Last year the city posted a record $47.9 million in building permits, but this has been overshadowed with a $70.3 billion surge in permits through the first 10 months of this year.
For years, North Battleford has battled with a rental vacancy rate of around 1.2 per cent, one of the lowest in Canada, due to ongoing demand from construction workers.
"We think the vacancy rate may rise a bit now that some of the big [construction] projects are finishing," Levertu said. These industrial projects, however, will also begin a new round of longer-term employment, which brightens the small city's economic horizon.
These include the completion of the $250 million SaskPower natural-gas power-generator project, the $12.6 million Canadian Feed Technology Research Facility by Cargill Ltd. and the University of Saskatchewan, and - the city's jewel - the four-building, $55 million Cueplex, a large multi-purpose, community and recreation centre that will be fully complete next year. Underway is a second project from SaskPower, the gas-powered North Battleford Energy Centre that will generate enough electricity to power the equivalent of 260,000 homes in Saskatchewan. The plant will fire up in 2013.
Oil plays
But electricity is not the only power lighting North Battleford's future.
Recently, Allstar Energy Ltd., a subsidiary of 49 North Resources Inc., has begun exploration and drilling for heavy oil in fields just south of the city, while oil company Ralleymount Energy Inc. is working on 65 sections of land just north of North Battleford.
North Battleford has enormous potential in the oil and gas industry, according to Tom MacNeill, CEO of 49 North Resources, who predicts the area will see a "tidal wave of money" rolling into over the next few years,
It has already spurred the movement of some major players into North Battleford. This October, Gritt Industries, a supplier to the oil and gas industry, relocated its headquarters from Lloydminster to North Battleford, taking up a 91,000-square-foot building in Pearson Industrial Park.
Industrial strategy
"The industrial development strategy continues to fuel successful job and development growth. More and more resource development companies are working in the area and North Battleford is positioned for exponential growth in the coming years," Levertu said.
North Battleford is scrambling to meet that demand. The city has earmarked about $3 million to develop a new 14-acre industrial park, where it expects to sell serviced lots for around $150,000 per acre. As of October, $51 million in industrial construction permits have been issued, five times higher than in all of 2010.
North Battleford is home to a large business base including well-established industrial companies such as Maple Leaf Consumer Foods (the only bacon-processing plant in Western Canada), Mifab Mfg, G & C Asphalt, Kindersley Transport, EnviroSafe Chemicals, Anderson Pumphouse and Unicon Pipeline. As well, all the major grain-handling companies operate inland terminals that support the grain industry in the area.
Retail push
But the real push and potential in North Battleford may be in commercial real estate. At least two hotel developers are scouting sites in the city and development permits for retail have soared to $11 million dollars in the first 10 months of this year, already surpassing all of last year when $7 million in commercial permits were issued.
A retail leader this year is the 200,000-square-foot Frontier Mall on the Yellowhead Highway, recently bought by Terracap Management Inc. of Toronto, where five new major franchises - including SportChek - have opened or are about to open. Frontier is also the site of the Gold Eagle Casino and the future site of a new 112-suite hotel.
The city, the largest landholder, has released more land for retail and office projects, with per-square-foot prices from $5.50 to $10, depending on the location. Top rates for new retail leases in the city are in the range of $18 to $25 per square foot. North Battleford is a regional shopping and service centre, with a catchment of approximately 62,000 people across the northwest.
Still - this is Saskatchewan - public payrolls that provide North Battleford's economic base. Health care and community services are the main employer, with 17 per cent of the workforce, with education making up a further 9 per cent.
Housing incentive
All this puts a demand on housing in North Battleford, and the city has taken advantage of a provincial program to offer help for home buyers. Buyers of new homes can qualified for a $5,000 grant toward their down payment.
As well, developers can receive a two-year tax exemption for new residential construction in North Battleford.
from Western Investor December 2011
