AB Economic Fundamentals 2008-08

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Facelift spruces up downtown landmark

The Alec Arms had a strong skeleton to build on for the next phase of its life as an affordable housing project.
New tenants are expected to move in this month.
"The bones are very good in it," says Dennis Pahara, general contractor for the project. "We went through the basement and anything that was suspect, we added engineered steel pillars."
Back in its heyday, the Alexandra Hotel was a hopping spot. A cable car made the route from the train station to the hotel. The hotel also served as the Greyhound bus stop until other hotels protested against what they considered unfair treatment.

http://www.lethbridgeherald.com/article_11553.php

 

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Building activity still slow

New month, same story.

The value of residential construction projects approved by the City of Red Deer last month was well below the figure for July 2007 — continuing a trend that has existed for most of 2008. Just $5.5 million in residential work was authorized by the city, down from $29 million 12 months earlier.

The total value of building permits issued in all construction categories last month was $53.1 million, including $40.5 million in public work, $6.4 million for commercial projects and $715,000 in the case of industrial permits.

http://www.albertalocalnews.com/reddeeradv...still_slow.html

 

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Prominent condo project progresses

A prominent building on one of Red Deer`s more prominent sites continues to take shape.

Work on The Views at St. Joseph — a four-storey, 55-unit condominium at 5213 61st St. — is expected to wrap up by next spring.

Kelly Krause, project manager with developer Laebon Homes, said Friday that construction has been slowed by the weather. But he added that many of the buyers plan to live in the building on a seasonal basis and are happy to take possession after the winter.

http://www.albertalocalnews.com/reddeeradv...progresses.html

 

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Airport traffic still soaring

Airlines are still betting Edmonton flies high despite fuel costs.

Buoyed by double-digit growth in passengers to U.S. markets, Edmonton International Airport grew by 7% in the first six months of this year as compared to the same time period in 2007.

Across North America, airlines are reducing their number of flights to cope with soaring gas prices, leading many airports to see drops in passengers.

"It does buck the trends that are happening, really, across North America in terms of U.S. flights," said Edmonton International Airports spokesman Jim Rudolph. Airlines are seeing value in flying through Edmonton, said Rudolph.

http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Edmonton/2...335451-sun.html

 

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Tourists still flocking to Alberta

Downturn? What downturn?

Despite sky-high fuel costs, a strong loonie and deepening economic woes south of the border, Alberta`s $5-billion-plus tourism sector is holding its own as the summer travel season approaches the midway point.

Although the number of U.S. visitors is down nationwide, Alberta`s hotels, restaurants, airports and mountain parks say overall traffic volumes remain brisk, as growing numbers of foreign visitors and an uptick in regional travel helps to offset the dropoff in U.S. travellers.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...ea-18bd7e291b2c

 

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Epcor sees quarterly profit plunge 69.8 %

EDMONTON - Profit at Epcor Utilities Inc. plunged 69.8 per cent year-over-year in the second quarter, the company said.

Net income was $16 million on revenues of $865 million for the three months ended June 30. That compares to $53 million on revenues of $865 million for the same period in 2007.

Edmonton`s city-owned utility company said a major factor in the net income drop were three major shutdowns for maintenance at its Genesee power facilities, starting in March and ending in June.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...80-527b77019966

 

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Retirement assets now shielded in bankruptcy

Canadians facing bankruptcy as of July 7 of this year are no longer in jeopardy of losing most of their registered retirement assets.

Recent amendments to Canada`s Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and the Companies` Creditors Arrangement Act will keep most, if not all, money invested in registered retirement savings plans, registered retirement income funds and deferred profit-sharing plans out of the reach of creditors.

However, to prevent fraud by individuals siphoning funds into registered plans just before filing for bankruptcy, contributions to registered plans within the 12 months prior to bankruptcy "or such longer period as a court may order" will stay accessible to creditors.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...3e-c8ef8495604a

 

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Rental scam hurts house hunters

CRIME - Police say a rental scam in Killarney and Glengarry tricked more than a dozen people who paid rent but were given phoney keys.

In July, an advertisement was placed on various websites offering rental suites in the 2000 block of 34th Street S.W. A man and woman showed prospective renters suites, gave them keys and collected money from them.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/c...42-ecf044fc2781

 

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Alaska clears way for TransCanada pipeline

Calgary-based TransCanada Corp. stepped over a last political hurdle Friday in Alaska, where the state`s senate approved a plan to let Canada`s largest pipeline company build a 2,500-kilometre natural gas pipeline from the top of the state to Alberta.

The senate voted 14-5 to approve TransCanada`s $26.2-billion US proposal, a little more than a week after Alaska`s House of Representatives passed Bill 3001 granting TransCanada an exclusive state licence to proceed with the project, and to collect $500 million US worth of state seed grants.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/c...e6-19a504f38b92

 

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Silver lining seen as house prices fall

Calgary home prices continued a downward trend in July, with the average take on the sale of a single-family home dropping nearly 10 per cent from a year ago, to $456,380, and the condo average off nearly seven per cent to $296,388.

