In Moosomin: Borderland proposes 25,500 sq. ft. home centre
March 31, 2015, 1:48 am
Kevin Weedmark
Borderland Co-op is proposing to build a 25,500 square foot home centre in Moosomin.
The store would employ 30-35 people, and Borderland is hoping it could be under construction in 2016. It would cost about $4 million to develop the project.
Borderland Co-op was originally planning to build the massive home centre in 2018 on land it owns near the C-store and gas bar.
However, when the North American Lumber building burned to the ground recently, the home centre became a priority project.
Borderland is asking the town of Moosomin if it can purchase sections of one lane and two streets for the proposed home centre.
Borderland has negotiated an offer to purchase the site of the former North American Lumber location in Moosomin on the condition that it is able to purchase the roadways from the town.
The North American Lumber site was located across Carleton Street from the Co-op Home Centre. The Co-op would like to buy the section of Carleton Street between the two properties, as well as the alley between Carleton Street and Main Street. North American owned two lots facing Main Street that were used for storage.
The Co-op has also asked if it can purchase the section of Mountain Street between the current home centre on the west and KFC and the school division bus compound on the east.
Borderland GM Jason Schenn said he’s optimistic the Co-op can move forward quickly with the project. The Co-op needs to know by the end of May if it can purchase the roadways. It also needs to update its feasibility study and complete its environmental due diligence.
“We can make it work provided we get those laneways,” Schenn said Thursday. “We feel confident 25,000 square feet is the way to go. It’s very large for a town this size, but it will allow us to do a lot more.”
“There aren’t a lot of stores this size in towns the size of Moosomin. There are a lot of stores around 5,000 square feet in the rural areas, but there aren’t many this big. Assiniboia has one that’s about 20,000, and that’s the only one that big I know of.
“Our approach is more space, adding more variety, having more inventory on hand, and using the power of all three locations to serve our customers better.
“We would be able to carry more products than we can now.
“We have a good selection of all the basics now, but with the larger store we will be able to widen out the lines, so hopefully we can provide more lines and more selection. We’ve been able to provide the basics, now we want to be able to have more variety and more options for the DIYers.”
While the original site near the C-store has lots of space and is already owned by the Co-op, Schenn says there are benefits to the Park Avenue location.
“Because of the fact that it’s all relatively decent land, we can save a lot of money on site preparation,” he says.
He said the Co-op has been working with North American Lumber since shortly after the fire that destroyed the Moosomin location.
Schenn says it helps that the Co-op was already in the planning process for a new home centre in Moosomin.
“We had already done a feasibilty study based on the other location, and we know what will work in this market. That gave us a head start.”
Schenn will have his work cut out for him with building projects over the next couple of years.
Borderland completed its C-Store, gas bar and car wash in Moosomin a couple of years ago, and currently has a gas bar and C-store under construction at Whitewood, and is developing a new cardlock site on Highway 8 at Rocanville.
“Whitewood is under construction this week, and at Rocanville, materials are being shipped to the site,” said Schenn. “It makes my life a little hectic, but it’s nice to get these projects moving.”
The Co-op is still working on how to lay out the site to maximize yard space.
