Mountain View Credit Union is moving forward with a slightly altered plan for its new building at the corner of Highway 27 and 65 Avenue.
Base work on a new service road just north of the RCMP detachment is ongoing, with curb and gutter work currently being conducted.
Bob Marshall, MVCU's chief executive officer, said he expected paving to be completed by the end of May, at which point the new service road would be opened and the old one closed.
“The reason (Alberta Transportation) wanted to move that is because of all the congestion when you come around on 65th (Avenue). It really becomes quite a quagmire (at the intersection). Initially we tried to build on our original lot three years ago but Alberta Transportation wouldn't allow it because at the end of the day they wanted that whole intersection cleaned up,” he said.
As a result, the credit union bought an additional three lots next to No Frills.
“We purchased it all in the anticipation of working with the Town of Olds and Alberta Transportation to relocate (the service road further south). That (will take) the congestion off that intersection,” he said.
Marshall said the town has done an excellent job in working with Alberta Transportation on the larger intersection planning so that the credit union and Alberta Transportation can work together on the credit union's small piece of the overall puzzle.
“(The town has) done a great job in representing our interests as well as their interests, and working with Alberta Transportation,” he said.
Construction on the new MVCU building is expected to begin sometime in July. The original plan for the building measured 1,013 square metres (10,900 square feet). The updated building is slightly larger at 1,026 square metres (11,040 square feet). The building is also four stories all the way around, whereas the original plan called for two stories in one portion of the building and four in the remainder with the two pieces to be joined by an atrium.
Marshall said while the old plan was aesthetically pleasing, the new plan makes better use of floor space.
“It's better utilization of each floor and more practical application of (floor space),” he said.
The new plan also calls for 82 oversize parking stalls.
The credit union will be using the first, second and fourth floors for its banking operation, with the third floor being vacant, for now, with MVCU hopefully leasing that space for about 10 years.
“We think we have some fairly good prime office space to lease for the next, I'd say, 10 years, so we'd like to find several tenants to occupy the third floor. Then in time, as Mountain View Credit Union grows in size and we'd have the opportunity that if we needed to occupy some (more) space, that we could work with those leases on the timing and then take over pieces of that third floor,” he said.
Marshall said he hopes the new building could be open by January 2013 and would last the organization 20 to 25 years.
