Regional Investment Opportunities
COMMUNITY PROFILE – Rocky View County
OVERVIEW
Rocky View County is located in Southwest Alberta and is a very large jurisdiction. The County surrounds the City
of Calgary as well as Airdrie, Cochrane, Chestermere, Irricana and Beiseker. One of the many hamlets in Rocky View
County is Balzac, which is located about 24 kilometres north from downtown Calgary. Balzac is a major focus of
Rocky View County's development opportunities.
Balzac's commercial and industrial development capacity is significant but its population is quite small. Balzac accounts for fraction of Rocky View County's population of 36,000. As mentioned, Calgary is situated within Rocky View County, and the metropolitan population of the Calgary Region is over 1.2 million people. Airdrie has a population of just over 34,000.
Rocky View County's economic base is quite diverse, prosperous and growing. However, tourism is not currently considered a major sector. Major economic drivers in Rocky View County include oil and gas extraction and processing, agricultural processing, transportation, warehousing and logistics, as well as light manufacturing.
Major employers within Rocky View County include: ATCO Gas, NOVA Chemicals, Petro Canada (Wild Cat Hills Gas Plant), TAQA North (Crossfield Gas Plant), Shell Canada (Jumping Pound Gas Plant), TransAlta Corporation, Inter Pipeline Extraction Ltd. (Cochrane Extraction Plant), and Nexen Canada Ltd. (Balzac Complex).
HOSPITALITY
Currently, there are no existing accommodations in the Balzac area. The closest hotels are in Calgary at the
International Airport and in Airdrie. There are currently 10 hotels in close proximity to the Calgary International
Airport, and Airdrie offers 5 hotels/motels and a bed and breakfast.
EXISTING ATTRACTIONS
All major tourism attractions and annual events are based out of Calgary. Calgary is host to numerous attractions and
events, ranging from the 1988 Olympic Winter Games site to the world-renowned Calgary Stampede.
TOURISM STATISTICS
Rocky View County does not have any local tourism statistics available.
COMMUNITY WEBSITE
To learn more about Rocky View County please visit www.rockyview.ca
or www.thinkingalberta.com
TOURISM INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY – CROSSIRON MILLS HOTEL (BALZAC)
OVERVIEW
Balzac is located on the east side of Highway 2, just north of the City of Calgary, the Calgary International Airport
and the Calgary Ring Road (Transportation Utility Corridor or TUC). Balzac is perfectly located for a high quality,
internationally recognized, full-service hotel development with related hospitality services, such as high-quality
restaurant(s), lounge(s), spa, banquet facilities, and convention center capacity.
A proposed hotel will take advantage of the CrossIron Mills development, which opened in August 2009. CrossIron Mills is a 1.4 million square foot shopping centre development that is home to 17 anchors and more than 200 retailers and services. It is one of the largest retail destinations in Western Canada. Tourism service amenities, including restaurants, are currently being constructed at CrossIron Mills.
In the summer of 2010, CrossIron Mills will also feature a SilverCity entertainment centre, which will be a 45,000 square foot development with digital and 3D projection. It will feature more than 1,300 stadium seats and seven movie theatre auditoriums. People will also be able to enjoy the amenities in the 13,000 square foot XSCAPE Entertainment Centre which will offer a variety of the latest games and activities, as well as a licensed lounge.
Major hotel developers are best equipped to determine the overall size of investment that would be required to complete a full-service hotel development in Balzac, close to CrossIron Mills. Hotel developers will need to complete pre-feasibility and due diligence specific to their needs.
SITE
There is approximately 5,400 acres of land in East Balzac which has been identified for commercial and industrial
development. There are a number of major developers and investors that currently own the lands in East Balzac. Most
are anticipating strong demand for development lands. There are also a number of business parks in the area.
Permitted uses have been identified. Re-zoning may be required, depending on the parcel of land that a hotel developer selects. There is an Area Structure Plan (ASP) for East Balzac. All proposed developments must go through the East Balzac Planning Office www.eastbalzac.ca.
PROPOSED DRAW
Projected tourism draws for the CrossIron Mills regional shopping complex will be approximately 27,000 to 30,000
visitors a day (approximately 10 million per year). A major hotel development would benefit from this tremendous
exposure. CrossIron Mills would also benefit from one or two major hotel developments.
Additional information can be viewed at www.crossironmills.com
CONTACT INFORMATION
For more information regarding this opportunity, please contact Scott Martin.
Phone: (780) 415-8827 or Email: scott.martin@gov.ab.ca
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