Prince Albert is the third largest and most northerly city in Saskatchewan, with a population of around 40,000. According to the City of Prince Albert it has a direct marketplace of approximately 60,000 people and a regional marketplace of approximately 160,000 people. While the city is still in the southern half of the province, it is a main service and distribution centre for the north. It is situated on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River between the agricultural southern area of the province and the forested lake land and mineral belt in the north. In April 2006 the Weyerhaeuser pulp and paper mill closed indefinitely, affecting some 690 jobs. A task force was organized to get the operation running again. Weyerhaeuser later merged with Domtar Inc and in September 2007 plans were announced to re-open the pulp mill portion of the mill however these plans were then cancelled by the new government. In March 2008 Domtar announced that it was removing the paper processing machine from the site saying it would likely be sold. The future of the pulp portion of the mill remains in limbo at this time and still under discussion.

Previously, residential sales accounted for around 90% of the gross sales volume. In 2006 this dropped to 81% and 2007 it dropped to 77%. This suggests an upswing in commercial sales.

There were 9 sales of apartment blocks in 2007 with a total of 333 suites and total sale price of $12.85 million or an average of $38,600 per suite. None have sold year to date.

September 2005 saw the grand opening of the 74,725 sq.ft. Sask Forestry Centre, located across Central Avenue from City Hall.

In 2003 the City released a Downtown Strategic Plan to determine a vision of downtown Prince Albert to the year 2020 “that capitalized on its role as the social, economic and cultural hub and gateway to northern Saskatchewan and that reflects it stature as the province’s oldest city.” The Plan states "The focus should be primarily on smaller-scale development and incremental projects that emphasize the rehabilitation and renovation of existing space and building upon downtown’s strengths and assets."

In the fall of 1999 the City completed a large scale purchase of downtown land and buildings between First and Second Avenue West from River Street to 12th Street. The long term plan is to have a convention facility built in this area however this is some time away yet. Part of the planned redevelopment for this area is also a new Court House on River Street that was occupied in Feb. 2001. As well, the $9.5-million, 25,000-square foot visual and performing arts centre on the corner of Second Avenue and 12th Street West was opened in April 2003. The new Forestry Centre is an extension of this urban renewal project.

Retail construction flourished in the early 2000's. The downtown Gateway Mall added a new Staples and Sport Chek and the downtown Co-op store did a $4-million expansion and upgrade.

Springwood Developments Phase 1 of Cornerstone Centre opened stores for Wal-Mart, IGA Garden Market, Dollar Store Plus, Payless Shoe Store, FutureShop, and JYSK Linen 'n Furniture. Phase 2 included Shoppers Drug Mart, a medical clinic, M & M meats, Subway restaurant and Ultracuts. Further additions to the area included a new Kelsey's restaurant and a McDonald's restaurant.

The last phase includes two more retail buildings totalling over 36,000 sq.ft including a Rona Home Centre opened in Sept 2004.

The mall has also purchased land on the south side of 15th Street East, immediately across the street from their existing development for further phases.

The relocation of Wal-Mart and Payless into larger spaces enabled the South Hill Mall to do a $5 million renovation to accommodate Winners as well as a 6 screen movie theatre as well as a new free standing restaurant.

Two new hotels are nearing completion on the South Hill.

On 2nd Avenue West the Canadian Tire store expanded, a new 60 room Super 8 motel was opened by the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation, and a new free standing McDonalds was opened.

According to CMHC, there were 148 housing starts in 2007 in the PA area, 124 single family and 24 multi-family. This is up from 60 in 2006.

Other drilling exploration is being done in the area by Forest Gate Resources, who have reported diamond recovery from their test drilling, and Great Western Diamonds Corp. is also doing test drilling in the area near Candle Lake.

The City of Prince Albert is the largest developer of residential and industrial land. They have a good selection of residential lots in various neighbourhoods. Their prices range from $224/front foot to $599/front foot depending upon the subdivision, park proximity, and level of servicing. They also have some industrial land at the southern edge of the city where the price is $113,750/acre. The other industrial land is in the North subdivision where there is no sewer servicing and the price is $61,100/acre. The City has purchase incentive programs for both types of land.

Brunsdon Junor Johnson Appraisals Ltd is a real estate appraisal firm providing a wide range of appraisal and consulting services, including property tax assessment appeals and condominium reserve fund studies. The primary market area is north and central half of Saskatchewan. Rick Brunsdon is licenced to appraise in Alberta.


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Updated April 14th, 2008 by Ron