Construction activity still bustling in Edmonton
May 12, 2015
By
CCE
Despite the slowdown in the oil sector, so far Alberta’s capital is still alive with construction activity.
On May 8, a group representing a dozen business and community organizations was invited to the 16th floor of the EPCOR tower to look down and see 25 cranes at work, constructing condos and other buildings.
In just the last two years the amount of underdeveloped land in the city has decreased by 17%. Construction sites occupy over a million square feet of land in the core. In terms of floor area, the development amounts to 6.6 million square feet under construction. “That’s even bigger than West Edmonton Mall,” noted a city press release.
Over 1,100 residential units are under construction. Another 3,300 more have been announced by developers (but whether these will materialize given the new economic conditions is debatable).
The city has launched a new visual marker to promote the downtown. A window in the shape of an “E” will be displayed in all the downtown public and private projects.
Councillor Scott McKeen said, “We wanted a fun, common visual connector to raise interest and show our support for downtown.”
