Rocky View County has finalized a $25-million agreement with Canadian National Railway (CN), which will see a 23-kilometre water line built to the Conrich area.
The agreement, signed by council during a closed session on July 26, will not only allow for construction of CN’s $200 million, 680-acre Logistics Park, but will provide potable water, piped from the Graham Reservoir, located near Kathryn, to the Conrich area.
“There is no risk to taxpayers,” said Reeve Rolly Ashdown. “It is a Rocky View solution to a Rocky View problem.”
According to Ashdown, CN will cover all the costs of the County-constructed line. As developers move into the area, some of those costs may be recovered.
“To have a project of this scale in Rocky View County is outstanding,” said Ashdown. “We are excited about the new opportunities this will open up for the County. It gives us the ability to allow growth in that area and increase our tax base.”
The County identified Conrich as a growth node, defined as an urban-style community with a combination of land uses, in its Growth Management Strategy.
However, a lack of potable water has created uncertainty.
Ashdown said this agreement has been in the works for some time, and construction will begin in September.
Construction will begin on the Logistics Park, which will likely one day replace CN’s northwest Calgary yard, this summer.
The new facility, announced in early 2010, will include a multi-commodity transload and warehouse facility, automotive compound, liquid/bulk transload and distribution facility.
The park will offer a warehousing area of more than two million square feet to customers who need to distribute their goods. The site, which is accessible to major roadways, is located several kilometres east of the Calgary International Airport.
“CN is pleased that Rocky View Council has approved the servicing and infrastructure agreement,” said Claude Mongeau, president and chief executive officer of CN. “We are eager to break ground for the new logistics park, which will help provide seamless transportation solutions to rail customers moving products and commodities into and out of Calgary, one of the fastest growing cities in North America and a key logistics hub for consumer and industrial goods markets in Alberta.”
