On my way to and from the Lloydminster area yesterday, I noticed that some of the barns for the horseracing track are up, and the superstructure for the Balzac megamall is up... freaking HUGE. With the water issue resolved, it's full steam ahead, it seems.
The MD of Rockyview has put up a website for the development:
http://www.eastbalzac.ca/
On top of the mall and race track, there are plans for a casino, a 3000 seat theatre complex, a 5-star hotel (in Balzac, lol), and a golf course. Two business and one industrial park as well. Once it's done, Airdrie and Calgary will pretty much be one continuous metropolitan area.
Apparently this is designed around a similar complex in Vaughan, Ontario. Much larger metro, of course, but it is similarly north of the population mass. I gotta wonder though. Can this thing work in Southern Alberta?