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Red Deer County cultivating Hwy 2 commercial growth

Gasoline Alley and proposed Junction 42 commercial area high on county economic development strategy
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Red Deer Advocate file photo

Gasoline Alley is thriving, and Red Deer County hopes to repeat that winning formula a few kilometres to the south.

Mayor Jim Wood has big expectations for both Gasoline Alley and Junction 42, the proposed companion commercial area being developed on a 27-acre site at highways 2 and 42, east of Penhold.

“Gasoline Alley is extremely important to Red Deer County,” said Wood on Tuesday. “Economically, it brings great value to our county as far as tax revenues.

“It also provides a lot of jobs and the services necessary for our residents to use.”

As the City of Red Deer grows, the county needs to continue to cultivate its residential, commercial and industrial hotspots, said the mayor.

“We need Gasoline Alley to build out because we know in time, the City of Red Deer will, in fact, annex other lands and we will lose tax revenue,” said Wood.

“So we need constant growth in both Gasoline Alley, and we will need it to also grow in our new Junction 42, which is extremely important to the viability of Red Deer County.

“We need growth to happen everywhere in the county. However, we see some areas that are more likely to grow in the short term, and that’s because of their proximity to Highway 2 and the amount of traffic going by.

“Gasoline Alley, at one time, was just a few buildings. I anticipate in the future, that Junction 42 will look like Gasoline Alley — in many years.”

The county has made a number of moves in recent weeks to boost economic development.

A section of Gasoline Alley was recently designated a hamlet. By becoming a hamlet, the fees for natural gas connections through a franchise agreement significantly decrease for developers.

Developers got the ball rolling for the county to enter into a franchise agreement with ATCO Gas and Pipelines Ltd. to sharply reduce connection costs.

County council gave first reading to an agreement bylaw on Tuesday. A public hearing has been set for Nov. 13.

First reading was also given to a bylaw to rezone Junction 42 to highway commercial from agriculture. A public hearing is also set for Nov. 13.

A large paved area for trucks has already been created at the site. The county fast-tracked that part of the project after the province closed a Gasoline Alley service road, a popular parking spot for truckers and RV owners, in July as part of the Highway 2 and Gaetz Avenue interchange project.



pcowley@reddeeradvocate.com

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