More than $52 million worth of construction under way
March 4, 2024, 8:59 am
Kevin Weedmark
Moosomin Economic Development Officer Casey McCormac says the fact that everyone is working together on economic development is the reason there is more construction going on in Moosomin and the immediate surrounding area than ever before.
There is more than $52.5 million worth of construction under way right now in the Moosomin area, with more projects coming up, one to start within weeks.
Current projects include:
• A $14 million water plant expansion and new water line from wells at Moosomin Lake under way which will accommodate growth in the Town of Moosomin up to 4,600 people.
• $12,550,000 worth of commercial construction in Moosomin including the new Borderland Co-op grocery store, Skout Brewing's new building, and the Anytime Fitness Gym.
• A $10 million airport expansion which will allow the Saskatchewan Air Ambulance to serve the region, and will lead to new commercial opportunities.
• An $8.8 million rehabilitation project at Moosomin Dam under construction currently.
• Several million dollars worth of commercial construction in the RM of Moosomin commercial development just east of Moosomin.
• A $1 million rebuild currently under way at the Moosomin Weigh Scales.
On top of the more than $50 million in construction currently under way, projects on the horizon include:
• Two 12 unit apartment buildings planned by Keller Developments for a total of $4.1 million. Evan Keller says work will start soon on the 24 new housing units. “We have our development permit and we have applied for our building permit,” he said Thursday. “The intent is to get started as soon as possible, so likely breaking ground in the next couple weeks.”
• A proposed $10 million McNaughton High School renovation. The Southeast Cornerstone School Division is applying for provincial funding for the renovation project. An application was submitted to the provincial Education Ministry Thursday, February 29.
• A second building for Play Fair Daycare to accommodate 90 additional day care spots. That project is estimated to cost about $3 million.
• A bulk fuel and cardlock development planned by the United Farmers of Alberta.
McCormac says she believes Moosomin is an attractive place to live, leading to the strong growth trend.
“I think that it’s the amount of people that we have in town—more and more people want to live that small-town life, they like that small-town feeling. The cost of living is so much higher in cities now so I think we’ve seen a lot more people move to town and we have a lot of people with that entrepreneurial spirit that gets things done. Moosomin is big on collaboration and we want to see growth for the town and for the people in town.”
She said that collaboration has led to unprecedented growth.
“Moosomin is growing at a rate that we’ve never seen before because of the collaboration that we’ve seen with the town of Moosomin, the RM of Moosomin and the Community Builders Alliance,” she said.
“All of those entrepreneurial people put together have pushed for this crazy amount of growth and I think we’re going to see even more than just this in the near future.”
She doesn’t believe the growth trend is short term, but is the start of a long term growth trajectory. “I think it’s the start of a long period of growth because there are so many more projects that are on the horizon that are 5-10 years out and I think that it will just keep growing and growing from here,” she said.
What will it take to keep the growth going?
“We need to continue to keep up with the demand for certain things like housing,” says McCormac, “and make sure that the residents have everything that they need and that we’re continually bringing in those people that are like-minded to Moosomin—entrepreneurial, community-driven and excited to be a part of small town growth.”
The addition of 42 units of senior housing with the opening of Cobblestone House last year didn’t have the expected effect on vacancy rates elsewhere in town, and even with construction about to start on 24 units of apartments, McCormac said more needs to be done on the housing front.
“We’ll start to see some stuff for housing here soon,” she said. “We can’t talk too much about it but council is working on some stuff that’s going to assist with the growth and help with the need for housing,” she said.
She doesn’t take the credit for the development taking place, but says it’s everyone working together that makes the difference.
“I think that it’s a collaboration with everyone and people realizing that it’s not competition—it’s all collaboration, and what you can do to help the community, is going to help you in the long run as well.”
The $52.5 million worth of current construction works out to $17,500 per capita. By comparison, total construction in Regina last year, commercial and residential, totalled $2,000 per capita.