Median prices were also off materially, according to statistics released Friday by the Calgary Real Estate Board. The median price -- the price level where an equal number of homes sell for more or for less -- for a single-family home was down more than six per cent to $408,500, while the condo median dropped 8.2 per cent to $273,500.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/c...e5-31717c37a118

 

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Proximity to work, school, shops is key for buyers

Buying a house is one of the biggest purchases most people face. It involves a lot of time and reasoning to make sure that the right decision is made. Buyers may not only be thinking of their own needs, but also evaluating a home`s desirability when it comes to selling -- even if it appears to be the perfect dream home today.

Size and comfort are obviously important factors once the responsibilities that come with a single-family dwelling versus the convenience of condominium living have been weighed. Then it becomes a matter of location.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/l...23-cfa987b8fa4b

 

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Edmonton construction plummets

Edmonton`s single-detached home builders continue to have a rougher ride than their counterparts in Calgary, says a national agency.

From January to June, work started on 1,354 homes, down more than 68 per cent from the 4,266 starts during the same period last year, says Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.

In June, the decline was even more severe, falling to 244 starts compared with 838 for the same month a year ago -- a drop of 70.9 per cent. It marks the 12th consecutive month in which there has been a year-over-year decline.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/n...bd-80ffc8b7ab76

 

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Empty-nesters moving to older neighbourhoods

It used to take Bob and Vanessa Day an hour in the morning and an hour and a half every evening to commute between work and their home in Mill Bay, B.C.

But since they moved to Bay Street, in Victoria, the couple can cycle to work in five minutes or walk in 20.

The Days are part of a growing trend of empty nesters moving back into some of Victoria`s older, established neighbourhoods. They are selling the suburban homes where they raised their children and are willing to put up with traffic noise in exchange for less driving time.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/n...ca-19b9e7e66f01

 

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Calgary needs inner-city farmers` market

Everyone loves a market -- and the Calgary Farmers` Market is no exception, given the outpouring of support it has received the past few weeks since announcing it is in negotiations with Canada Lands Co. to renew its lease, which expires in 2009.

Although I am not convinced the best way to renegotiate one`s lease is through the media, that is what is happening.

I thought it would be interesting to look at this unique urban development issue from an objective economic perspective.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/n...52-06d6260ef1f0

 

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Avenue`s old guard blazes trail of success

EDMONTON - When Carmelo Rago announced he wanted to open a European bistro-style cafe on 107th Avenue and 111th Street, he got some funny looks.

"People said, `You`re crazy,` " Rago recalls, motioning out the window of Caffe Sorrentino, the restaurant he runs.

From 95th to 116th streets, the shells of businesses that have closed, along with the residents they once catered to, still take up space in empty buildings in a neighbourhood that acts as incubator for newcomers.

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...ac-9c58de770b19

 

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Airdrie Mayor Linda Bruce is ready to get on board and ride that commuter-train straight through to Calgary


Linda is happy. Linda is very happy.

You could even say she is really quite excited on this sunny, August long weekend.

Who wouldn`t be very happy and quite excited when the region she heads could be seeing some big dollar signs by the new year?

Linda Bruce is the mayor of Airdrie and also the kahuna of the Calgary Regional Partnership, which means the top politicians around here are trying to find ways to work together for the whole area. And Linda says she can hardly wait until next month or, at the latest, October, when a plan will be in to the province on what to do about transportation between Calgary and the neighbouring communities.

http://calsun.canoe.ca/News/Columnists/Bel...6343071-sun.php

 

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Super Pest


Alberta is locked in an all-out battle with an army of invaders no bigger than a grain of rice. Scattered amongst the towering green sentinels in the Kananaskis valley, the path of the mountain pine beetle`s advance through Alberta`s eastern slopes is marked with jarring patches of once-verdant yellow and red trees, the vanguard of an ongoing assault provincial forestry officials are desperately trying to blunt.

http://calsun.canoe.ca/News/Alberta/2008/0...342721-sun.html

 

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City needs $11.5B to fund growth

A new civic report predicts it could cost Calgary a whopping $11.5 billion in the next decade to keep up with development that continues to push new communities to the city limits.

But the report, titled Accommodating Growth: Monitoring Growth and Change, suggests the city is short billions of dollars to build enough roads, fire halls and rec centres.

"It continues to be an issue," said Mayor Dave Bronconnier of the funding shortfall.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/s...19-ca55d0bfe3a3

 

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Condo buyers lured by luxury giveaways

A free trip anywhere in the world, a flatscreen TV, cash back or a Smart Car -- all yours for free if you buy the right condo.

Multi-family housing developers are trying to enliven Calgary`s sleepy market, right now snoozing through the doldrums of summer, with incentives to attract buyers. And it`s much more than granite slab countertops.

"There`s so many things out in industry that are being offered," said Natalie Holroyd, sales manager at Developments 2 Inc., which is offering airfare and accommodation for two anywhere in the world with the purchase of a unit in their Mission-area building. "We wanted to do something different." Other incentives offered include $1,000 gift certificates to stores like Urban Barn and restaurants such as Mercato.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/s...63-2629ff024476

 

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Foothills rise to woo investment

The Calgary-Edmonton corridor has received plenty of hype and attention in recent years as an economic powerhouse.

Just beyond Calgary`s northern city limits, you can see first-hand the phenomenal growth with the CrossIron Mills shopping centre springing up from the ground at Balzac and development all the way up the Queen Elizabeth II Highway to include the city of Airdrie.

Anyone who travels that highway can see the signs of economic progress, but development is not restricted to the north of Calgary.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/c...6d-77fbfe1c14e9