A total of about 200 to 250 people attended Wednesday’s community open house sessions held by the Town regarding the proposed data centre projects for Olds.
Sandra Blyth, Economic Development Manager with Invest Olds, points out that it is a big project and people want to have a say and they want talk about it and be a part of it – as they should. Blyth says “some really good conversation, good questions. You know, frankly, they are the questions we asked, right? We just had three months sooner to ask the questions. So it was great. I was impressed with a lot of the people that were here. They had some really good questions and we did our best to answer those questions and I think people left, largely, actually quite happy to hear about the project and see the value for the community.”
Blyth adds, the development permit is in review and it is still to be circulated – so this isn’t the end of the open houses. She says “Obviously, it is not a done deal. It is far from it. There is a lot of regulation that still has to happen – including our own. So there is a lot of that happening and then, obviously, Data District is another one we are going to be talking about. So these aren’t the end of the open houses. This is going to change the community and it is something we all need to be a part of and get behind as best we can.”
Meanwhile, it was standing room only on Thursday night for two packed sessions as a separate ‘developer-led’ open house was held in a lecture theatre in the Werklund Agriculture and Technology Centre on the Olds College campus. It featured a 30 minute presentation along with a question and answer period with Jason van Gaal, the Founder and CEO of Synapse Data Centre Inc.
Last week, Synapse Data Center Inc. revealed its plans for a $10 billion private-sector investment to construct Canada’s largest data centre in north east Olds. Mayor Dan Daley is welcoming the news and calls it “probably the biggest announcement that has ever been made in the Town of Olds”. He notes the proposed data centre project will be bringing investment and economic development that will put the Town in a place that it has never been before. Mayor Daley says “as far as building out our industrial areas, as far as addressing our housing needs, addressing our tax revenue. This is going to affect a number of different things within our community, all for the better of our citizens – tax payers – going forward into the future.”
Listen to 96.5 The Ranch’s conversation with Mayor Dan Daley.
Hear The Ranch’s Community Hotline conversation with Sandra Blyth.
