Alberta

St. Albert city council is shaking up life in suburban Edmonton with a decision to sack its city manager and embark on some major restructuring.

Rocky View County is buying more irrigation district water in an effort to accommodate more development around Calgary.

It's widely believed Wal-Mart will anchor the site, in part because Springwood has been developing Wal-Mart-centred projects in Western Canada's secondary markets for more than a decade.

B.C.

Over time, the deal is also expected to bring stability to the housing market, "reducing the disparity between the cost of a home in Fort McMurray and a similar home in other parts of Alberta.

Alberta's fastest-growing suburban community recorded strong growth again in the past year. In fact, Airdrie's growth rate topped 8.3 per cent from 2010 to 2011, according to the City of Airdire's recent census.

Building activity is rebounding nicely in Calgary these days, with Alberta's largest city releasing figures that put new construction values up 44 per cent for the first seven months of 2011.

While Edmonton's building permit totals may be down slightly from 2010, there's still demand for building space, particularly in the industrial sector, where Colliers International recently reported lower vacancy rates for the overall Edmonton area m

Unlike most airport properties, Skyport lots are sold, not leased, and lots can be used for a wide variety of purposes including hangar-residence combinations. Lots start at around $109,000.

Fears two years ago that downtown Calgary would be awash with vacant office space in 2012 seem a distant memory these days.