TERRACE STANDARD Business REvIEw Mayor defers on stat shopping TERRACE’s mayor says he wants the chamber of commerce to decide the contentious holiday shop- ping issue, Jack Talstra said coun- cil will likely ask the busi- ness-association to recon- sider the issue of whether stores should be open on statutory holidays. “If the chamber decides they want to go one way we would probably ap- prove it,” he said. The chamber has con- ducted a series of faxed surveys of its members on the issue. Majorities of the gen- eral membership and the retail membership opposed opening up holiday shop- ping. But 64 per cent said yes —in a third survey — to al- lowing shopping on sum- mer holidays only, chiefly to benefit the tourism in- dustry. Talstra said the surveys reveal a deep split. “They basically say that the town is divided -~ 50-50 really,” Talstra said, Wal-Ma # Hard at it LEM RUSSELL of Russell Painting and Sandblasting works on the Kon- dolas building on Lakelse Ave which is being painted mustard yellow. rt construction starts with plan of December opening CONSTRUCTION BEGAN this week on a 105,835 square foot Wal-Mart store ‘on the Hwy 16 property just before the bridge connect- ing to Ferry Island. At approximately $6 million and with another 6,000 square feet for a loading dock. and.a garden. tcentre, the project is the largest commercial deve- lopment seen in the city in recent years, It also marks a west- ward expansion of the re- tail big box giant following the opening late last year of a store in Prince George. Construction began after final approvals were Police building bought THE OLD police building on the corner of Lakelse and Kalum, which aroused controversy when it was painted purple several years ago by a former ten- ant, is being converted into’a women’s clothing store. ; Sherrie Milne from Ter- race and mother Harriett Howell. bought the build- ing, built early in the last ‘century by the now-defunct B.C. Provincial Police agency, and are turning it into SHI — a shop for wom- “en-over 30. The’ mustard yellow “coat went on in early June, “replacing the purple co- Jour, << That latter colour was criticized by some people for ‘detracting from the building’s historical signif- “icance, But the colour also drew out those in favour of the hue. ‘Milne. said the store is “named after the mother- “daughter ownership team. “The “S” is for Sherrie, the ““H" for Harriett and the "DP" for incorporated, ‘She and Howell pian to sell mid to high-end mer- chandise including casual and evening wear, as well as accessories, signed off last week and a December opening date is being eyed. More than 500 parking spaces are being planned — just short of the number at the Skeena Mall — and the Store’s size is that of Ca- nadian Tire and the Real Canadian Wholesale Club raombinedn eerretae cs + There’s also enough room for more develop- ment either by Wal-Mart itself or by someone to which it can sell the prop- erty. Dominion Fairmile, an international construction company, is the general contractor, The project lands were assembled by a private sale and by the sale by the city of the property on which its animal shelter once sat. The shelter has since been moved and the empty building will be torn down, Also up for removal is the former River Industries Structure. “It’s 4 aht;in’ the middle of their ‘main ac- cess, so it has to come down,” said city regulatory services director Paul Gipps. Final approval came after negotiations between the city and Wal-Mart de- veloper First Pro Shopping Centres concerning set- backs from the river, a SHERRIE MILNE stands in front of her new proper- ty, the old police station located on the corner of Lakelse Ave. and Kalum St. A metal gate across the entrance is approximately 100 years old. walking path along the river and with residents of neighbouring properties who were worried about how the size of the struc- ture will affect their views. The setback negotia- tions also involved provin- cial ministries and the transportation ministry was *itivolyed when ‘it came to access from the property to the highway. The Terrace Little Theatre and the Bank of Montreal would like to THANK all the . businesses and individuals who helped to make our 5th. Annual Golf Scramble a Great Success A me i ale Fikes béried rang, June, 26, fala 6 ait valid on regular-priced: merechei Viste warehouseone.. com: for locations.