Edmonton's $1 BILLION Children's Hospital Is Changing Everything | Real Estate In Edmonton Ep. 16

Did you know Edmonton is home to one of the most advanced children's hospitals in the world—and they're building something even bigger? 🏥✨ In this episode, we dive into the Stollery Children's Hospital, the incredible No Bounds campaign, and what a brand-new standalone facility means for families and our community. Plus: Devin breaks down this week's market numbers. This week on Real Estate In Edmonton, Devin delivers your weekly Market Snapshot. We dive deep into one of the things that makes Edmonton truly special: the Stollery Children's Hospital. Tracie shares her experience broadcasting live from the Stollery Children's Hospital Mighty Millions Lottery Show Home, and we explore the history of the Stollery, its impact on families across western and northern Canada, and the exciting No Bounds campaign to build a brand-new standalone children's hospital from the ground up. Whether you're thinking about moving to Edmonton or already call it home, this episode will remind you why community and quality of life matter just as much as the numbers.

🎙️ About the Podcast
Welcome to the Real Estate in Edmonton Podcast — where we talk real estate and real life. Hosted by Devin & Tracie Gray, bringing you real-time insights, investor strategies, and what’s happening in the market:
Devin Gray – Realtor with EXP Realty & Mogul Realty Group
Tracie Gray – Professional Broadcaster, Event Emcee & Real Estate Investor

📩 Have questions about Edmonton real estate, investing, or relocating to Alberta? Reach out to Devin for expert guidance and access to exclusive opportunities at devin@mogulrg.com.

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🎟️ Support the Stollery Children's Hospital @ MightyMillionsLottery.com (Fall Edition) and Donate to Stollery No Bounds @ stollerynobounds.com

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

This is Real Estate in Edmonton, helping you navigate buying, selling, investing, and living in Edmonton, hosted by Realtor Devin Gray and professional broadcaster Tracy Gray.

SPEAKER_02 0:17

Welcome. This is episode 16, and we're so glad to have you here with us. Whether you're tuning in on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts, thank you for spending part of your week with us.

SPEAKER_01 0:29

Yeah, each week we bring you the numbers, the neighborhood vibes, and everything happening in the city of Edmonton that makes this place such a wonderful place to live and invest. And today's episode is a special one. It's uh we're going to be talking about something that makes Edmonton truly world-class. It's also very special to our hearts because we were there many times over the years as our kids were growing up.

SPEAKER_02 0:51

That's right, especially with food allergies. Uh, the Stellar Children's Hospital is not only a big part of Edmonton and area, but also it's been a big part of our lives. We've had to visit it many, many times. Uh, food allergies and just raising boys. You tend to be at the hospital a lot. So we've gotten to know a lot of the staff and have experienced it firsthand and are so grateful to have it as part of our community.

