The strip mall that will soon service the Town of Penhold is now under construction.
On Tuesday, Aug. 20, Pearl Rose Construction made first strides on building a strip mall plaza, which will include both a grocery store and a pharmacy.
The building, which will be around 16,000 square feet, is valued at $3.5 million.
Completion for the project is expected to be in March 2014, but with a goal for the building's exterior to be complete by Oct. 2013.
“We wanted to get started earlier than this, but it was a long process to set up,” said Jerry Knebel, the soon-to-be owner of the Family Foods grocery store that will be part of the plaza.
“What we have now is an eight month building contract.”
He explained that the grocery store and the rest of the building will be what he describes as modern and trendy.
“We're going in very trendy colours with black refrigerators and multicolored walls,” he said. “We want the store to be modern and a pleasant place for costumers to shop at.”
The plaza will be located along Highway 2A in front of Hawkridge Estates.
“We chose this location for exposure,” Knebel said. “It is right on Highway 2A, which sees 6,500 cars a day.”
The supermarket will be independently owned, which Knebel feels will make it easier to cater to the residents of Penhold, when compared to large chain grocery stores.
Penhold Mayor Denis Cooper said that the mall is the first step to creating a downtown area for Penhold.
“Our community has mainly been a community where people go elsewhere to shop,” said Cooper. “Now this area will be a destination.”
He explained that the strip mall will be the start of several other buildings planned for the site and with Highway 2A immediately beside it, plenty of opportunity for future development will be created.
“Part of a town is being able to service and provide amenities to our citizens so they do not have to leave our town,” Cooper said.
“This will give them the chance to shop locally.”
