The City of Edmonton is investing $15 million from the Housing Accelerator Fund towards five student housing developments. More than 550 units will be guaranteed for students for a decade upon opening by 2027. All of them are within a few blocks of O-day'min Park, aside from 150 units at a development in The Quarters. Speakers at a March 20 event at the park said the incentive program addresses affordability for students, the financial reality for developers, and downtown vibrancy. "Programs like this incentive are essential because they help make projects financially feasible," said BILD Edmonton Metro CEO Kalen Anderson. "Construction costs remain high, financing conditions are changing, and urban redevelopment — particularly adaptive reuse and high-density infill — carries additional complexity and risk."
The development in The Quarters will be located at 10316 96 Street NW, making it the furthest from MacEwan and NorQuest. Yet it's one of two student housing projects in the area by Five Oaks, which has partnered with Elev on a conversion of the former Salvation Army Centre of Hope into The Hive. Elev began as a digital matchmaking service between students and off-campus landlords, leveraging its young co-founders' firsthand experience struggling to find student housing. The company will serve as the steward of The Hive. The converted property has completed the first of two development phases and is expected to receive its occupancy permit soon, after much delay, Five Oaks owner Gene Dub told Taproot.
The University of Alberta has launched Roots and Relations, an online micro-credential program in Indigenous entrepreneurship grounded in the Medicine Wheel. The program covers relevance, reciprocity, responsibility, and resilience as core tenets.
Edmonton city council has approved $33.4 million in additional funding to complete the Winspear Centre expansion. The project had stalled due to pandemic-related cost increases, but the new funding fills a gap tied to provincial and federal contributions. The expansion will add a 550-seat acoustic theatre along with new educational and public spaces. The additional funding came from the Downtown Community Revitalization Levy. Construction is set to resume, with the project now expected to open in fall 2027.
Edmonton's affordable housing initiatives have generated $2.6 billion in economic activity since 2019, city administration told city councillors. The city invested $258 million, leveraging $1.26 billion from other governments and supporting the development or renewal of more than 6,100 homes, which created more than 10,000 jobs. Councillors said every dollar invested has attracted about five dollars in additional funding.
Applications are open until March 30 for Startup TNT's spring investment summit in Edmonton. Selected companies will be announced on April 7, before pitching on April 16.
Applied Pharmaceutical Innovation has launched a newsletter called Innovation Translated, designed to help the life sciences community navigate the journey from lab discovery to market, covering topics from regulatory strategy to clinical manufacturing.
Parkland County is collecting feedback on the Acheson industrial area structure plan as it updates the policy to improve development opportunities. There is a survey open until April 24 and there will be in-person engagement sessions throughout April.
Startups and SMBs
Smart Access has raised $12 million in Series A funding from Bay Area investors Lobby Capital, Aspenwood Ventures, and Coelius Capital. The Edmonton-founded company sells a digital platform that helps large distribution operations optimize training, safety programs, and workforce management.
Inline Group has acquired Challenger Geomatics, combining complementary expertise in surveying, geotechnical services, and materials testing. The acquisition expands Inline's capacity for multi-disciplinary projects across Western Canada and the North.
Encore Trucking and Transport has acquired Craneco, adding wireline boom truck capabilities to its service offering. Craneco has provided specialized lifting support for oil and gas wireline operations in Alberta since 1988.
DON'YA Ukraine's Kitchen has moved Little DON'YA into a new space at 10405 Jasper Avenue and deployed a coffee bike serving nearby downtown parks. Co-founder Janice Krissa said the team is eager to help bring vibrancy back to downtown, but noted that weekend foot traffic remains sparse. "That energy is something we deeply value and something we want to help bring back to downtown Edmonton, because right now, that vibrancy is missing," she said.
Birdog is among the businesses to raise concerns about the impact of the resumed construction of the Valley Line West LRT. Its general manager, Flavius Iulian, told CBC's Adrienne Lamb that the restaurant has seen a 50% decline in walk-in customers since the latest construction began.
