WATCH ABOVE: The Edmonton International Airport hopes new development – including an outlet mall – will attract even more business to the airport. Tom Vernon explains.
EDMONTON — Two new developments at the Edmonton International Airport were announced Wednesday and they’re expected to bring upwards of 1,000 jobs into the region.
A major outlet mall located just south of the terminal has been given the go-ahead. The Outlet Collection at EIA will feature 415,000 square feet of retail space and house more than 100 retailers.
The project was announced in late 2013, but has since grown by about 65,000 square feet.
“We’ve been out there working with our tenants, we have a good sense for who’s going to be coming and what the spaces demands are, so rather than get it wrong we wanted to get it right right out of the gate,” said Paul Gleeson, executive vice president of Global Development with Ivanhoé Cambridge, a Quebec-based real estate company.
READ MORE: Plan in place to build outlet mall near Edmonton International Airport
The second project, a 210,000 square foot cargo facility, is said to give western Canadian shippers the ability to send cargo to Edmonton that can be on a plane to any destination within 24 hours. The Rosenau Transport building will serve as a distribution centre and warehouse for northern Alberta.
“The announcement of over $225 million in new investment and some thousand new jobs in Alberta is welcome news,” said Premier Jim Prentice. “These two developments at Edmonton International Airport are solid evidence of Alberta’s attractiveness to investors and the contributions EIA is making to this region and our province’s future growth and success.”
2014 was yet another record year for the airport, with 8.2 million passengers coming through its doors. EIA believes the new developments will only bring in more people.
“These two projects will not only generate revenue that will be reinvested into better air service, they will attract more people and more business into the Edmonton region,” said Tom Ruth, president and CEO of EIA.
“That’s good for our airport, for our region and for our province.”
READ MORE: 2014 another record year at the Edmonton International Airport
The message is being echoed by Prentice, who is currently trying to figure out how to make up a multi-billion dollar shortfall due to plunging oil prices. Despite the downturn, he says these projects show there is still confidence in Alberta’s economy.
“We are entrepreneurial, we are determined, we’re tough, we’re resilient, we’ll get through this.”
The outlet mall is scheduled to be open for business in the fall of 2017.
With files from Tom Vernon, Global News.
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