CREDIT: Ken Orr, CanWest News Service

An abandoned tract of CP Rail land in Edmonton has been transformed into a thriving epicentre of condos and new-economy businesses.

EDMONTON - It used to be an inner-city wasteland -- the ugly end of a Calgary-to-Edmonton corridor to which no bank would write an economic hymn.

But this spring in the heart of "Railtown," the soy milk lattés and luxury SUVs paint a different picture of urban Alberta. It is a place where economic growth and quality of life are expected to co-habitate -- a rarity in most North American cities.

"The population down here has increased by 17,000 or some crazy number and that's just in the last few years," says Lori Billey, the creative director for Red Communications, an advertising company located in the burgeoning Edmonton district.

"I think it's great. It's encouraging people to come downtown."

Seated in her company's coolly spartan offices, Ms. Billey speaks in wonder of the swift investment that transformed an abandoned tract of CP Rail land into a thriving epicentre of condominiums and new-economy businesses.

Five years after the city cleared the way for residential and commercial development in the area, it is the kind of place that wins design awards, along with frequent kudos in the speeches of the Premier, Ralph Klein.

But it also epitomizes the marriage of growth and planning that the TD Bank Financial Group extolled in a report released yesterday about the Calgary-Edmonton urban corridor.

While the authors spoke glowingly of Alberta's wealth, they put equal emphasis on the high standard of living that makes communities along the route desirable -- a standard they say Albertans must work hard to preserve in the future.

"Specifically, it is the only urban centre to amass a U.S.-style wealth while preserving a Canadian-style quality of life," the bank wrote. "And, given the strong growth recorded in the corridor over the past decade, the gap between [it] and most other North American centres has been widening."

As it stands, there are many spots along the 300-kilometre corridor where commerce and lifestyle blend imperfectly.

Such roadside stops as Red Deer's Gasoline Alley are rapidly taking on the amusement park feel of U.S. interstates, with thickets of fast-food outlets and filling station signs.

Both Calgary and Edmonton are grappling with rampant urban sprawl that strains the cities' services and infrastructures.

Edmonton's economic development arm boasts on its Web site that the city has the lowest population density in North America. But steady migration to the suburbs has brought new problems, depriving the city of much-needed revenue because many of the new developments fall outside the municipal limits.

"A growing city has to extend its bus lines, it has to provide policing and emergency services -- assuming these subdivisions are within the city," says Jim Lightbody, a municipal affairs expert at the University of Alberta. "It can be very hard."

In Calgary, too, much of the wealth resides in the outlying communities of Okotoks, Cochrane and Airdrie, where oilpatch and financial-sector executives keep lavish homes and scenic acreage. The per-capita incomes of all three communities rank far above the Canadian average.

Even smaller communities along the booming route are feeling the effects of growth, struggling to keep up with the rapid pace of development while maintain the neighbourly character of their towns.

The population of Sylvan Lake, a resort town located about halfway between Calgary and Edmonton, has ballooned from 6,000 in 1998 to a projected 9,000 in 2003, says Bryan Lambertson, the Mayor.

"We've been building water lines and sewers like crazy to keep up with the growth," he said. "So far I think we've been able to do a pretty good job."

But around the lake, the quaint cottages built during the 1930s are steadily giving way to sprawling, modern homes built by retiring Baby Boomers from Edmonton and Calgary.

Three recent development applications for lakeside property have met stiff local opposition from those who fear the housing will ruin sensitive and scenic lands.

"This is the kind of thing that is going to have a big impact on our town in the future," Mr. Lambertson said.

Back in Railtown, the moving trucks pull in and out of newly minted townhouse complexes, and residents voice pride in a community that answers some of the troubling questions posed by growth.

Rhiana Lunty-Puhjera, a 27-year-old accountant on her lunch break, hardly remembers the bleak expanse of unused property that blighted the downtown landscape just five years ago.

She smiles and shrugs when asked what attracts her and others to the area.

"It's got a different atmosphere to it -- different, at least, from any place I've ever lived or worked before," she said.

"I think Alberta's lucky right now. It's nice to see this kind of expansion and I hope it continues."

cgillis@nationalpost.com