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At a meeting on March 26, Edmonton city council's executive committee directed administration to develop a non-residential derelict tax subclass and bring forward an unfunded service package to the 2027-2030 budget deliberations for the software upgrades that will be needed to implement it. If approved, the subclass would allow the city to impose a higher tax on commercial buildings that pose a safety hazard and disproportionately consume city resources. Councillors also asked for a report with options for a vacant residential subclass within the redeveloping area.
District Café and Fox Burger are both opening new locations at Rice Howard Place. Such openings stimulate downtown vibrancy, CBRE's Ryan O'Shaughnessy said. "Convenient, high-quality amenities play a big role in how people feel about coming to the office, meeting clients, and spending time downtown," he posted.
Garneau Towers, a 309-suite apartment complex, sold for $70.7 million to Montreal-based Ferrovia Capital from Canadian Apartment Properties REIT. CoStar named the deal its 2026 Impact Award winner for sale of the year in Edmonton.
The Dow Diamond, a 62,500-sq.-ft. office building in Fort Saskatchewan designed to resemble Dow's logo, won CoStar's 2026 Impact Award for commercial development of the year in the Edmonton market. The building, which opened in February, anchors Dow's Path2Zero initiative — an effort to build the world's first net-zero emissions petrochemical plant.
Reimagine Architects has confirmed it is in talks with the province to potentially redevelop the former Royal Alberta Museum building in Glenora, which has been vacant since 2015. The firm's vision includes arts spaces, a market, a small theatre, and a café.
Edmonton's spring resale real estate market is entering more balanced conditions, with inventory up nearly 35% year over year and resales down about 12% in February. The benchmark price of a typical home fell 2% to $419,600, though Edmonton remains the most affordable major city in Canada — a factor realtors say will support demand this spring.
More headlines
A coalition of Indigenous leaders, farmers, and rural Albertans called No CO2 Pipelines Alberta is demanding a federal environmental review of the proposed $16.5-billion Pathways carbon capture and storage project, which would carry CO2 from 20 oilsands facilities to underground storage in the Cold Lake area. Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation is threatening legal action, saying downstream communities deserve a thorough review. The Alberta Energy Regulator decided in 2024 that an environmental impact assessment was not needed.
Alberta Health Services is taking legal steps to recoup $49 million that it paid to a Turkish drug company and importer MHCare Medical for children's medication that it never received. Premier Danielle Smith acknowledged "sloppiness" in the 2022 contract, which is under RCMP and auditor general investigations. Opposition Leader Naheed Nenshi criticized the government's handling of public funds, while former AHS CEO Athana Mentzelopoulos is suing for wrongful dismissal, alleging that she was fired for probing contract concerns.
880 CHED has extended its radio broadcast rights for Edmonton Oilers games for three more years, extending a partnership that has covered every game since 1995. Jack Michaels and Cam Moon will handle play-by-play duties, with Bob Stauffer providing colour commentary.
The University of Alberta's Alberta School of Business and the University of Calgary's Haskayne School of Business have partnered with Creative Destruction Lab - Rockies to give MBA students the opportunity to work directly with startup founders. Applications for the course are open until April 2.
The University of Alberta's Alberta School of Business alumnus Mike Christ has established a $25,000 award for accounting students in honour of his late father. He said he hopes the Bernhard Christ Award in Accounting will inspire students navigating modern challenges, including the rapid integration of AI.
Chris Yeung, executive director of Edmonton Destination Marketing Hotels, joined The Business Development Podcast to discuss the setbacks he faced as an entrepreneur and the moment he was forced to set aside his ego and ask for help. He talked about rebuilding with intention and how personal branding helps professionals stand out in competitive markets.
The Alberta Food Processors Association is now offering coaching, training, and funding to small and medium-sized food and beverage processors through a portal called SCALE AB. Funding of up to $100,000 is available to successful applicants. Applications opened on March 23.
The Edmonton Corporate Challenge returns from May 13 to June 7, featuring more than 25 sports, spirit, and recreation events for companies of all sizes. Registration is open until March 31.
Happenings
Here are some events coming up over the next seven days:
CPA Alberta is the professional organization for more than 30,000 Chartered Professional Accountants (CPAs) across the province. CPAs are known for the experience, expertise, and business acumen they bring to organizations everywhere. CPAs are leaders, entrepreneurs, business advisors, personal financial advisors, management consultants, financial analysts, and so much more!
