The Trader Ridge development has not only helped bring new retail and services to the city, but has transformed the entire northern area of Grande Prairie.
Redefining northern Grande Prairie Trader Ridge development providing a benefit to the local economy By Shayna Wiwierski
If it wasn’t for Husky Energy willing to offload a parcel of land they purchased in the ‘70s, Trader Ridge wouldn’t even be on the radar in Grande Prairie. The Trader Ridge development started years ago when Cushman & Wakefield in Edmonton had 20 acres for sale on the corner of 132 Avenue and 100th Street. The land was originally owned by Husky Energy since 1979 who didn’t want to let it go until 2016 when they had a different vision of where the company was going. The coveted site ended up becoming surplus which Cushman & Wakefield pitched to Edmonton-based Trader Properties who had been working with them on another transaction. Sam Osman, president of Trader Properties, loved the location but want54 Grande Prairie Construction Association
ed to acquire the acres around the original 20 that was from Husky Energy. As a result, over the span of a few years, he was able to successfully purchase 156 acres in the area to build what is now Trader Ridge, and the subdivision was registered with the city in 2016. Now that Osman owned the land, he was able to work with the City of Grande Prairie and the County to finetune which road linkages were best for them. Working as a group, they were able to create a new opening off the highway with the lighting in all directional intersections which ties into both the east and west side of the highway at 139th Avenue. “Grande Prairie is probably the best place
to invest in Alberta right now considering the circumstances,” says Osman, who adds that his company does business in both the U.S. and Canada. “I think there’s a lot of opportunity there. We have been working with the City and we have a good relationship. They want the business there, they want the construction there, and we have been able to sign up a lot of great tenants to the site.” The first business built at the site was the Windsor Ford dealership, which is Canada’s largest Ford dealership. The building is over 140,000 square feet and is located at the south corner of 139th Avenue. After Windsor Ford was announced, New Horizon Co-Op expressed interest in building a grocery store there. Jeff McCammon,