SPEAKER_01 1:14

Absolutely. But first, we're going to jump into the numbers. Uh, the April numbers for Edmonton and area were released, and so this is a great time to bring it up. And so uh we've come off uh a really strong couple of years, and now we're into a bit of a uh a slowdown. Alberta is still strong, and and one of the big things that I like to point out is that, and this is I think pretty impactful, Canada dropped in population for the first time in its existence by about 100,000 people uh in 2025, and there was only one province that grew in population, and that was Alberta. The other nine provinces uh shrunk, and that shows, well, first off, the big reason for that is because uh we used to be seeing a million immigrants a year coming to Canada, and in fall of 2024, uh the government of Canada shut that down. Uh, we're back to normal levels, 350 to 400,000, and that's had a big impact on everything. When you suddenly don't have a whole bunch of new people moving to an area, that's going to alleviate a lot of things. And so while we were going at a long or a really rapid record pace in growth and housing needs, which we still have, um, that's definitely taken uh a breather now. But we still have people moving here to Alberta, especially from Ontario and BC. And that's what's uh kept the Alberta market probably a little busier, actually, than what we initially predicted back in the first part of the year. So just getting into where things are at, traditionally, uh we would see a strong spring market, April, May, June. Uh most of the last few years, things got going as early as February and would actually start to taper off in May. But we're back to more of a traditional uh spring market. We had a slow January, February, things picked up in March, and then uh things continued to build in April. And so the expectation is that this year we're gonna see a cresting of the spring market in May. Now we are gonna see more listings coming on the market. Tracy can appreciate this. Uh, you know, when it comes to listing, people want to have the flowers in bloom, they want to have the grass green and also appreciate it. Yeah, and and when you're moving things out, decluttering, which is a big uh success element to uh a strong listing, you want to be in a position where you can move things either um out to the dump or you're moving them uh to one of the charities that are going to pick up your old furniture, or you're gonna be in a situation where you have uh um it's just moving things to the garage. So uh last year, uh just a few stats that I want to bring up. Um, unit sales increased to nearly 2,500 units in April. That's a 16% increase uh from March, but it is down 8% from last year, which reinforces how it's gonna uh we continue to build in the spring, but we certainly aren't as strong as we were in 2025. Um new listings are about 4,200. That's an increase from March and also from April last year, also contributing to a more balanced feel uh compared to last year. More listings, and if you don't necessarily have more buyers in the market, then you're gonna get more of a balanced situation. Prices are up very slightly, uh, just shy of 2%. And I like to talk a lot about months of inventory, meaning that if no new listings come on the market, how many months will it take to completely sell out of the inventory we have? It's commonly uh suggested that three months of inventory is um a balanced market. Obviously, if you're well below that, um you're in a seller's market, and if you're well above that, you're in a buyer's market. And we're currently sitting at 2.8 months of inventory, which really suggests a strong balanced market for um for the Edmonton and area. And uh we're hopeful and and expecting a strong uh six to eight weeks as we move through the rest of the spring market. Great. There we go. Always going thankful, right?

SPEAKER_02 5:17

And for everyone who likes their numbers, there you go. You've got all of them. He likes his numbers, and so that takes care of that with just a snapshot. I mean, you do a more detailed market report every month at Mogul Mastermind as well. That's right. Um, but for now, if you're thinking of buying, selling, or investing in Edmonton, talk to Devin. He can uh help fill in any extra blanks for you.

SPEAKER_01 5:40

Yeah, and as Tracy said, that's the Mogul Mastermind. It runs on the last Wednesday of every month, as I'm obviously with the Mogul Realty Group and EXP is our brokerage, and uh we love to see everybody come out, either in person or online, and uh it's always a fun event. And uh a lovely Tracy Gray is always our host.

SPEAKER_02 5:59

Yeah, that's right. All right, on that.

SPEAKER_01 6:01

You had a you had a busy weekend this past weekend. That's what we're gonna talk about next.

SPEAKER_02 6:05

Yeah, because we're gonna move into the segment we call Beyond the Numbers. It's a segment where we go deeper into what makes Edmonton more than just a market report. Uh, at the end of the day, it's a great place to live, and it's not just about square footage, cap rates, as much as you love those. It's also about the communities surrounding them, quality of life, things that make you proud to call a city home.

SPEAKER_01 6:27

Yeah, absolutely. And so this week we're talking about something that makes Edmonton incredibly proud. Uh, we're talking about the Stollery Children's Hospital. And uh I I I know you just wrapped up uh a big 12-hour event. Yeah. And uh that's uh uh something that you've been a part of for 10 years now, I believe.

SPEAKER_02 6:47

Yeah, we're actually going into our 11th year with it.

SPEAKER_01 6:50

That's right, yes, and that was uh that just took place uh not too long ago.

