Redefining northern Grande Prairie: Trader Ridge development providing a boon to the local economy

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 wanted 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,

partner with Cushman & Wakefield, says that they had another grocer potentially interested in the land, but osman really liked the idea of a home-grown business being the anchor tenant, so they sold four acres to them to build the grocery store, as well as three acres across 132 avenue on 102 street to build a liquor store, gas bar, and convenience store in what is now unofficially known as co-op corner. gP acupuncture was also sold an acre of land in the area for their new office as well, and Petro canada has also purchased two lots comprised of five acres north of Windsor Ford at the corner of 139 avenue and 100th street.

in front of co-op, osman is building an almost 50,000-square-foot multi-phase development, the shoppes of trader ridge. Phase 1 of the commercial retail unit, which started construction in 2018, will include a starbucks, edo Japan, Popeyes chicken, Bone & Biscuit, Panago Pizza, a dentist’s office, a local nail salon, and more. Phase 2, which mccammon mentions they are just starting talks with now, will be in the north side of gP acupuncture.

mccammon says that this development has not only helped bring new retail and services to the area, but it have also helped transform the entire northern region of the city.

In front of Co-Op, the development group is building an almost 50,000-square-foot multi-phase development, the Shoppes of Trader Ridge.

“There isn’t a lot of retail on the north side of grande Prairie. Just east and west of the highway within the grande Prairie limits, you’ll notice that most of the major employment is up into clairmont, into the County, that’s where the linkage is when you come in from edmonton on Highway 43. You come in where trader ridge is,” says mccammon, adding that this particular area of the city is amongst the busiest intersections, seeing in excess of 32,500 vehicles a day. “It’s really a greenfield site that’s in a brownfield location because everything has developed on either side of it. it was a unique opportunity for sam [osman] to be able to obtain three different parcels to assemble the piece he did and solve problems for the city and provide amenities for the community.”

in addition to this development, just west of trader ridge is a new residential subdivision, arbour Hills, and to the north is the Whispering ridge subdivisions. there is also four new schools that have been built in the area between the county and the city.

in addition to new residential communities and schools, there is also a trail system that runs the majority of the city of grande Prairie from the southwest up to the north side. although the trail did terminate at

The land that Trader Ridge is on right now 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 trader ridge site, osman decided to extend it to have walking trails, bike trails, and bike racks around the property, making it easy to access and user friendly.

although full build-out of trader ridge will take a few more years (McCammon says that the shoppes at trader ridge should be fully built, leased, and occupied in 18 months to two years), the businesses that are open there have seen tremendous feedback from the community. mccammon also notes that once the retail portion is up and running, they will then focus on their showroom and industrial opportunities.

“It’s been overwhelming,” says McCammon.

“It’s been a very positive and well received

development and will continue to absorb into the market. It’s the best available option for retailers or investment users in the market. We think it will continue to march towards success.” -

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