Keeping small towns strong
Condo developer Anil Walji first fell in love with Rocky Mountain House in 1993 when he was doing his master’s thesis in Environmental Design at the University of Calgary, while studying the resource industry in the area.
The town in west central Alberta has a long history in commerce, starting with the fur trade 200 years ago to servicing forestry, agriculture and oil and gas today.
“I love this town,” Walji says. “It’s just a step away from the mountains and still in the centre of a lot of industrial and commercial activity.” Walji and his partners are contributing to that activity by building a 26-unit luxury condominium, called LeCerf Point Condominiums.
“Our owners don’t have to worry about long commutes during difficult winter driving conditions or any of those things that can tie you down, such as yard work, shoveling, building maintenance, and all the other chores of owning a house,” he says. “We take care of all that.”
Not only do owners enjoy the freedom of condo living, they have lower heating costs and minimized administrative charges for utilities and town services.
“LaCerf Point is unlike any other development in town,” says Walji. “Each unit is equipped with the best and most modern technology as well as elegant design features such as gleaming hardwood floors, rundle stone fireplaces and solid maple kitchen cabinets.
“We stay competitive by staying current,” Walji says. “It’s important that you don’t just look to what’s been done in the past as your point of reference.”
While the recent economic downturn made construction more affordable and a lot easier to get the trades needed to build the condominium, it has also made it harder for Walji’s potential customers – empty nesters and retired people – to sell their current homes.
“They want to come here and they want to move here; but they’re also looking to sell their homes. You need a market for those homes and it has really slowed down for a while,” he says.
But as the oil and gas industry has started picking up, so has traffic through Walji’s show suite. “Now we’re coming back to some kind of equilibrium,” he says. “And the main reason I can see that we are finding our balance is because it seems that the oil and gas industry has sort of recalibrated itself.”
“Rocky Mountain House is a great small town and I hope I can work around these parts for a long time,” says Walji. “There is so much to like here.”
Walji says that a robust energy sector is pivotal to the town and the province’s economy.
“Without the oil and gas industry, I think Alberta, especially small town Alberta that really relies on that industry, would be in great difficulty,” he says.
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