Big development at Neepawa still under wraps

Details

Published on Thursday, August 25, 2016

By Ken Waddell

The Neepawa Banner/Neepawa Press

The signs went up last week for the equipment auction for Mr. Ribs Restaurant and Evans Lanes in Neepawa. The contents will be sold on August 30 by Meyers Auctions of Arden and demolition of the building is scheduled to take place a few days later. A demolition permit has ben issued by Neepawa and Area Planning District in the name of T.L. Penner Construction of Kola. The Highway Traffic Board held a hearing on July 20 at the Brandon Provincial Building. The hearing was inconclusive pending further information being clarified.

Zach Penner of T.L. Penner Construction said at the time that his company was providing some due diligence around an application on behalf of a client. The ad for the hearing stated that there was an application for a building, paved parking area with curbing and the removal of two buildings (commercial) adjacent to PTH No. 5. Penner said, “Because the property is within a highway protected zone, any possible development has to be pre-approved by the Highway Traffic Board.” 

The Highway Traffic Board confirmed in an interview with The Banner that the application was approved for the demolition of the two buildings currently on the site and the construction of a new building. Some conditions apply. The buildings have to be fully removed, a paved and curbed parking lot put in place a Traffic Generation Report filed. The report is to determine if a Traffic Impact Study has to be done.

Penner reiterated that he isn’t at liberty to say what the project will be in spite of several on-line and coffee shop sources that claim a large national restaurant chain will be built on the site.