LOCAL NEWS: FIRST BABIES OF 2014 ▼ A2
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Thursday, February 13, 2014 ▼ Volume 50 No. 7 ▼ www.clearwatertimes.com ▼ $1.35 Includes GST
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Buy-Low Foods shows shopping centre plans Keith McNeill
If everything goes perfectly, Buy-Low Foods could begin construction of a new grocery store and shopping centre in Clearwater as soon as the snow is gone, with completion by the end of December, 2014. However, according to Michael Lee, a vice-president with the Jim Pattison Group, a more realistic timeline would be for construction to begin in June or July, with completion about one year later. “Our experience has been that a food store takes about 10 or 12 months to build,” he said Lee was commenting on a presentation made to Clearwater town council on Feb. 4 by Tom Munro, a consultant working for the Jim Pattison Group. Although he had not been present, Lee said that the purpose of the meeting with council had been to show what was intended for the site. The District gave a number of comments on the proposal and how it could better
A map released by Buy-Low consultant shows possible layout of shopping centre proposed for the corner of Highway 5 and Park Drive in Clearwater. The new roundabout is at the top right. The grocery store shown in yellow on the left would be 25,000 sq. ft., compared to 18,000 sq. ft. of the existing Safety Mart. The buildings shown in color also likely would be built, while those in outline only are tentative.
tie in with the official community plan and so on. The developers will take those comments and attempt to incorporate them into their plans, the vicepresident said. At present, only Buy-Low Foods is committed to move into the new shop-
ping centre, Lee said. Other businesses have expressed an interest, but nothing has been concluded yet. The proposed shopping centre would be on the property immediately southwest of the new roundabout on Highway 5. Although there was
some discussion of highway access from the property onto the highway during a roads and trails study recently completed for the District by Opus International, the only access being sought at this time would be from Murtle Crescent, Lee said. Clearwater's court-
house is presently on the property and BuyLow would like to see it remain a tenant, he said. The lease for the building is up by the end of October. Because the structure consists of a series of portables it could be moved to make access to the shop-
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ping center easier, if needed. The presentation to council left Mayor John Harwood feeling quite optimistic. He felt that having a major corporation consider making such a large investment in Clearwater was a good signal to other potential investors.
The people from Buy-Low are building a similar project in Calgary and finishing one in Oliver, the mayor said. Only five acres of the 13 acre property would be used for the shopping centre as proposed, he noted, leaving plenty of room for expansion.
BRUNSWICK KIPPERS 100g Tins
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