By Angela Brown

Location announced for new Sobeys liquor store in Battleford

Apr 8, 2017 | 8:00 AM

The Town of Battleford is a little closer to having its own privately-owned liquor store.

At its recent meeting, council agreed to a zoning application for a subdivision for the development of the new Sobeys liquor store, to be located at Battleford Crossing in the town of Battleford. The Sobeys store will be located in a new mini-mall being developed for the area.

The plan for the opening of the new store is still in the works.

“Hopefully, we will hear some timelines in the next one to two weeks,” Mayor Ames Leslie said about the project.

“I am excited about it,” added the mayor. “It’s a new build. It’s another building in our community. It’s going to help attract traffic to that area. It will help benefit Tim Hortons, and the gas station. It’s always nice to have new development in the community.”

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CAO John Enns-Wind confirmed Sobey’s has reached a deal with the developer at the Battlefords Crossing (located at Highway 4 and 29th St. in Battleford), in the area near Tim Hortons and the Co-op Gas Bar, to develop the new liquor store there.

Enns-Wind also noted there is also space available at the location for a drive-through venue or a fast food restaurant where potential future development is concerned.

“We are looking at bringing more business to the community,” the CAO added.

“One of the important things we have identified is we need to diversify the tax base for Battleford,” he said. “Right now, 90 per cent of our taxes are derived from residential property taxes. We need to try and move away from that.

“The way you do that is by growing your commercial and industrial base. Those are some of the priorities we have identified. Residences can only pay so much, as can businesses. But it’s a different formula for commercial and industrial owners of properties. The more we have over here, the better it will be for everybody.”

The SLGA liquor store coming to Battleford is one of the 39 public stores being turned private and one of the 50 total new public stores in Saskatchewan. Last year the grocery chain submitted the chosen request for proposal (RFP) to operate the incoming public liquor store in Battleford.

With nine of the 50 private stores to be run by Sobey’s, Keri Scobie with Sobeys Western Canada said the company saw Battleford as a great opportunity.

angela.brown@jpbg.ca