Major renovations are planned for the Eckville Co-op’s food store refrigeration equipment.
Renovations are tentatively scheduled to begin June 13 and finish August 31.
Renovations will include the replacements of the refrigeration equipment.
The physical design of the store will not change and there will be new refrigerators in place of the old ones.
All refrigeration equipment will be replaced with modern and more efficient equipment.
“We’re moving towards a more efficient refrigeration system,” said general manager of Eckville Co-op, Curtis Lehouillier.
The project will cost upwards of $750,000.
The building has been around since 1993 with the equipment that went in at the time having already been used Lehouillier said.
He said the equipment has run it’s life and now it’s time that these renovations are done.
“It’s a significant investment in terms of a food store this size in a community of this size,” Lehouillier said. “We really want to show the community that we are invested in this community and were committed to being here another 100 years.”
He said the management team and the board of directors are all very excited about the project, as they are all committed to ensuring they are serving the community of Eckville for the long term.
The store will look like a very modern facility, similar to what you see in bigger centres.
The project has been in the planning for quite some time.
A renovation of this magnitude takes a great deal of planning.
Lehouillier said he is excited about the project adding he feels it will be a major project for Eckville.
“I am very happy to see this project come to the light of day,” he said
During the renovations, Lehouillier said customers have to be aware that there will be some bumps in the road during the transition process.
“We’re going to try and phase this in so we don’t have to close down the store,” he said. “There may be times when there are certain products temporarily unavailable during the renovations.”
The renovations cannot be completed all at once. It will be a process to keep the store open to ensure customer needs are being met but one Lehouillier is confident Co-op can accomplish.
“This is not something that can be done over night, it’s a process,” Lehouillier said. “We will do our best to continue serving the community’s needs during the renovation process.”
reporter@eckvilleecho.com