue is generated from business and industrial taxes than residential ones.
“That’s a very progressive move,” said David Kalinchuk, economic development manger with RVC. “I don’t know too many municipalities that are in that kind of a position. We’ve had very positive gains all around. We’ve got an important role to play in the regional employment and prosperity within the Calgary area.”
Despite the low price of oil and the drop of the Canadian dollar, Kalinchuk said RVC has continued to do “extremely well,” attracting interest from investors and developers. His report focused on several large-scale developments that will be growing in 2016, to give RVC councillors an idea of the economic impact of these projects.
“We’re not going back to the stone age,” he said. “We’ve seen low oil prices before – we’ve seen how this impacts housing, we’ve seen how this impacts interprovincial migration to Alberta, and we’ve seen how it impacts retail. However, our retail industry is quite robust in RVC.”
CrossIron Mills mall near Balzac, which Kalinchuk said was developed at the bottom of the last recession in 2008, is currently undergoing two expansions. A $4 million Saks Fifth Avenue store is set to open later in April, and he said the upcoming food court expansion, a $63 million investment, is already 97 per cent leased – bringing an additional 24 new tenants to the more than 250 vendors currently at the mall.
Even with an economic downturn, Kalinchuk said recent numbers released from CrossIron Mills indicate traffic and sales are all up from 2014. The mall also provides 4,000 full time jobs – with even more coming to the area with the development of the New Horizon Mall near Balzac.
“This is a really innovative, kiosk-based development, which is very unique,” Kalinchuk said. “It’s worth $280 million, and we are looking at 800 to 1,000 new full-time jobs created. This helps make up for some of the job loss that has occurred in the region.”
Further employment opportunities will be offered at the Bingham Crossing development coming to Springbank, which will include retail facilities and office space. Kalinchuk said the $120 million project will provide 750 full time positions in the Springbank area.
“All of these projects carry a significant amount of investment, which is good for our assessment base in RVC,” Kalinchuk said. “We put as many lines in the water as we can to attract investment interest, and follow up with them to find the best place for their business.”
Kalinchuk added the County’s long-term debt is also down 13.6 per cent since 2011, thanks in part to an increase in business and industrial revenues.
“There is so much negative out there, people losing their jobs and stressed out over this economy, it’s nice to see some positive, uplifting news,” RVC Reeve Greg Boehlke said. “These kinds of reports let us know that the plans we’ve made as a council are working and coming to fruition.”