SPEAKER_02 6:54

Yeah, so the Stoller Children's Hospital is iconic for Edmonton because of how well it services the families and the children that go through there. And we're gonna talk about that, but also the Stellar Children's Hospital Foundation helps to fund that hospital. And in doing so, they have what they call the Mighty Millions Lottery. So this lottery happens twice a year, spring and fall. And part of it, they always have a grand prize show home that's worth in the millions. This year, well, the spring one was worth $2.5 million for this grand prize package, and it includes this luxury show home that we got to broadcast from several times. But just last week, like Devin mentioned, I was broadcasting live from there doing radio reports on two radio stations, talking about this show home, other prizes you can win, and then also information about the stallery and what makes it so special to our community and how it services the kids that go through there too. So it's a great cause, and there's hundreds of amazing prizes. They had over $3.1 million worth of prizes that they're giving away. So that lottery show home has wrapped up. The spring lottery is closed, but they will be announcing the winners soon of hundreds of prizes, including of that grand prize show home. Uh, while we were there, it's such an amazing day, too. Lots of people are like, oh my gosh, a 12-hour shift. But I I just pretend it's my home and that that's the that that's the housewarming party, and everyone is welcome to come. So it makes the day go very fast when you look at it like that. And I always say, well, at least when they win, they can invite us for the housewarming party, right? And then we can be a part of theirs too. Uh it's just it's always a great feel. People going through are always excited to be able to see firsthand one of the prizes that you can win, and especially something so incredible like that. Also, we usually have some of the families stop by of the mighty children that go through the stollery, and we have used the stollery a lot, again with food allergies, having young boys that uh grew up needing the stollery for bumps and bruises and all kinds of things. Uh, but then also you get to talk to these families who the kids sometimes live at the stollery for months at a time. Just hear the heart-wrenching stories and you hear firsthand how incredible the stallery is and how much it has helped them. Uh, all of those stories you can find on MightymillionsLottery.com. Uh, they have kids like Lola and Arlo, it's brothers and sister, that have been going through the stolery for years. Their incredible story, I got a chance to interview them. Arlo had his leg in a boot. He just had Achilles surgery on his leg, and I had my leg in a boot because I just uh I just wrecked my ankle. Um, and so uh when I broke my ankle, I had to have a boot on, and then he came in wearing a similar boot, so we got to do a photo shoot showing off whose boot was better. His was better, of course. Arlo won that one. Uh, but him and his sister Lola did an interview on the radio with me, and and them and their family are just amazing. Another interview I got to do, Megan Wenger, she's with the Stollery, and uh she's just an incredible lady, and she's just got some amazing stories because she also deals with these families firsthand and gets to share their stories and then also talk about the stallery firsthand too. And so it's always such a thrill when I get a chance to interview her too. She's just so well spoken and so much fun, and she really brings a light to um a children's hospital, which can be a sad thing to deal with. So she puts a positive note towards it and also just makes you feel so good when you um uh when you invest towards the stallery, not invest towards, but donate towards the stallery. I guess it's an investment.

SPEAKER_01 10:48

Yeah, it's an interesting dynamic at the stollery because obviously it's there. Uh, you know, people I I still remember one time us being there long ago, and uh this child had come in and had a big gash on his forehead because he'd fallen out of uh of a bump pit. So there's certainly those acute issues that would would come in and and uh you know they they'd patch that child up and and uh make sure he's okay and and and and off they go. At the same time, there's also um some kids with more, much more significant uh, you know, whether it be cancer, chronic uh diseases, various things like that. And thankfully they've got top-notch world-class uh physicians, doctors, nurses that are there to help those kids as well. And uh when you're there and certainly getting an idea of all the entire scope of what they do for kids uh not just in Alberta but all around Western Canada, um, you really do appreciate that it is a very significant uh institution and something that every editon should be incredibly proud of.

SPEAKER_02 11:51

Yeah, and you're talking about the the boy who fell off the bunk bed, he comes in, and fortunately that is uh one of the lesser of the injuries that often go through uh the hospital, but the kids are shaken up and he's scared, and um immediately you see the staff talking to him and calming him down and talking to mom and letting her know everything's gonna be okay, right? And that's such a big part of the healing that you need when it comes to children's hospitals, and that's what the stallery is all about. It's just amazing how good the staff is at making you feel good as a parent that everything's gonna be okay.

SPEAKER_01 12:28

Yeah, so as uh Tracy mentioned, uh the spring event is wrapped up, but uh fall will be upon us uh before we know it, and uh they'll be doing another Mighty Millions lottery show home giveaway.

SPEAKER_02 12:38

Yeah, so don't worry if you missed out on the spring one. There's still always a chance to donate. You can just donate, or if you want to wait for the next lottery, it's starting up in August.

SPEAKER_01 12:47

Yeah, and important to know that all proceeds for the Children's Hospital Foundation uh go to uh towards the stallery and life caving, life-saving uh care, research, equipment for sick sick kids. Everything stays here in Edmonton, uh, which is also wonderful.

SPEAKER_02 13:03

Yeah, and that's fantastic. Uh now it officially well let's talk about the stallery because um we want to just give you a little bit of the history of it. It started back in 2001, located right here in Edmonton, inside the University of Alberta hospital campus. It's still there today. It's the largest and busiest hospital in Western Canada.

