The Industrial Investment Action Plan is a roadmap for attracting investment into our city, growing and diversifying our economy, and increasing our industrial tax base.
Principles and Actions
The Industrial Investment Action Plan is guided by 4 principles and 9 actions that will strategically enhance industrial development in Edmonton.
Action 1
Market and promote the industrial advantages of Edmonton. Increase the awareness of Edmonton's characteristics and advantages so more businesses will consider locating or growing their investments in the city.
Action 2
Establish and maintain an industrial infrastructure prioritization tool. Prioritize the development of shovel-ready industrial land to attract and retain major industrial and industrial-enabling investments.
Action 3
Increase efficiency and improve business processes for industrial development. Reduce the amount of time and costs required for a business to be operational, making the City more competitive in attracting industrial investment.
Action 4
Develop a guiding framework for flexibility in the City’s design standards. Understand what design standards are flexible to allow industrial development to occur in a timely and cost-effective way, meeting the requirements of key stakeholders.
Action 5
Work with Indigenous Communities, organizations and businesses to identify barriers and advance Indigenous industrial economic development in Edmonton. Generate a new approach to establish a working partnership to collaborate and share in the benefits of industrial investment.
Action 6
Remove barriers for ethnocultural and all equity-deserving communities for participating in Edmonton’s industrial development. Maximize the contributions of ethnocultural and equity-deserving communities to create a more inclusive economy.
Action 7
Continue to collaborate with regional partners, Indigenous Communities and investment groups, and regional economic development agencies on economic development activities. Work collaboratively to reduce the costs of competition, pursue larger investments and share in the direct and indirect benefits of a strong regional economy.
Action 8
Identify and tailor programs and incentives for target sectors that will provide a strong return to the City’s tax base and advance strategic objectives. Identify programs and incentives to attract investment, stimulate job creation, and foster innovation in target sectors, making Edmonton more competitive as a critical feature in influencing businesses to invest or grow.
Action 9
Monitor progress and results of the Industrial Investment Action Plan. Measure progress and results to identify successes, shortcomings and areas for improvement to guide future change.
Industrial Investment Action Plan Performance Metrics
As the City implements the Industrial Investment Action Plan, it will need to measure its progress and results to identify successes, shortcomings, and areas for improvement. By creating meaningful measures, the City will be able to evaluate both the cost and outputs of the Action Plan that can be used to guide future change.
Sub Action 9.1 of the Action Plan aims to define key metrics, establish targets, conduct an assessment and monitor the success of the Action Plan. These Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) were established with direct feedback from Implementation Partners, and may continue to evolve.
Description (Action 2)
Measures the current inventory and change over time of shovel-ready land by comparing the amount of shovel-ready land to the total amount of industrial land.
Site Selectors have advised administration that their investors are only interested in considering shovel-ready land for their final investment decisions.
Shovel-ready: Refers to vacant sites (not necessarily owned by the City) that are ready to be developed. All the front-end infrastructure is in place, and planning and zoning processes have been completed. It includes the following services to the site: roadway access, stub for: water; wastewater; stormwater; and all franchise utility services. All organic material has been stripped from the site, and rough grade has been completed. In other words, the site is compliant with local, provincial and federal regulations and prepared for the quick start of construction.
Related Sub-Actions
2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4
Description (Action 2)
Measures the amount of land in Edmonton that is brought to a shovel-ready state per year.
This measure quantifies the change to the current inventory of shovel-ready land in the city. Lands that are removed from the inventory are either absorbed or redistricted to another land use.
Absorbed Industrial Land: Land is considered absorbed when a building permit is granted for the construction of an industrial facility. This absorption can result from new building construction or the creation of storage areas.
Related Sub-Actions
2.2, 2.3, 2.4
Description (Action 2)
Measures the amount of shovel-ready land available in the city, which has a direct impact on the number of new industrial investments and expansions.
This measures the amount of shovel-ready land that is built on “absorbed”, removed from the shovel-ready inventory and will subsequently generate revenue for the City.
Absorbed Industrial Land: The land is considered "absorbed" when a building permit is granted for the construction of a facility. This absorption can result from new building construction and the creation of storage areas.
Related Sub-Actions
2.2, 2.3
Description (Action 8)
Measures the annual increase in assessment value per year.
The assessment value of properties increases when there is increased investment, development or expansion.
Related Sub-Actions
8.3
Description (Action 5, 6, 8)
Measures the effectiveness of support provided to businesses by the Business Retention and Expansion program.
Context: Effectiveness means
- Success in retaining business
- Success in supporting growth
- Success in connecting business to programs such as trade and expansion
Related Sub-Actions
5.2, 5.3, 6.1, 6.2, 8.1
Description (Action 3)
Measures the number of industrial permits that the City processes per year.
Related Sub-Actions
3.1, 3.3
Description (Action 3)
Measures the dollar value of industrial permits that the city processes per year.
Related Sub-Actions
3.1, 3.3
Description (Action 3)
Measures the average number of days to complete an industrial development permit.
Understanding the average approval time for Industrial Permits is important so that we understand the need for additional streamlining activities under Action 3.
External stakeholders reported that a key challenge to doing business in the City is the long permitting timelines when compared to neighbouring municipalities.
Related Sub-Actions
3.1, 3.3
Description (Action 2)
Measures the current inventory and change over time of fully serviced land by comparing the amount of fully serviced land to the total amount of industrial land.
Fully Serviced: Refers to lands that have existing infrastructure in place or can be quickly connected to services upon development initiation. Indicators of such status include subdivision and the availability of infrastructure servicing at the property.
Related Sub-Actions
2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4
Description (Action 2)
Measures the amount of land in Edmonton that is brought to a fully serviced state per year.
This measure quantifies the change to the current inventory of fully serviced land in the city. Lands that are removed from the inventory are either absorbed or redistricted to another land use.
Absorbed Industrial Land: Land is considered absorbed when a building permit is granted for the construction of an industrial facility. This absorption can result from new building construction or the creation of storage areas.
Related Sub-Actions
2.2, 2.3, 2.4
Industrial Development
Looking to locate, expand or innovate your industry in Edmonton? We’re here to help! The City of Edmonton offers a range of industrial neighbourhoods and shovel-ready industrial land. Get in touch with our team for tailored support.
Hendrik Cuppen, Investment Attraction Coordinator
hendrik.cuppen@edmonton.ca
780-720-4418
One-on-one support is available in English, Portuguese, Dutch, and Spanish.