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Synopses and Snippets of
Red Deer Regional News
that would be of interest to residents and visitors, with focus on business, municipal and community development as well as heritage, culture, attractions, transportation, recreation and parks, from a variety of resources including local media, news releases and personal knowledge.
 
Aug. 6, 2010
New Transit Terminal Opens to Satisfied Riders
The renewed Red Deer Transit terminal in the downtown beneath the newly-constructed Sorensen Station parkade opened last weekend after a year of being relocated at a temporary area two blocks east. Regular users of the system expressed pleasure with the added amenities and protection from the outdoor elements. The improved facility has washrooms, a service centre that will open in September and will have a kiosk that will offer at a later date beverages and snacks. The 3-storey parkade above the terminal is expected to open at the end of the month with 400 parking stalls, 300 of which will be assigned parking and the remainder hourly parking.

Aug. 5, 2010
Facelift Proposed for Downtown Gaetz Avenue
A proposal to revitalize the Gaetz Avenue downtown shopping corridor is intended to attract more shoppers to the city centre by making the street more pedestrian friendly and visually appealing. People who attended the recent public open house were very positive about the concepts presented which included heritage street lights, decorative street markings, coloured paving stone crosswalks, more trees and less parking.
Work to Start Soon on Cenotaph Plaza Park
The $1.3 million Veterans' Park will soon be under construction in downtown Red Deer expanding the area where the cenotaph has stood in the middle of Ross Street since 1922. The 3,175 kg block of Tyndall limestone statue of an unknown soldier honours the Central Albertans who gave their lives in war. The new plaza park will remove two lanes of traffic that have already been blocked off for two years for the construction of the 12-storey Executive Place office building. The project includes installing underground utilities, raising the former street lanes to sidewalk level, creating six planting areas, planting trees, adding street furniture, adding a Tyndall stone step and improving lighting. Most of the construction is expected to be completed by Remembrance Day with sculptured columns to be added next year. The soldier monument faces the historic CPR station from which most of the soldiers left the city for military service.
Olds Starts Planning Business Attraction Strategy
The Olds Institute for Community and Regional Development and the Olds and District Chamber of Commerce are leading an initiative to create a strategy to attract new businesses to the community and maintain those that already exist. One idea being explored is attracting young entrepreneurs to the town with an inventory of types of businesses that could be available in the future. A planning session is expected in the fall. The development institute is an independent board founded by the Town, the Chamber, Olds College, the school division, the agricultural society and Mountain View County.
Canadian Tire Under Construction in Sylvan Lake
Construction has begun on the new Sylvan Lake Canadian Tire store in the SmartCentres shopping centre at Beju Industrial Park on the east side of town. The 60,000 sq. ft. building will also include a Marks Work Wearhouse store. Once built out, the shopping centre on a 27-acre parcel will provide 315,000 sq. ft. of commercial space. A Wal-Mart Supercentre is already open on the site.
New Hotel Project Under Way in Sylvan Lake
Construction has begun on a new $10 million, 4-storey, 72-room hotel on Lakeshore Drive in Sylvan Lake. Expected to be ready for guests by May 2011, the hotel features meeting rooms, board rooms, a pool, a jacuzzi and a breakfast room.

Aug. 4, 2010
Dawe Centre Reopens After 2 Years of Upgrades
The newly-renovated and expanded G.H. Dawe Community Centre in north Red Deer opened yesterday after a more than 2-year, $29.9 million renovation project that includes two new waterslides, a leisure pool, a spray pool, a steam room and sauna, a new expanded library, improved gymnasium, expanded fitness area, four multi-purpose rooms and a dance studio. Improvements were also made to the arena. The renovations added 33,000 sq. ft. to the building, bringing it to 94,000 sq. ft. in total. The largest recreation complex in the city is the Collicutt Centre in southeast Red Deer at around 200,000 sq. ft. The official grand opening is scheduled for Sept. 25.
Red Deer County Adopts River Valley Plan
Red Deer County has adopted the River Valley and Tributaries Park Concept Plan, adopted by the city last week. The two municipalities worked on the plan that will guide park expansion, trail development and recreational areas over the next several years in the growth areas of the city as well as the areas close to the city. The plan will be used in conjunction with the Open Spaces Master Plan adopted by the county several months ago. The Intermunicipal Development Plan adopted by the city and county 3 years ago called for the establishment of a linear park system focused on the Red Deer and Blindman Rivers and Piper and Waskasoo Creeks.
County and Innisfail Enter Joint Agreement
A joint development plan between Red Deer County and the Town of Innisfail for land on the east side of Highway 2 and immediately east of the town will provide shared economic benefits to both municipalities. The agreement is the first of its kind in the county in which both will encourage commercial and industrial development in the special zone and share tax revenue. Lacombe County has similar agreements with Blackfalds, Lacombe and Eckville.
Building Permit Value Boosted by McDonald House
A $6.2 million building permit for the $12 million Ronald McDonald House near the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre has boosted the Red Deer building permit value for July to $15.2 million compared to $9.4 million a year earlier. The total permits also included $6 million for residential construction, $2.7 million for commercial projects and $220,000 for industrial work. So far this year, a total of $74.9 million in permits has been approved, up from $68.3 million for the same period last year.

