Alberta

"Steady Eddie" may be on his way out the door as Alberta's premier, but not without offering hope to those looking for provincial cash for a new downtown Edmonton arena.

There's more saber rattling going on in northeast Alberta oilpatch municipalities these days, and it's producing threats to curb development.

It seems fast-food franchises and souvenir shops are safe in Banff - for now.

Spring Creek developer Frank Kernick said interest in Canmore from vacation-home buyers is on the upswing again, thanks to an improved oilpatch in Alberta. "The market is chugging along. It's like Calgary. It's not rocking, but it's chugging along.

Alberta's fastest-growing southern city outside of Calgary should have far more land to build on come 2012.

The likelihood of a major event centre going up on Medicine Hat's north side seems even more remote following a key vote by the southeast Alberta community's city council in late June.

Alberta's capital city will spend $56 million to revitalize part of its downtown known as the Quarters. The cash will come from a community revitalization levy on new assessment that results from the 20-year project.

According to the Calgary Real Estate Board, June condo sales were up 31 per cent over June 2010.

Opportunities The city's population grew by 5.7 per cent in 2010 to 24,646, and its annual growth rate over the past 10 years has been around 5 per cent.

What was once feared as a looming oversupply of premier office space in Calgary has turned into a potential shortage as the downtown Class AA office vacancy rate has plunged to 2.1 per cent and the overall vacancy rate is now down to 8.