Ward 12 Open For Business
The last calendar year has not been easy for many Calgarians. As oil prices have gone down, unemployment levels have risen. Calgarians are in need of a morale boost now more than ever.
When I look around Ward 12 I see many reasons for optimism. New communities in southeast Calgary are still seeing very positive rates of growth. These communities will see projects like the Remington YMCA in Quarry Park and the New Brighton Regional Athletic Park open to the public later this year. Despite current economic uncertainty, Ward 12 remains a place of tremendous progress.
Over the last number of weeks I have had the pleasure of attending a pair of ribbon-cuttings that I found especially encouraging for Ward 12.
Home Depot Stock and Flow Campus
On Wednesday, March 23 I was at the grand opening of the Home Depot Calgary Stock and Flow Campus in the Shepard Industrial Park. This facility will serve as Home Depot’s main distribution centre for all of their Western Canadian store locations. This event was so much more than a grand opening of a new facility. Home Depot had a lot of options for this new facility, and ultimately they decided to make an investment right here in southeast Calgary.
Marshalls/Home Sense
Many residents have been curious what was happening with the old COOP location at South Trail Crossing. On Thursday, April 7 Marshalls and Home Sense opened their doors to the public. This location, just off 130th Avenue, is the second Marshalls location in Calgary. These new stores will offer exciting new shopping destinations, create new employment opportunities and continue to improve the compliment of amenities available to residents of southeast Calgary.
What Does It All Mean?
When I first joined City Council in 2010 Ward 12 was home to 67,000 Calgarians. Today that number is over 103,000. The City of Calgary is looking to build more communities where residents can live, work and play. This means giving 103,000 residents in Ward 12 access to reliable public transit, access to recreation facilities and parks, access to employment centres and access to terrific shopping.
World class companies like Home Depot and Marshalls still see incredible opportunity here in Calgary, and this is something we should all be very proud of!