Aug. 3, 2010
Street Performer Festival Draws Thousands
This year's eighth annual CentreFest street performers festival in downtown Red Deer drew about 13,000 people on Saturday and another 7,000 on Sunday. About 15 performers from various parts of Canada and as far away as New Zealand, as well as local performers participated in the event. CentreFest is put on by the Downtown Business Association with about 50 volunteers.
RCMP Musical Ride Wows Red Deer and Olds
The world-renowned RCMP Musical Ride performed in Olds on Saturday and in Red Deer on Sunday to enthusiastic crowds of thousands of people. One of the 32 riders grew up in Red Deer and he described the crowd as the warmest on the tour so far including the performance at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Proceeds from the Red Deer show held at the Enmax Centrium at Westerener Park went to the Central Alberta Women's Emergency Shelter.

July 31, 2010
Rail Tourist Attraction Concept On Track
The Forth Junction Heritage Society proposal for a major tourist attraction focused on the railways and ground transportation is gathering interest. This fall, the group intends to meet with various organizations and launch a membership drive. It will also have a booth at a large model railroad show at Westerner Park. Other objectives this year include obtaining charitable status and moving forward with a major attraction feasibility study. The society's proposal includes a heritage-retail-entertainment centre for the future redevelopment of Riverlands west of downtown Red Deer, Canada's largest historical railway museum, a railway station and transit heritage resort on the edge of the city and a replication of the Jubilee locomotive that once headed 'The Chinook', the fast Calgary to Edmonton passenger train that ran from 1936 to 1955.
Downtown Office Tower Nears Completion
The $40 million, 12-storey Executive Place office building at the corner of 49 Avenue and Ross Street in downtown Red Deer is almost finished and ready for tenants. In addition to a spectacular view from the top floors of the tallest building in the downtown, the 112,000 sq. ft. structure has 103,500 sq. ft. of leasable space, underground parking for 100 cars, 3 elevators and state-of-the-art heating and air-conditioning systems. The developer, Beca International, is actively looking for the ideal major ground floor tenant that could be a financial institution or similar business that needs prime location exposure. The top floor would be ideal for a corporate head office or high-end restaurant and lounge.
B.C. Family Hikes Trans Canada Trail
The Mash family from Langley, B.C. are gradually walking across Canada along the Trans Canada Trail, two weeks every year at a time since 2002. Having completed the B.C. sections of the trail, they arrived in Central Alberta this week as part of this year's Calgary to Blackfalds trek. Starting in Victoria, they have now walked more than 2,230 km of the 22,000 km coast-to-coast trail system over 89 walking days. They set up home base at Sylvan Lake and visited several Alberta attractions on their 'days off'.

July 30, 2010
Ponoka Revises Annexation Proposal
The Town of Ponoka will apply to annex about 980 acres from Ponoka County on the west and south of the community. In 2008 the town had proposed annexing parts of 20 quarter sections, more than doubling its land base. A growth study completed recently indicated that the town needs about 1,100 acres of land outside its current boundaries to provide for 50 years of growth, especially commercial and industrial growth. It is also beneficial for the town to expand westward toward Highway 2. The new plan is supported by the county and will go to the Municipal Government Board soon for approval.

