Candace Cook’s first thought upon entering the country’s largest Canadian Tire store in Canada at South Edmonton Common was to phone her husband to tell him about it.

It’s not every Canadian Tire that elicits such reaction, but the retailer has built what it calls a showcase store, that at 140,000 square feet across two floors, is double or triple the size of its previous stores and filled it with the latest merchandising techniques and digital-technology experiences.

The store opened Friday, but has a grand opening June 11 to 14 at 2110 101 Street.

“It’s huge,” Cook said.

“I actually almost called my husband when I walked in here to say ‘you need to get down here’ because it’s so unbelievable.”

The store uses more than 100 digital screens, online catalogues and interactive electronics, such as a driving simulator, that lets customers virtually test-drive tires in different weather conditions.

Source: Edmonton Journal

A recent article in the Edmonton Journal discusses the plea from local developers for policy to encourage the development of amenities such as dry cleaners and parks in the downtown area:

Developers say they need help from government and business to attract more downtown residents by adding amenities, from parks to dry cleaners.

“The challenge we have right now in trying to fill some of the development in the Edmonton arena district is we don’t have the infrastructure assets in place in downtown to make it a desirable place to live,” said Michael Smith, senior vice-president for multi-family at WAM Development Group, during a panel discussion Thursday at the Real Estate Forum, a conference on commercial real estate.

You can read the full article here.

The REALTORS® Association of Edmonton is pleased to provide you with the 2014 Year End Market Overview Report covering trends for the commercial real estate market within the City of Edmonton. This report will provide a general synopsis of overall sales activity observed within the City of Edmonton during 2014, with a 5 year summary also being presented to assist in gauging activity in 2014 in relation to the preceding 4 years. The Market Overview will key on overall sales activity and trends within the City of Edmonton as well as analysis of a number of sub-sectors.

You can download the full report here .