Almost all the key pieces are in place in transforming the town of Battleford.
Within the next month, a new Tim Hortons restaurant and new Kramer Ltd. building are set to open.
That will cap years of development and planning for the town, with the vision of Battleford West and Gasoline Alley coming to fruition.
But one individual who worked to make that vision a reality is looking forward to seeing even more development and growth spurred on by the arrival of these two businesses.
Battleford's former mayor Chris Odishaw was in office from 2006 to 2012 while much of the groundwork was being laid for the current development.
He took the Regional Optimist on a tour of Battleford Friday to highlight some of the development that has gone on over the past few years.
The tour began on the south side of Battleford. He noted there were only three houses on the whole block of 15th Street in 2000; now the area is filled with houses as well as condo development.
He indicated three fully-serviced cul-de-sacs on the south side that will have a full and unobstructed view of the Battle River Valley.
The tour then made its way to the industrial area and into Battleford West, crossing the newly twinned Highway 4 to get there. Odishaw called the provincial Urban Highways Connector Program a "game changer for the town" in terms of spurring development of new access roads to the industrial area.
"Lots of things had to line up," said Odishaw. "I think you had an attitude in the town of Battleford for growth and expansion, and we wanted to support private investment."
In Battleford West he praised the investment made by developer Dean Kupchanko in that property. He said Kupchanko came from Alberta, bringing with him hard-won experience earned during that province's "boom" years.
"To get developers from Alberta to come to Saskatchewan, you learn from all of its mistakes," said Odishaw. "There's less of a learning curve because of the experience they bring with them, and that's been a blessing to our community."
Odishaw was quick to point out examples of how private enterprise funded the development in the area. Odishaw said Kupchanko funded on his own dime a walking trail established in that subdivision.
"Often taxpayers are on the hook" Odishaw said, but in this case he was happy to see a private developer assume the cost of developing the land, adding the walking trail and numerous trees that line the area on his own without taxpayers footing the bill.
While the town did not own the property, it still benefited, said Odishaw, as the developed properties ended up joining the tax roll.
Several houses already dot Battleford West and a number are under construction. A water retention pond was built to accumulate water during storm situations to prevent flooding. Not far away from that spot is land for a potential seniors' development.
Odishaw credits Kupchanko's investment as helping spur on investment by the provincial government in Battleford including the Highway 4 twinning.
"We were able to go to the provincial government for the Highway Connectors Program and the twinning of Highway 4 south, fixing up our intersections, lighting it, all the things we needed to do to get to the next stage, and the next stage is commercial development."
A particular point of pride for Odishaw is the long-awaited new Tim Hortons building in Battleford, which is anticipated to open in early December.
A sign is up heralding Tim Hortons' arrival, and nearby is another sign pointing to the arrival of Co-op.
Odishaw believes having Tim Hortons at that location will inspire other investors. He calls Tim Hortons an "anchor" property for the area at one end, with the other anchor being the Kramer Ltd. location near Highway 16 to the north.
Traffic issues are always a concern whenever a new Tim Hortons opens. Odishaw said land nearby the Tim Hortons location is set up to handle what is expected to be a large amount of truck traffic.
Connecting Tim Hortons will be a service road running to Kramer Ltd. alongside the highways - the much-talked-about Gasoline Alley. The idea is for even more private development to be established along that road.
Odishaw said the leadership of Tim Kramer at Kramer Ltd. is another example where private industry made the investment in the property, with no risk to the taxpayers. He noted the Yellowhead Crossing road had been built and paid for by Kramer Ltd.. Odishaw said Kramer Ltd. also put in the gas and the electrical in that area.
Odishaw points out that Kramer Ltd. is now getting into the land development business. Kramer has "150 acres out there that he's now serviced, ready to sell to the business people who want to be alongside of him."
Another development Odishaw pointed to is a new access road built onto Highway 16 north of Kramer Caterpillar. He said there are long-range plans for another right-hand access to Gasoline Alley to be built near the "welcome to the Battlefords" sign on Highway 16. The intention would be to connect that road with Yellowhead Crossing.
Odishaw said the access road is, "the single largest opportunity that was borne within the town of Battleford within the last, probably, decade, because that access allows us to bring traffic off the highway and get them within town limits to the businesses that do exist and will exist in the future within the town."
He noted the advantages that attracting businesses can have for a community. While residents generate tax dollars, businesses bring even more tax dollars. because they are bigger investments. They also cost less to service because these businesses build their own roads and water and sewer is taken care of, he said.
"Businesses bring dollars to the tax roll that help support communities," said Odishaw. He adds these investments keep taxes down for ordinary residents.
"The growth should not be paid for by existing taxpayers," said Odishaw. "I think we can grow and bring in new businesses and new homeowners and new investment that will continue to fund all the rising costs of running towns."
The model his community adopted, he said, was to have new businesses and new investors generate that revenue to the town through growth.
A particular point of pride was seeing the fully-twinned Highway 4, with the new controlled intersections and lighting in place. Odishaw noted there used to be six or seven lights along the single two way route. Now, with the full twinning, there were over 100 street lights.
The twinning of Highway 4 was completed in 2012, something Odishaw pointed to for not only providing certainty to businesses alongside the highway but also for the safety improvements at intersections along there as well.
With the opening of the Tim Hortons and Kramer Ltd. now on the horizon, seeing all the projects that were a big part of his administration at Town Hall come to fruition is a point of pride for Odishaw.
"It makes me very proud to be a resident of the town of Battleford and a past council member," the former mayor said.
He credits Mayor Derek Mahon, who was on council during his time as mayor, and the rest of the council for continuing the growth agenda that he was a part of.
"It's great to be part of a council that was a part of that. The present mayor and council are doing a heck of a job in continuing that growth and continuing that investment from developers and private individuals."