July 29, 2010
Plasco Gets Multi-Million Dollar Investment Boost
A private investment company from Los Angeles has given a $100 million investment boost to the proposed waste-to-energy Plasco plant in Red Deer County. The new cash brings the total amount to $270 million invested in the gasification technology that uses intense heat to convert municipal garbage into a gas that can generate electricity. The company is still waiting to hear from Ottawa regarding a $24 million grant from the Green Infrastructure Fund. Construction on the 200-tonne per day plant to be built next to the Horn Hill Waste Transfer Site east of Penhold could begin later this year.
Downtown Mixed-Use Building Gets Approval
Red Deer city council has given approval for the River City Developments' Elements 5-storey mixed-use building proposed along Gaetz Avenue between the Red Deer River and the Saputo Foods (formerly Alpha) dairy plant built in the 1950s on the north side of downtown. The project includes 12 residential units, nearly 6,300 square metres of commercial and office space and 254 parking stalls. Plans call for the closure of the 54 Avenue underpass and the extension west of 55 Street, likely next year. Meanwhile, Saputo plans to build a new milk receiving bay that will be more accessible from within plant property so as to not interfere with the 55 Street extension.
Land Deal Assists Riverside Meadows Project
Red Deer city council has approved a land sale agreement for the former Harpers Metals scrapyard site in the Riverside Meadows district on the north side of the river for a multi-family residential project by Riverpointe Crossing Ltd. The project will include 24 townhouse units, 4 eight-unit complexes and 3 ten-unit complexes for a total of 86 housing units. The first phase of the project is required to be completed by the end of 2011. The site had been cleaned up in 2007 in preparation for a much larger proposed development but economic conditions scuttled that plan.
Grain Elevator Artwork Approved for Museum
A piece of artwork entitled 'End of the Line: Red Deer Elevator Row' has been approved by Red Deer city council for outside the newly-renovated Red Deer and District Museum and Art Gallery. The winding seating area will represent the rail lines that carried grain from the elevators to other centres and ports. Tall pieces will look like grain elevators to remind people of the importance of Red Deer's agrarian heritage.

July 27, 2010
Ambitious River Park Expansion Plan Adopted
The River Valley and Tributaries Park Concept Plan that will expand the city's park area dramatically over the next 30 to 50 years has been adopted by Red Deer city council. The plan contains 21 recommendations that include designating the Red Deer River as a municipal park. As city growth occurs, the city would extend Waskasoo Park along the Red Deer River and its tributaries. Park land would grow from the current 2,300 acres by an additional 7,135 acres and expand the 95 km of existing trails by an additional 358 km. Municipal reserves or land purchases along the Red Deer and Blindman Rivers as well as along Waskasoo and Piper Creeks would create environmental buffers along each waterway. The plan also suggests the creation of 13 park nodes or larger gathering areas, 8 of which would be more than 99 acres in size. Some would be active recreation and culture areas while others would be passive recreation and natural areas. Both the city and Red Deer County created the plan to identify lands suited for future trails and park space within Red Deer's future growth area.

July 26, 2010
Record Year for This Year's Westerner Days
This year's 5-day Westerner Days annual fair and exhibition broke the record for total attendance at 92,689 people, about 2,000 more than the previous record set in 2008. Specific day attendance records were also broken for Wednesday (15,410) and Friday (24,302). Excellent weather, new facilities and top-notch entertainment contributed to this year's success. Despite having 580 new parking spaces available this year, on the busiest days some vehicles had to be parked in the racetrack infield after the pony chuckwagon races had been completed.

July 24, 2010
Blackfalds Sets Sights on New Recreation Centre
The Town of Blackfalds is in the initial planning stages for a new field house as the first phase of a recreation complex on a 12-acre parcel on the northwest corner of the community. Originally the property was purchased as an option for the new RCMP building which is now under construction on a different parcel in the southwest part of town. Creation of a field house, including an indoor gymnasium and playground, was among ideas brought forward in a 2008 community needs assessment. A second phase could include construction of an aquatics centre, once the town is big enough to support such a facility.

July 23, 2010
Sundre Annexation Gets Provincial Approval
The provincial government has approved the annexation by the Town of Sundre of 1,200 acres on all four sides of the town from Mountain View County. The town, with a 2006 census population of 2,518 and a current estimated population of 2,700, was about 1,700 acres prior to annexation. Most future residential growth will occur on the north side of town. Some of the annexed land will be for highway commercial development as the town is the junction of Highways 22, 27 and 584. It is expected that the annexed land will be sufficient for town growth for the next 20-25 years.
Municipalities Apply For Provincial Flood Aid
The City of Red Deer and other Central Alberta municipalities including the Town of Lacombe will apply for provincial disaster aid for flood victims after heavy rains on July 12 and 13 caused basement flooding of several homes in the area. Over 100 mm (4 inches) of rain fell at the Red Deer Regional Airport in that two day period on land that was already saturated by earlier rains.
 
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