Located on the northern edge of Edmonton, the affluent city of St. Albert already has a lot to be proud of. It boasts a healthy, diverse economy, a rich lifestyle mix with access to nature and amenities, and a steadily growing population. Not long ago, the city was named by MoneySense magazine as the most liveable city in Canada, and has been ranked in the top three on several other occasions.
The city is expanding in every way. Business licences have risen approximately 12-13 per cent over the past five years. Industrial and commercial space has been rising by about 100,000 square feet per year for the past two decades. The population rose 10 per cent between 2010 and 2018, now at over 66,000 residents. And those residents boast a higher-than-average income compared with Edmonton as a whole.
Rod Valdes, Director of Economic Development at the City of St. Albert, said, “St. Albert is a very beautiful city to live and work in. We’ve had a boom in commercial and retail real estate, and steady residential construction growth. We benefit from not being dependent on oil and gas like a lot of other Alberta cities, because our economy is nicely diverse.”
There’s no doubt that St. Albert is attracting young families, professionals, entrepreneurs and investors.
That’s why local developer Landrex and Edmonton developer EPC Capital have joined forces to contribute in creating a brand-new community in the city. Located along St. Albert Trail, the main connector joining Edmonton and St. Albert, Erin Ridge is the fastest-growing community in the St. Albert area.
Landrex is developing the residential component of the 137-acre masterplanned community, Erin Ridge North, while EPC Capital is developing a portion of the commercial and retail element.
Erin Ridge North homes
The residential component of this community is being developed by Landrex in partnership with homebuilders Bethpage Homes, Romaya Homes, Veneto Homes, Alves Development, and Dynasty Builders.
In summer 2018, the developer opened the first five show homes in the first stage of its brand new residential community, comprising 59 single-family lots. The project is now open for sale to the public through the homebuilders.
This summer, Landrex is opening its second residential stage comprising 38 single-family lots, similar to the first phase but also including larger lots, with some that back onto a new pond and natural parkland. In future phases, there will also be multi-family residential buildings and some townhomes to create a mix of product to attract every buyer and budget.
Stephanie Fossen, development manager at Landrex, said, “We have carefully planned the park areas within the community. We know families value a place to take their children and pets and we’ve built these natural spaces into our neighbourhood for everyone to enjoy.”
The new neighbourhood will enjoy the benefits of the existing shopping centre just South of Erin Ridge North, which has a Costco and Lowe’s, as well as the new EPC Erin Ridge Plaza being built as part of the community.
EPC Erin Ridge Plaza
On a 5.3-acre land parcel within the Erin Ridge North community, EPC Erin Ridge Plaza is set to be a 67,000-square-foot development comprising nine single-storey professional and retail buildings. The development, which has just started site work and is due to be complete in July 2020, is already attracting a lot of interest.
Bijan Mannani, CEO of EPC Capital, said, “We have registrations and reservations from multiple tenants, some national. We have a combination of clients, from travel and tourism, various healthcare-related tenants, childcare services, restaurants including drive-thru services, general retail, and other entrepreneurs and businesses.”
The vision behind EPC Erin Ridge Plaza is not only to create a hub to accommodate the community’s new businesses and service its new residents, but also to be sustainable, said Mannani.
“Rather than going the prescriptive path, we’re going the performance path and doing energy modelling during the course of the design. We’re exceeding the required building code for energy efficiency, and we hope to include an electric vehicle charging station.”
Another factor that sets EPC Erin Ridge Plaza apart is that the units are for sale under strata title, rather than leased like most commercial units. The average asking price for the commercial units is $450 per square foot, and units range from 700 to over 1,700 square feet. “There is no other commercial project available for sale in St. Albert,” added Mannani.
With 31 per cent of the under reservation, the Erin Ridge Plaza commercial development has been a huge success so far.
As St. Albert grows steadily as a city and attracts more and more people, its new community of Erin Ridge North will accommodate and service those new residents in a beautiful yet convenient setting.
For more information on Erin Ridge North homes, go to www.erinridgenorth.ca. For more on EPC Erin Ridge Plaza, visit www.epcerinridgeplaza.ca
