Olds mayor Mike Muzychka is pleased with the announcement that Olds College and Calgary Economic Development are joining forces to create an Olds-Calgary Smart Agri-food corridor.
Under a memorandum of understanding signed by both parties Jan. 17, Olds College will link its applied research and educational opportunities with Calgary's position as a global player and distribution hub. It's believed that will attract entrepreneurs and startup firms up and down the 100-kilometre corridor between the two communities.
Proponents say it will help the two communities play "a key role" in the federal government's proposed agri-food innovation supercluster.
The federal government has announced plans to create five superclusters across the country to foster innovation and jobs in various sectors of the economy, pumping $950 million into the project.
Muzychka says creation of the Smart Agri-food corridor "will further solidify the image that the Town of Olds and Olds College are world-class leaders in the agricultural industry."
"If this supercluster is picked to be one of the five finalists, it will not only mean a massive amount of grant money from the federal government, but exposure on the international stage with regards to potential investment from the private sector," he says.
Like Olds College president Stuart Cullum and Olds & District Chamber of Commerce president Ben Stone, Muzychka is confident the smart agri-food corridor will create jobs in Olds and also in Mountain View County.
If that does happen, he's sure there'll be enough housing for them.
"Luckily this will not be an overnight kind of thing," Muzychka says. "Potential investors and the jobs that they will supply will still have to go through the regular planning process so we will know a year or two in advance and will have time to prepare accordingly.
"Our planning department and the various home builders and developers in Olds would welcome this kind of challenge," he adds. "We have a number of residential districts that have been purposed for the medium future that I am sure could be ‘fast-tracked' if need be."
"If this supercluster is picked to be one of the five finalists, it will not only mean a massive amount of grant money from the federal government, but exposure on the international stage with regards to potential investment from the private sector."
MICHAEL MUZYCHKA
MAYOR
TOWN OF OLDS
