Business View - November 2014 109
nually for the past three years, and in 2012 alone, per-
mits were granted for 245 single-family housing starts
and 100 multi-family units.
It’s become a hotspot for young, affluent families in
particular, and boasts an average age of 31 and an
average family income of $90,000.
And with those numbers, city leaders say, come op-
portunities.
“When the economy began picking up, people started
to see the potential here, the appeal of the commu-
nity,” said Brad Toth, Warman’s manager of planning
and development. “It drew people from the city who
were looking for a different pace of life.”
To attract the commercial and industrial development
to both serve and employ its burgeoning population,
the city’s council adopted the Business Tax Incentive
Bylaw, a measure which encourages businesses to
either locate or expand operations in Warman in ex-
change for a tax-exempt period of up to five years. The
city, incidentally, has one of the lowest business tax
rates in Saskatchewan.
Cooperation between the city and developers has
helped attract the interest of national and multination-
al companies, Spence said.
Development of the Legends Plaza, an 11-acre com-
mercial plot in the city’s center, is underway alongside
the existing Legends recreation facility on Centennial
PUBLIC SECTOR
