Legacy Barn hosts open house
By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
An open house was hosted at the Legacy Barn in Strathmore, June 15, with the intent to update the public on what exactly was going on with the project regarding development timelines, and what the future would look like.
Scott Silva, director of business development for the Legacy Farm Project, said the open house was a great success, and the team was very excited to showcase what was in store for the project.
“We had a lot of people come through, a lot of interest; we started to foster some of our relationships with everyone from different people who want to be in our industrial park, people who want to be on the highway commercial, and our relationships with our future advanced education centre around agriculture,” he said.
The Legacy Farm Project received an area structure plan approval in 2022 from the Town of Strathmore, which indicated five distinct phases and five distinct zones which the project consists of.
The first, being the historical barn site, which aims to see development begin this fall. This phase will see the construction of a new, modern barn built in the same image of the original historical structure currently standing.
“The second phase that ties in with the project is the Green Horizon Industrial Park. This park is going to effectively be working off grid by using systems such as co-generation … that provide electricity for our tenants,” said Silva. “Beyond that though, is really using everything from closed-loop systems and solar power, and everything else we can with respect to sustainability.”
Phase 3 will cater to the commercial highway frontage of the project, appealing to businesses with a focus on outdoor living and agriculture. Following that will be a focus on the RV resort and seniors’ village.
The final phase of the project, Silva explained, will be for the Institute of Advanced Agriculture, for which the Legacy Farm Project team is working towards partnering with Olds College to develop.
“We have been working closely with them and hopefully we will be looking at some other opportunities to bring this out to other levels of advanced education … for not only the youth but for different demonstration and learning programs,” he said. “This is not only a huge commerce opportunity, but a central point for agritourism and agri-innovation. What you are going to start to see is the Institute of Advanced Agriculture is going to be fostering graduates who will then have the opportunity to go into real-world practical situations, possibly even working inside the Green Horizon Park or some other aspect of the Legacy Farm Project.”