After several years of development, the commercial land along Highway 311, in front of Old Drovers Run golf course, is about to get its first businesses. Construction is set to begin on a new Shell gas bar and Tim Hortons restaurant.
“The town is growing at a fast pace and the infrastructure is not keeping up to it,” says Miguel Forest, the Niverville Shell franchisee. “There’s for sure a lack of pumps here for a town of 5,000 people.”
Forest is no stranger to the gas station game. At the age of 14, he got a part-time job pumping gas for the Shell station in St-Pierre-Jolys, a business which he later bought with his wife Sylvie.
The Shell station will have seven pumps, including one high-volume diesel pump, and a 2,500-square-foot convenience store. The station will employ about 18 staff.
The 1,500-square-foot Tim Hortons will be attached and contain a drive-thru. While Forest will own the whole building, Tim Hortons will be owned and operated by its own franchisee.
Though Forest is confident the project will move forward, a few key details need to be resolved before shovels go in the ground. Notably, the land ownership is still being finalized and Tim Hortons is waiting for the results of an environmental site assessment before signing off.
Nonetheless, Forest is gunning to be open for business on December 1.
Town council unanimously approved Forest’s application for these two businesses at a special meeting on Wednesday, June 15.
“We are thankful for the employment opportunities and economic spinoffs that these new businesses will bring to our community,” says Mayor Myron Dyck. “We wish everyone involved in these new ventures much success.”
New Strip Mall
A new commercial strip mall is in the works for the lot directly east of the new Shell/Tim Hortons. This project, spearheaded by Dan Harder and Ray Dowse, will be built in phases, starting with either 6,000 or 10,500 square feet.
“We are very excited to start the ball rolling for new commercial development in the community,” says Dowse. “We are currently in conversation with several businesses on the space, and should we come to occupancy terms, the earliest potential start date for construction would be this coming fall.”
The full retail strip mall will offer approximately 30,000 square feet of retail space. No construction will begin until they have sufficient lease agreements in place.
Dowse and Harder say they have consulted with Miguel Forest to ensure that the neighbouring businesses have a consistent design.
“We wanted the look to tie in with the surrounding golf course landscape,” says Dowse, “which is where we came up with a stone and exposed timber look.”
Harder and Dowse are also part of the ownership group of the commercial property at 295 Main Street, which was formerly occupied by Puratone. Over the past weeks, the red barn on the property was sold, lifted, and moved with the concrete foundation excavated. Although no deals have been finalized, the ownership group is prepared for potential commercial development opportunities at that site as well.
