The rising population has prompted the construction of a new middle school, which opened last fall, and a new high school, scheduled to be finished next year.
Immigration
But recent changes to federal immigration laws, which clamp down on language requirements - people need to have a working knowledge of English in order to become a permanent resident - will likely impact the makeup of newcomers in the future, according to Linda Peters, executive director of the Steinbach Chamber of Commerce.
"A lot of the Germans don't have a good grasp of English. The Filipinos do, so we might see our numbers from the Philippines grow even bigger and the German numbers decline a little bit," she said.
Infrastructure is ramping up to welcome the newcomers. A $22 million expansion of the local hospital's emergency room is currently on the go, along with the high school ($36 million). The middle school cost $23 million and the recently opened Walmart was another $11 million.
Head office
If you want buy-in on the city located less than an hour to the southeast of Winnipeg, look no further than the Steinbach Credit Union (SCU).
The largest financial co-operative in the province - it hit $4 billion in assets in April - is preparing to break ground on a new 92,000-square-foot building that will house both its corporate head office and its main retail branch.
Glenn Friesen, CEO of SCU, said construction of the eight-figure project should take between 18 and 24 months.
The arrival of big-box giant Walmart has been met with cheers, open wallets and a rush by other businesses to move into the neighbourhood. In fact, tenants at the adjacent Clearspring Mall report that their sales are up 10 per cent since Walmart welcomed its first customers in February.
"Walmart brings more people in. It makes the service area slightly larger. Instead of going to Winnipeg, people come here and end up shopping at places like my specialty grocery store and others," Goertzen said.
There are also infrastructure challenges to meet, as well as ensuring there are enough cultural and other activities to do.
Goertzen said Steinbach's city council has been diligent in making sure its sewer and water services have been upgraded. It is also looking at improving recreational and cultural facilities, starting with the first phase of a program to renew its arenas. First on the agenda: a new five-sheet curling rink.
Low taxes
With a mill rate of 14 per cent, the mayor is proud to proclaim Steinbach retains the lowest tax rate of any urban centre in the province.
"Our staff is very diligent with snow removal and sidewalk maintenance and cleaning," he said. "Those basic things are very important to people and we do it with a very efficiently run government."
from Western Investor May 2013
