Stirling business centre moving forward

Stirling council is taking further steps towards a business centre in the village.

During their regular Jan. 28 meeting, Stirling village council discussed a business centre project.

The ATB Business Centre project is an item in the 2021 capital budget and part of the village’s strategic plan, and once completed, would provide a place for multiple businesses to operate out of, depending on the day of the week.

“This was an item, which was on the 2021 capital budget and was part of the village's Strategic Plan. Council envisioned developing a space where small business, home occupations or start-ups could rent office space that could be leased for specific days of the week. The concept would provide access to professional facilities and a board room, which many businesses in that stage wouldn’t otherwise have immediate access to. This also addressed the aging infrastructure of the building —which will be updated to provide longevity to the building,” said Scott Donselaar, CAO of the village. “The plan further went on to envision a redeveloped administration office — which will be able to accommodate village administration into the future without the need for new or alternate facilities, as the village grows over the next 25 years.”

The project is currently at the point where they are finalizing the design of the centre. Once that is completed, the village can start renovating and do needed interior construction of the space.

During the meeting, council also decided to rename the project as the Ridge Utilities Business Centre, as Ridge Utilities is a core part of the village. Council passed motions for the location of the Ridge Utilities Business Centre and the village Administration Office/ATB Agency, and to proceed with regular updates to be brought back to council.