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We acknowledge the
financial support of the
Government of Canada
through the
Canada Periodical Fund
of the Department of
Canadian Heritage.

Volume 133 Issue 45

6LQFH

Friday, January , 2016

www.minnedosatribune.com

90 cents plus tax

inside Heritage Co-op To Invest In Excess of $1M

this week

By VERN MAY

B
New
candidate
for MLA

Sandy
Lake
Malanka

Water Rate
Hike
Family
Displaced
New Clinic
Floorplan
Journey For
Sight

uilding on their existing relationship here

in Minnedosa as well as
looking at opportunities
for growth, Heritage Co-op
has identified a significant
expansion plan here in the
community for 2016. Th e
development of a new administrative office on Main
Street will see ten local positions retained and open
the door for some new jobs
over the next two years.
As the company has
grown during its many
years in Minnedosa, the
current administrative offi ces on the second floor
of the food store (built in
2000) have adjusted to
accommodate a growing
number of staff. From an
operations
perspective,
this has created the need
for more space. Over the
past year a number of sites
have been considered, including locations in Brandon and other communities, and only recently was
a firm location identified.
Since we opened our
Administration Office here
in Minnedosa 15 years
ago, our annual sales have
climbed from under $30
million to over $150 million, says Lorne Zacharias, General Manager.
That growth has had an
impact on the administrative role and the need for
more space is no longer
something we can delay.
We need to expand, but
also want to remain con-

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Photo by Darryl Holyk

Following months of rumours and speculation, Heritage Co-op has confirmed it has
purchased the historic Pearson Block and the two smaller buildings directly south of
it to make way for its brand new administration building.
nected to downtown.
The recent purchase of
the stone building which
has housed Flowers on
Main has been confirmed
and a building inspection
has revealed that the costs
to renovate the existing
structure would be significantly greater than that of
new construction. In addi-

tion, the two buildings currently housing Brio Massage Th erapy and Johns
Tax Service have been purchased and will become a
part of the project as well.
Design work is currently underway and Coop hopes to see shovels
in the ground for the new
building by the fall of 2016.

While the proposed

new two-storey office
building is in the preliminary design stage, Zacharias is hopeful that some of
the distinctive elements of
the current structure may
be incorporated into the
new space. From a community renewal perspective, Co-op relishes the

opportunity to participate
in refreshing the look of
the downtown core with
this expansion, while also
including some potential
lease space available to existing businesses affected.

Continued on
Page 8

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