GSCC State of the City Highlights
October 1st, 2021
We would like to thank the City of Summerside for their partnership in hosting this event. A special thank you to our presenters: Mike Thususka – Economic Development Director, Greg Gaudet – Municipal Services Director and Chantal Delaney – Client Services Manager.
Economic Development
Stats since our 2020 State of the City address:
- 83 new businesses established over the course of our last State of the City (58 PNP)
- 130 immigrant investors are set to arrive in Summerside over the course of the next two years
- $41 Million+ in total permits (increased 88% over this time last year)
- Increase of 240% in industrial and commercial development investment over last year
- Increase of 630% in institutional development investment over last year
- Increase of 19% in residential development investment over last year
Vacancy rates are at an all-time low:
- Residential – At 1%, unchanged from 2018
- Industrial – Down to 1% from 15% in 2019
- Commercial – Down to 4% from 14% in 2018
- Retail – Down to 4% from 9% in 2018
Housing:
- There is anticipated need for an additional 1,025 to 1,250 housing units in the City of Summerside over the next 15 years
- Anticipated demand will require a boost of approximately 655 to 800 lots for 625 to 760 single-family dwellings and 410 to 500 multi-unit dwellings
Industrial/Commercial Space:
- Retail demand is in excess of 100,000 square feet with less than 70,000 of mixed-condition space in the market
- Office demand is in excess of 25,000 square feet with less than 12,000 of mixed-condition space in the market
- Industrial demand is in excess of 90,000 square feet with less than 11,000 of mixed-condition space currently in the market
Coming Soon:
- Exploring Hydrogen Generation
- Transit
- Enabling economic development infrastructure
- And much much more
Municipal Services
Sunbank:
- Construction is set to begin in late Fall – over $70 million to be injected into the community
- $65,800,000 (73% Funded)
- 88 MW DC Solar Farm
- 10MW/20MWH Battery Storage
- Summerside Electric will be 62% renewable energy
- Principal Project Contractor – Aspin Kemp and Associates
- Construction Schedule – October 2021 to December 2022
Value Add to our Community
- 21 million on incremental GDP on PEI
- Over 200 Full Time Equivalent Jobs for Project Construction
- Labour Income Boost by $10,356,666
- Increasing Taxation Revenue over $3,000,000
- Increase of $7,000,000 on local businesses services
Total Acreages: 78.8 acres
Excluded zone: 4.8 acres
Wellfield & Access:
8.4m width of access road,
15.7m width of work space around well
Setback: 33~36ft. applied
– Berm: 8ft width
– Fencing 15ft from Boundary
– Building boundary: 10~13ft from fencing
– Battery zone: 0.7ac for 12ea of 40ft container
Total Buildable Acreages: 66.81 acres (+/- 3%)
Environmental Issue: Wetland (Data field ID: 057041) located 45m away from the south side of site
Zero Emissions Vehicle Infrastructure Project:
- $225,000 (50% Funded)
- 12 new locations – all dual chargers
- In 2021 – 387 hours of charging used (Completed in May/June of 2021)
- 258 litres of gasoline avoided
ZEVIP – Pan Maritime Project:
- Total project $1.138 million ($225,000 Summerside Portion)
- 6 municipal Electric Utilities – NB(2)/NS(3)/PEI(1)
- To support the electric vehicle adoption of transport
- Supplements and Expands existing initiatives
- $1.75 per Hour Rate
- Same Manufacturers as the Provincial High Speed Chargers
Instructions on How to Use the New Chargers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvjZLgiXB2Y
Option 1: Use a physical card that Flo mails to the users. Users can request to have a Flo card sent to them when they setup an account. They then load this card with money to allow them to pay for the charging session.
Option 2: By activating the station using the Flo mobile app. This allows them to pay through the app.
Both options require the user to have a Flo account to setup a payment method.
Users can sign up for a Flo account under the link below or on the mobile app.
https://account.flo.ca/Account/SignUp
The app Flo app is called FLO- EV Charging Network which customers can download on their respective app store.
Community Services
Facility Improvements – Credit Union Place:
- Arena renamed Island Petroleum Energy Centre
- 6 New luxury skyboxes in Arena
- Pool deck retiled in aquatics centre
- All new cardio equipment coming this Fall
- New membership software
- Modernized bowling facilities
Outdoor Facilities Improvements – Parks & Greenspaces:
- New pickleball courts at Wilmot Park
- Upgraded cricket pitch and relocation
- New scoreboard in ice-pad and turf field
- Over 3km of Summerside Boardwalk upgraded
- New playground structures at 10 City parks
- Active Transportation Lane on Greenwood Drive
- Over 500 trees planted and counting
- Forest management plan adopted for Rotary Park
Events & Announcements – Sports And Entertainment:
- Atlanticade 2021
- 3-year agreement w/ Atlantic Canada’s Strongest Team 16U
- Girls Baseball Atlantics
- U12 & U14 Eastern Canadian Softball Championships 1st
- Annual Shipwright’s Run
- World Under-17 Hockey Challenge
- 2022 Fred Page Cup announced
- 2022 International Canada Cup of Wrestling announced 2022
- U21 Softball Nationals announced
- 2022 16U Girls Baseball Nationals Announced
PEI’s Newest Hotel Development: Microtel By Wyndham
- 84 rooms Microtel Hotel attached at Credit Union Place
- Developer – RCS Construction
Modern design - 1 of 41 Microtel Hotels that are under development across Canada, 250 in North America
- Group of well-known regional investors
- Opening Summer 2022
Multipurpose Dome – Credit Union Place:
- Year-round indoor turf field
- Over 62,000 square feet
- Opening early 2022
- Size of nearly 4 rinks
- Already taking bookings, including regional and national events