Planes, trains and trucks keep moving things in and out of Calgary, as the speed of business demands more efficiency from transport, warehousing and distribution companies.

A Calgary developer is building on the wish for quick access to air and ground transport with a freehold development adjacent to Calgary International Airport. Other advantages of “Freeport” will include the rapidly expanding population in the north end of the city, says Grady Stevenson, marketing principal at Acquest, the developer.

Westfair Foods is taking a quarter of the site and will put up the biggest warehouse in Calgary at a million square feet, equivalent to about 20 football fields, notes Stevenson.

Freeport will also include a commercial sector, sites for light manufacturing and distribution businesses, and a 37-acre auto mall. The project will cover 156 acres in a region of Calgary that should have 20-per-cent population growth within 10 kilometres over the next several years. That kind of population growth means both customers and employees for businesses. Freeport is also conveniently close to Deerfoot and Barlow Trails and Country Hills Boulevard.

Acquest is developing land adjacent to Calgary International Airport to serve several industrial sectors.

“In terms of transport, Deerfoot Trail makes Calgary a north-south city,” says Stevenson. He cites his own commuting experience of one-hour trips to the downtown from Arbour Lake. A friend who lives in Country Hills has a 15- to 20-minute journey.

At the 37-acre auto mall, Acquest has signed Toyota for a seven-acre parcel and more spots are available, he says. Auto malls are the way to sell to today’s more knowledgeable car buyers and dealers can realize higher sales for less advertising cost than standalone dealers.

Logistical companies, meanwhile, need efficiencies in space because their profit margins come in sizes of hundredths of cents. They need advantages such as right-hand turns in and out of the site for trucks and no rail crossings to hold them up.

The development industry has marketed space to other businesses in square feet, but with aisle after aisle of tall racks in warehouses, it might have to switch to cubic feet. Twenty-foot clearance used to be standard but that has risen to 24 feet. A couple of recent buildings have been put up with 32 feet clear inside, Stevenson adds.

The Freeport commercial section includes a recreational amenity – a wetland with running tracks and picnic tables. It will also be able to handle stormwater runoff, a much better solution than a deep, concrete-lined tank, says Stevenson.

Distribution buildings in the park will accommodate light manufacturing and warehouse use. Flex buildings will be suitable for showroom and warehouse use. Two buildings in the commerce centre are to be built next year, one distribution and one flex, with occupancy in late summer.

Freeport is shaping up to look like a real 21st-century business park.

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Commercial real estate company J.J. Barnicke Ltd. has formed an alliance with U.S.-headquartered international firm Insignia/ESG Inc.

Barnicke will exclusively represent Insignia’s international client needs in Canada and Barnicke’s clients will be able to take advantage of Insignia’s global presence. Insignia, whose head office is in New York, has 56 offices in the U.S., including affiliates, and 44 in Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America, also including affiliates. J.J. Barnicke Ltd., whose head office is in Toronto, has 23 offices across Canada.

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Construction industry growth across Canada will slow next year and a year later the industry will actually shrink in Alberta, the Canadian Construction Association (CCA) reports.

The CCA projections show growth of 1.9 per cent in 2003, compared to 3.9 per cent this year. A slowdown in residential construction, as well as several non-residential subsectors, will account for much of the slowdown.

Employment growth is expected to be up two per cent next year, but starting in 2006, labour shortages will hamper the industry.

The CCA says that provincial variations in growth will be wide. Alberta has had 63-per-cent growth since 1996 and will find that tough to sustain. The province can expect “negative growth” from 2004 to 2006.