Portion of C.N. property sold to developer
- Details
- Published on Tuesday, June 12, 2018
Clears way for 48 suite senior housing
By Eoin Devereux
Neepawa Banner & Press
A major section of the former C.N. property in Neepawa has been sold to a developer. On Tuesday, June 5, Neepawa Town Council approved the sale of two multi-family residential lots to Stone Cliff Builders Inc., for a value of $350,000.
Stone Cliff, who is based out of Steinbach, had been pursuing the construction of a 48 suite multi-level unit for seniors housing on Commerce Street. Recently, however, they have redirected their interest towards developing the project on the C.N. subdivision. The purchase agreement will see Stone Cliff buy 128,363 square feet of land in the north-east corner of the property. Construction on the project is estimated to begin in the late summer or early fall.
Neepawa Mayor Adrian de Groot said that the Town Office has been working with the developer for quite some time.
“Credit goes to our administration for taking a look at the numbers and coming up with a business case and approach them,” said de Groot “It’s a tremendous opportunity, that we felt that, having a unit like they were planning would be advantageous.”
Additional details on the proposal will appear in the June 15 edition of the Banner & Press.
Budz n Bloom bows out
Budz n Bloom Daycare Centre has been let out of its contractual obligation to purchase 290 Davidson Street. Budz ’n Bloom had been planning to build a new daycare facility on the property and had made a deal with the Town of Neepawa for the land back in March 2017. As part of that agreement, the Resource Centre, which had occupied the space was torn down.
However, with the announcement late last year of a major addition being built to Neepawa Area Collegiate that would include a new stand-alone child care centre; the need for this other daycare proposal was no longer as needed.
In a formal request to Council, Budz n Bloom asked to be released from the contract. Council obliged, voting unanimously to let them out of the deal. Ownership of the land will remain with the Town of Neepawa, though Mayor de Groot said it will explore its options.
“Circumstances [for Budz n Bloom] have changed, which is understandable, but maybe there is another opportunity now for the property and that will be explored.”
The town had owned the Resource Centre building and property since the mid-‘90s but announced back in 2015 that it was no longer financially feasible to maintain its stake in the structure, due to increasing costs to bring it up to code.
Let’s talk about the cemetery
An open house has been scheduled for Thursday, June 28, that will focus on the future operation of the Riverside Cemetery. Over the last several years there has been considerable discussion and debate regarding the cemetery, specifically the Perpetual Care (PC) program. Mayor de Groot stated that Council has committed to holding an open house in order to provide an opportunity for Neepawa residents to share their thoughts regarding the ongoing sustainability of the Cemetery. Information will also be shared with the Town regarding its perspective on the long-term options for sustainability. The Open House will be held at the Neepawa Public Library. Further details on the meeting will be made public in the near future.
Support for Westlake Employment
The Town of Neepawa is providing some financial support to Westlake Employment Skills and Services. Representatives with Westlake made a presentation to Town Council, on Tuesday, Apr. 17., asking for support for their Partnership funding program. The town will aid the not-for-profit service with a contribution of $5,242.02. In 2017, the operational budget for Westlake from Aug. 2017 to July 2018 was pegged at $68,765. In the past, the Province of Manitoba’s education and training program was their main source of funding, making up about 79 per cent of the total budget. As a non-profit, Westlake does not have the ability to raise funds through other means other than through partnerships with local governments, as any amount raised otherwise would be held back by the province, as per the funding contract.
