One of them, Trican Well Service Ltd., employs about 125 staff locally, explains Brad Kungle, base manager of the company in Hinton.
Kungle estimates Trican's Hinton location may have 140 employees by the end of January. They'll have a new shop to work out of, as Trican is in the process of building a 14-bay shop in Hinton. The company could have as many as 180 local employees five years from now, Kungle said.
That type of growth means more demand for single-family homes and apartments down the road, especially with a large contingent of new employees escaping from places such as Ontario and B.C.
Recreation
Hinton offers more than just jobs. It has easy access to the great outdoors - the community is surrounded by provincial lands and in the shadow of the Rockies (not everyone can boast a new eco-friendly industrial park with mountain views).
That means activities like mountain biking are easily accommodated, whether on an expansive local trail network or at the free 37-acre Hinton Bike Park. All-terrain vehicle excursions are also popular, while nearby Jasper National Park offers 108,000 square kilometres for hikers, bikers and campers.
Hinton's last boom peaked in 2006, with building permit values for that year topping $46.1 million. They dipped to $24 million in both 2008 and 2009, but were settling around $29 million for 2010 at the end of October, LaBoucane said.
Land values
Real estate prices in the community almost three hours west of Edmonton fell at the end of the boom, so it's now possible to find three-bedroom homes in the $270,000 range.
Land development in the area includes involvement of both public and private sectors, and produces new residential lots in the $90,000 to $120,000 price range.
Industrial land in the town's Innovista Eco-Industrial Park sells for between $225,000 and $300,000 per acre, depending on its exposure to Highway 16. The 108-acre industrial park is still in its first 33-acre phase.
Hinton is additionally aiming to become an education hub through NorQuest College. Norquest is aligned with Edmonton-based institutions and already offers a nursing program, and is considering trades apprenticeship programs.
from Western Investor, December 2010
