Sale pending for Flower Cart's current properties Excitement grows as new social enterprise, vocational training centre could open by late September
With the sale of The Flower Cart Group’s current facilities in the works, the excitement level over a new social enterprise and vocational training centre is starting to build.
CEO Jeff Kelly said on April 20 that they recently put both of their current New Minas properties up for sale. These include the main site at 9412 Commercial St. as well as 8740 Commercial St., home of the What’s Cooking? Commercial Kitchen and Co-packing Services.
Kelly wasn’t at liberty to discuss sale details because it had yet to be finalized, but said the buildings were on the market for only four days before The Flower Cart received a conditional offer of purchase for both.
“I’ll just say that we did better than we were hoping to,” Kelly said.
He said proceeds from the sale would be used as The Flower Cart’s own contribution to the Building Opportunities capital campaign to pay for the organization’s new social enterprise and vocational training facility.
Contractor B.D. Stevens broke ground for the new building, located next to the Louis Millett Community Complex at 9503 Commercial St. in New Minas, in September.
The original capital campaign goal was $5.8 million but Kelly said in late November that, due to inflation, the overall price tag would likely be between $6.2 million and $6.4 million.
After the sale of the current properties closes, the organization will have about $200,000 left to raise to put them in “a mortgage-free position” moving into the new facility.
Even if they can’t accomplish this, he said the organization has planned for it and would be able to service what debt financing they have for the build.
EXCITEMENT BUILDING
Kelly said it has become a regular occurrence for groups of program participants to walk