Alberta

Edmonton's industrial vacancy rate failed to climb much in the first quarter of 2012, despite new inventory hitting the market. According to Colliers International, industrial vacancy in the Greater Edmonton market was sitting at 3.

The City of St. Albert has signalled a willingness to think outside the traditional build-and-own model for municipalities.

The Town of High River latched onto a bargain earlier this spring. The growing community of 12,000-plus south of Calgary is acquiring a 15-acre parcel of donated land from Spitzee Crossing Group as the home for a new leisure centre for the community.

Nowadays, a renter's market has moved to a bit of a landlord's market in the Highway 2 corridor's middle point. New industrial shell space leases for $12 to $13 per square foot, and landlords aren't exactly struggling to find tenants.

Vacancy rates for two-bedroom apartments in Fort McMurray have soared to 13.2 per cent – highest in Alberta - according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.(CMHC).

Canadian Apartment Properties REIT (CAPREIT) has bought a portfolio of12 manufactured home parks from Toronto-based Killam Properties Inc. – with a total of 2,032 pads – for $72.3 million, or an average of $35,000 per mobile home pad.

Calgary's redeveloping East Village neighbourhood landed another major score in early May with the announcement by the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC) that a deal had been struck to build a 315-room Hilton hotel in the redeveloping area.

Calgarians may think of neighbouring Okotoks as sprawling suburbia, but they shouldn't. That much is clear when you consider the city's status in the eyes of Statistics Canada.

Red Deer continues to enjoy a rebound year in building activity. Building-permit values in the hub of central Alberta hit $72.8 million for the first four months of the year, up about $27.4 million over 2011, or about 60 per cent so far in 2012.

The City of Edmonton is on a mission to find out from residents what they want to see in their new buildings.