Mountain View Credit Union hosted a groundbreaking ceremony on Monday, bringing six years of work and planning to the final stage.
Work on the new site should get underway in early October and take about 16 months to complete, said Bob Marshall, chief executive officer of the credit union.
“The relocation of the service road was the big obstacle at the beginning. Just being able to build something that's suitable with Alberta Transportation and what their plans are for Highway 27 (was key). At the end, I think it's what everyone wanted to see happen,” he said.
The new building will cover just under 810 square metres (9,000 square feet) over four storeys. The main banking area will be on the first floor, with the business banking centre on the second and fourth floors. MVCU hopes to lease out the third floor to several different clients.
Marshall said he thinks locating all the mechanical apparatus in the basement has some advantages.
“One, having it in the basement, it's easy access when you have any repairs or maintenance to complete, and then it's not such an eyesore on the outside of the building … so hopefully it helps with the esthetics,” he said.
Herman Epp, chair of the credit union's board of directors, said he was pleased to finally be getting underway.
“We as a board are particularly pleased that we finally are (breaking ground). To this particular stage there have been a number of impediments that have crept in … and the (Alberta) Transportation situation was a challenge. We are quite optimistic that it's finally on the go and before too much longer we will be up above the ground,” he said.
Epp said there have been several changes made to the plans since they were first conceived in 2005, to the point that at one stage, the board considered abandoning the location.
“Through perseverance I guess we stuck with it and now it's developed into something substantially more than what we anticipated at first,” he said.
