Edmonton’s Dan White Rebuilds Eco Industrial Park As Part of Revitalization

Earlier this week, Edmonton city council announced they are considering plans to invest $230 million into a North East Edmonton industrial land servicing project. Part of the plan would include a much needed highway interchange that counsellors believe would help investment in the city. Councillor Ed Gibbons told 630CHD News Radio, “What is being proposed is badly needed so any metal fabricators looking to supply Fort McMurray won’t have to send large containers out Vegreville way first, to go north.”   http://www.630ched.com/2015/10/06/council-to-consider-230-million-investment-in-ne-edmonton-industrial-land-servicing/

Edmonton, like many municipalities across the country, has decided they can longer wait for the federal or provincial government to help grow the city’s infrastructure, and instead need to take matters into their own hands.  Councillor Gibbons pointed to a recent dispute with the province over the erection of a traffic light, as proof of the bigger issue between Edmonton city council and the provincial government.

“The fact is they (Alberta Transportation) doesn’t want to do the signal lights, but we need it for safety,” Gibbons said. “But we also need it to trigger them in their 2017 budget on capital, because just embarrassing them into a set of lights that they don’t want to do is actually pushing them to work faster on an overpass which we really want to be done.” http://www.630ched.com/2015/10/06/council-to-consider-230-million-investment-in-ne-edmonton-industrial-land-servicing/

Over the last several years, Edmonton has begun to invest heavily in widespread revitalization efforts, from restoring historic downtown buildings into housing units to work with local businesses to revitalizing major areas of abandoned manufacturing and energy sector lands.  The citywide revitalization process features ten projects that will help Edmonton maintain its competitive edge in the changing Alberta landscape. http://www.edmonton.ca/city_government/projects-redevelopment.aspx

Spurred by the need for growth in the city and the investments by city hall, Eco Industrial Business Park Inc. has initiated the process to renovate and invest in the Celanese Edmonton Plant, a once bustling industrial park that was closed and shut down in 2007. The new owners hope to reinvigorate the now abandoned park, so it is as vibrant as similar projects in other cities, like  Toronto’s popular and revamped Distillery District and Granville Island in Vancouver.  

Edmonton’s Dan White (http://dan-white-edmonton.brandyourself.com/), who is Chairman of the Board at Eco Industrial Business Park Inc., believes that his company’s project will benefit Edmontonians in a variety of ways due to the unique features the site offers. http://symmetryinc.com/ecoIndustrialPark.php

“There will be immediate access to the planned Anthony Henday highway expansion, as well as immediate access to the Yellowhead Highway, which is great for businesses,” Dan White explained. “There is also close proximity to several major crude oil and natural gas pipelines and on-site water treatment facilities and connection to the City of Edmonton Gold Bar Waste Water Treatment Facility,” Edmonton’s Dan White added. http://www.socialmediatoday.com/users/dan-white-edmonton-ed-dan-white-edmonton-canada

The new development will be attractive to businesses and investors in Edmonton, as well as investors around Alberta and across Canada. “We hope the innovative way we are redeveloping the area will peak investor curiosity and ultimately boost the local economy,” said Dan White, Edmonton entrepreneur and business developer.

The Eco Industrial Business Park Inc. website describes the Alberta Advantage as, “The term used to describe the province’s business-friendly policies.” Alberta has the lowest per capita debt in the country and is the only province to have a triple A credit rating from Standard and Poor’s. Alberta also has no sales tax, no payroll tax, and offers the second lowest small business tax in Canada.

City council will decide whether to invest in the Industrial Land Servicing proposal in the coming spring.