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The new Calgary-area Shepard Logistics Centre is one step closer to realization.

At the end of July, Rocky View County (RVC) Council approved the Shepard Logistics Centre (SLC) Conceptual Scheme, setting the stage for future industrial and rail development.

The scheme will help guide the development of approximately 1,300 acres.

This plan facilitates the transformation of land from agricultural use to a regional logistics and business hub, anchored by direct rail access to the Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited (CPKC) mainline.

In an announcement, Rocky View County Reeve Crystal Kissel said, “Approving the Shepard Logistics Centre Conceptual Scheme turns this plan into action. It shows how working together can create economic opportunities and lasting regional benefits.”

The SLC, which is located near the City of Calgary’s eastern limits, is part of the Prairie Economic Gateway initiative.

Oyin Shyllon, Prairie Economic Gateway program manager at the City of Calgary, says it is a partnership between Calgary and RVC.

“Calgary has the infrastructure, Rocky View County has the land, and both of them want a major logistics park, with trains, trucks and businesses,” says Shyllon.

The SLC will have direct access to CPKC’s rail network, with over 32,000 kilometres of rail connecting Canada, the U.S. and Mexico as well as access to Calgary International Airport. 

Proponents say it will enable greater interprovincial trade and global market access and help develop new manufacturing, logistics, processing and distribution opportunities.

SLC’s marketers will target distributors, trans-load customers, food processors, cold storage providers and manufacturers – businesses that depend on rail.

It is projected to generate over $7 billion in economic activity and create more than 30,000 jobs in the Calgary region over the next 10 to 12 years.

VP of Shepard Development Corporation Ryan Riddell says the SLC has already been receiving many inquiries from businesses about locating in the centre.

“The SLC contains 1,300 acres and they can accommodate up to at least 20 million square feet of industrial use,” says Riddell. “It’s a lot of land and it will take about eight to 10 years to fill it up.”

Calgary Construction Association president Bill Black says the SLC is an “extensive project.”

“It’s just outside Calgary’s city limits and nudging its boundaries eastward.” says Black. “The city has been moving eastward for several years and the expansion continues.”

The SLC is already being talked about in construction circles in Calgary.

“First of all, it’s a source of work for our members,” says Black. “Some of them are already at work on it, on earthworks and site preparation, or close to starting it.”

The project is “really important” for the city.

“It further adds to Calgary’s status as an inland port with connection to the Pacific Coast and to the rest of Canada,” says Black. “The SLC will continue the further diversification of the city’s economy. In the post-tariff world we’ll be able to ship back and forth to Mexico by a direct rail link, which will make Canada less dependent on trade with the U.S.”

Black says the SLC will change “Calgary’s place in the economic universe.” “Our economy is becoming less dependent on oil and gas all the time,” he says. “There are many construction projects underway now, and they’re not the result of an oil and gas boom.”

Todd Hirsch, Calgary-based economist and public speaker, says the SLC

“solidifies Calgary’s position as the transportation and logistics capital of Western Canada.”

“Transportation and logistics are not glamorous industries, but they are necessary ones for the real world. It’s a tech industry now, not ‘your grandfather’s transportation industry’.”

Shyllon says the SLC is comparable to CentrePort Canada Inc. in Winnipeg.

“Both are inland ports thousands of miles from tidewater,” says Shyllon.

“And both are the results of adjacent municipalities working together for the benefit of the region – Calgary and Rocky View County, and Winnipeg and the Rural Municipality of Rosser.

“They’re different in that CentrePort Canada is anchored on industrial lands at the Winnipeg airport, while Shepard Logistics Centre is connected to existing rail infrastructure.”

In operation since 2009, CentrePort Canada – which includes the CPKC mainline – is 20,000 acres in area and there are about 1,000 companies located at the Manitoba inland port.

President and CEO Carly Edmundson says approximately 13,000 acres remain to be developed, backing out the airport lands, highway infrastructure, protected green space, etc.