SPEAKER_01 13:27

Yeah, absolutely. And so well, I just I we we took a lot of time. I mean, obviously we we prep before we uh before we record, and so uh I'd never really given it much thought in regards to um I I knew there was this the name Stollery was a family, but I I didn't know the background and um uh certainly a well-known family, uh but a better known uh business, and that's the Chicken on the Way. Uh get it quick on Chicken on the Way. I mean, every everybody that grew up in the 70s and very early 80s remembers in yeah, in Western Canada, but I I it started in Edmonton, and so uh we had a good good chuckle because uh I say Chicken on the way and the Lido are probably two of the still to this day best known brands for anybody that's uh aged 40 and over that uh grew up in Edmonton. And so uh it's it's wonderful to uh to to put that connection that uh that's that's who the Stollery family is, is uh uh from the Chicken on the Way, Brent.

SPEAKER_02 14:30

If you know the name Chicken on the Way, you know Edmonton. And then also if you know Chicken on the Way, then you are over 40 too. That's right, yeah. Giving away a lot of information when you admit to knowing that stuff. And then we had to have a good laugh. We loved Chicken on the Way when I was growing up. We'd be so excited when the truck would show up, and it literally was skip the dishes decades before skip the dishes was.

SPEAKER_01 14:51

Yeah, they really were pretty revolutionary. You think about what they did. And yeah, as Tracy said, that you phone chicken on the way and they would show up in a truck, and then the truck would sit out front of your place for 10 or 15 minutes because they were cooking the food fresh, rice and or sometimes it was ready because cooking it on the way, literally chicken on the way.

SPEAKER_02 15:11

Although my my brother would make jokes about that's a little dangerous with hot boiling oil in the back of a moving vehicle. So maybe that's where the hospital got linked in.

SPEAKER_01 15:23

Special equipment. Anyways, but but we digress that it's it's wonderful that the Stollery family uh made a significant donation to get the Stollery Children's Hospital off the ground and going. And and uh honestly, I think if more people knew, at least to me, if more people knew the history of the um the Stollery family and the background. Again, anybody that's over the age of 40, I think they would feel a little bit more endeared towards the Stollery Children's Hospital than they probably already are today. Yeah, we we certainly uh enjoy enjoyed doing that bit of research and finding that out.

SPEAKER_02 15:57

Yeah, and and so cool that this is what helped to bring a world-class facility to life. Um so the Stollery family, thank you so much because their legacy lives on every single day through the care that's provided from the Stollery.

SPEAKER_01 16:09

Yeah, and and obviously the stallery is in Edmonton, but the reach is incredible. The Stollery serves kids not only in Edmonton, but from all over Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, the Northwest Territories, Yukon, and Nunavut. Um, if a child in Western and Northern Canada needs specialized pediatric care, there's a very good chance they're coming to the Stollery Children's Hospital, and that's wonderful that we've got it in our community.

SPEAKER_02 16:32

Yeah, and some numbers that really put things into perspective. The Stollery sees over 330,000 patients. Shocked when I heard that. Every year. Yeah. That includes everything from emergency room visits, like you were talking about the boy falling off his bunk bed, specialized surgeries, transplants, cutting edge treatments. And we've been those patients before, as we mentioned, with our kids going through, so we have experienced it firsthand for ourselves.

SPEAKER_01 16:56

Yeah, and uh again, cutting edge, as Tracy said, world-class physicians and that. But you'd mentioned about how over 300,000 kids are going there, and that actually lends itself towards what's happening next with the stallery. Right, yeah. Um, you think about it, and so the last hospital, major hospital that was built in Edmonton, was in the 1980s, and that was the Green Un Hospital in the Southwest. Um, and the city has grown by hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people since the 1980s. Um, certainly the healthcare uh with help with hospitals is is really being pushed to the brink uh in regards to capacity, and and that's why uh there's some significant news that's uh happened with the Stollery Children's Hospital.

SPEAKER_02 17:39

Yeah, because they are home to some of the most advanced pediatric technology in the world. Complex heart surgeries, organ transplants, innovations like 3D printing for surgery, robotic surgery, state-of-the-art diagnostic imaging, um specialized for babies and kids. They're constantly pushing the boundaries, but to have that type of technology, you need the room for it. You have to be able to expand at some time or another. So that takes us into the what's happening in and around Edmonton. This is the segment where we spotlight exciting developments in and around Edmonton. So today we're gonna stay with that stallery theme because something really big is in the works.

