Beyond the Auto Mile |
Destination: Wetaskiwin
by Scott Messenger
Let’s say a true measure of a city’s self-esteem lies in the quality of its museums. That doesn’t mean they have to house fine art, ancient artifacts or employ an army of interpreters. They just need to capture the essence of place. With everything from stone arrowheads to wartime memorabilia to reconstructions of local shop interiors of a century ago, that’s what the Wetaskiwin and District Heritage Museum does, spread over three floors of a building downtown. It’s quaint and folksy, and it conveys deep-rooted civic pride.
That the museum occupies so much prime retail space, however, might leave the business-minded thinking Wetaskiwin is a place in economic transition, the direction somewhat uncertain. But times of transition are times of opportunity. Main Street, with its independent retailers, restaurants, banks and services, has a blank-slate feel, with the character of heritage buildings to be revealed by more of the facade work already applied to a dozen downtown buildings. With office and retail space at $8 and $12 per square foot, respectively, renovation costs won’t take long to recoup.
The state of the courthouse, a beautifully restored Greek-revivalist structure just east of downtown and now home to City Hall, speaks to that potential. Built in 1907, the building epitomized an era of growth set in motion by the railroad’s arrival in 1891 and the farmers that followed. When Wetaskiwin incorporated as a city in 1906, it was already established as not only a major agricultural centre (boasting enough grain elevators to be dubbed Alberta’s “elevator city”) but a regional hub with one of the largest hotels outside Edmonton and Calgary.
That legacy continues, though the role as regional hub somewhat overshadows the agricultural tradition. For the town of Millet to the north, Hobbema and the surrounding First Nations reserve to the south and the 10,500 residents of Wetaskiwin County, the city serves as the main economic centre, attracting shoppers with major retailers and the famed Auto Mile, which, at least before the new vehicle market contracted, sold Canada’s most units per capita.
Possibly, it’s this status as a point of economic focus that has motivated Wetaskiwin to set lofty goals for itself. Despite its strengths, the city has seen contraction in industries other than automotive retail, and it happened before the recession. As outlined in its Roadmap to Prosperity, a report it released in May detailing a decade-long economic strategy, what new business creation occurred between 2001 and 2006 consisted of mostly “micro” firms of less than five employees. Also, losses have occurred in manufacturing, transportation and warehousing, real estate, even accommodation and food services (oil and gas, incidentally, was on its way up). Overall, “This is not an encouraging trend,” notes the report.
But that Wetaskiwin is taking this hard look at itself, and has struck a plan to attract new industry, is. “You usually hear ‘Cars cost less in Wetaskiwin,’ but we’re a lot of other things as well,” says Randy Richards, the city’s manager of economic development. “We want to become proactive rather than reactive.”
Consider that statement to be in keeping with the efforts of the Heritage Museum, with the ongoing makeover of the downtown core and with the preservation of the courthouse. It’s about pride of place. What’s interesting, and what will serve the city well as it moves forward with its growth strategy, is that pride hasn’t clouded the city’s vision of the future. Wetaskiwin has recognized a need to improve – and that should give confidence to anyone looking to do business with the city and take advantage of the chance to get in at ground level on a potentially positive transition.
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