The Town of Eckville returned to the Red Deer Home Show after a five year hiatus in order to showcase the Town as a potential landing spot for people looking to buy lots in one of the Town’s new subdivisions.
“What we’re trying to do is get some awareness of Eckville,” Chief Administrative Officer for the Town of Eckville, Jack Ramsden said. “We talked to a lot of people that have lived in Red Deer for a long time and don’t seem to know where Eckville is. We explained to them that it’s between Red Deer and Rocky but I think the fact that we’re not on Highway 11 means we sometimes are missed.”
Building awareness was made easier by the recent creation of the Town’s new video by Summit Entertainment, which showcased the many venues and businesses offered within the Town.
“The goal was to get our name out there and to run our new video,” Ramsden said. “We had it playing on loop for the entire 23 hours.”
The Town showcased the two different types of lots in available, as well as the lots that become available in the center of Town as people relocate. Ramsden was particularly pleased with the interest showed by large-scale Central Alberta home builders like Falcon Homes and Laebon Homes.
“We made some contacts with the home builders in Central Alberta,” he said. “We had some fairly major builders stop in and get some information. We’ve been trying to get their attention for four years.”
Ramsden attributed this new interest from home builders to the very competitive prices that the Town offers in their new communities.
“It’s a price point,” he said. “We are selling walk out basement lots with one on special for $75,000. You will not find that price in Sylvan Lake.”
Overall, many people stopped by the booth, which was in part due to the Town’s choice in location at the show
“We got that exposure,” Ramsden said. “We were happy with our location. We were right beside Home Depot in the middle section. We hummed and hawed about where we should be. It’s been five years since the Town was in the Red Deer Homes Show and at that time we were off the beaten path.”
Being in a more central location allowed Ramsden, the Mayor and the entire Town Council to create new contacts throughout Central Alberta.
“This year I had two or three good conversations with potential property buyers,” Ramsden said. “To me, Red Deer is the best area to try to draw from and someone stopped by the office here [on Monday after the show] and was really impressed with the video.”
The video was overall a key selling tool at the show.
“It does show what we have. A lot of communities don’t have a skate park or a spray park,” Ramsden explained. “It’s a place where you can let your kids play outside and have rink time at the arena.”
The Town of Eckville intends to return to the Red Deer Home Show next year and plans are already in the works.
“A lot of people said to us that its ‘great to see you guys here making a presence’,” Ramsden said. “I think it was important. Lots of people did ask where is Eckville so I think next year we will have a map under our name and next year we plan to change a few things but not our location. We are already planning for next year. It’s important that we be there.”
reporter@eckvilleecho.com