SPEAKER_01 18:19

That's right. They're expanding, they're moving.

SPEAKER_02 18:22

The Stoller Children's Hospital is building a brand new standalone children's hospital. So right now the stallery operates inside the U of A hospital. Um, and that's worked, you know, for 25 years, but it's becoming a constrained space or has become a constrained space with adult healthcare services also uh in the same building. So the standalone hospital would mean more room, more specialized spaces, the ability to design every single detail around the unique needs for children.

SPEAKER_01 18:53

Yeah, and a facility like this, as with anything, is going to attract top medical talent researchers and investment from right around the world, obviously, but especially here in Canada. Um, it's going to be a place for pediatric excellence. Um, and the other thing as well, when you have a significant piece of healthcare infrastructure uh going up, and it's going to be on the South Campus, from what we understand. There's a North Campus, which is where the bulk of the University of Alberta is, but there's a South Campus as well. Um, primarily where the University of Alberta Farm is, as well as the Savile Center. They've set aside a spot there to build this hospital. And that's going to, if you look at any hospital in any major center around the world, you see that there's a tremendous amount of real estate infrastructure that's built up. Um, so that's really going to significantly change the area around the South Campus. Um, it's going to attract jobs, it's going to attract families, it's going to impact real estate values, quality of life. When people are looking for a place to raise their kids, certainly knowing that there's a world-class children's hospital uh close by on the south side, that's certainly going to have an impact in regards to where they choose to purchase when it comes to Edmonton. So obviously it's a great, wonderful thing that they're expanding. It's also going to be very helpful for the University of Alberta because they're suddenly going to gain all this capacity just to run the regular hospital. Um, but from a standpoint of just an impact on Edmonton and Edmonton real estate and everything that goes on with infrastructure, it'll be quite significant when that launches.

SPEAKER_02 20:29

Well, and one of the big things for healing for children is having their family close by. And also, that's good healing for families, too. And so they're keeping that in mind. There's input from the families that they're taking in, they're creating family spaces in this new hospital so that the families can be more of a part of the health care that is provided for the kids and be there for the day-to-day stuff. Also, uh the child development experts that are going to be brought in. It's going to include things like the expanded surgical suites, dedicated areas for mental health support, rehabilitation, research. So this is going to be the Stollery 2.0 because it's going to have all the great things that they provided in the past, plus all those extras that they can now have room to have in the one building.

SPEAKER_01 21:16

Yeah, so obviously there is a push for donations to help raise money to build this. It's a multi-billion dollar project. And so obviously that's a big part of why the Mighty Millions Lottery continues on.

SPEAKER_02 21:29

Yeah, and so we mentioned that the fall lottery will be starting up in August. So don't worry if you missed the spring one. You can always make donations towards the Stollery Children's Hospital, but then if you want to be part of the lottery, uh they will be having the new show home kicking open very soon here. So you can also watch for that too. Mighty MillionsLottery.com is where you can get the details for that. And then there's the Stallery Children's Hospital website, too, where you can get more information on all of this. But uh good luck to everybody who did get their spring tickets. They'll be finding out the winners very soon. Note we are going to wrap up episode 16 of real estate in Edmonton.

SPEAKER_01 22:04

Yeah, thanks for hanging out with us. If you're thinking about making a move to the Edmonton area, whether you're buying your first home, looking to invest, downsizing, you name it, I would be happy to help you buy, sell, or invest. Please reach out to me. It's Devin Gray, and you can reach me at Devon at mobile rg.com. That's my email. Look forward to hearing from you.

SPEAKER_02 22:25

Yeah, and if you enjoyed this episode, make sure to hit subscribe, leave a review, share it with friends, and reach out to us. We'd love to hear from you.

SPEAKER_01 22:32

We'll be back next week with more market updates and insights and anything else that's happening around the city of Edmonton. Till then, I'm Devin Gray, real estate real estate agent with the mogul realty group and EXP. And this is uh Tracy. Tracy Gray with Devin. There you go. That's right.

SPEAKER_02 22:49

Thanks so much for joining us. This is Real Estate in Edmonton, where we talk real estate and real life. We'll see you next week.