A new slate of businesses have been announced on Springwood Developments’ website to go into the Quarry site, creating the face of what the area will look like in the near future.
In addition to the now-open Sobeys grocery and liquor stores, Wal-Mart is expected to crack its doors January 2014; original estimates were for the superstore to open for Christmas 2013.
Laurie Drukier, communications advisor for the town, said Wal-Mart’s construction schedule is within the timeframe of the current development permit, and that there is no requirement to specify any end date to the town beyond that.
Other businesses that have now leased space include Tim Hortons, Subway, Chatters Hair & Beauty Salon, Original Joe’s Restaurant and Bar, Papa John’s Pizza, Great Clips, Pet Valu, Booster Juice and Mary Brown’s Famous Chicken.
“Businesses want to locate in Cochrane because their research shows there’s a market here for what they’re offering,” Drukier said in an email, adding that it is the developers and individual businesses that determine if there’s a service need that should be filled, not the town. “The town approves specific land-use types, not specific brands.”
The current land-use bylaw for the town does state that if a building is approved for multiple uses, no additional development permit is required for each individual business in that building.
Opening dates for each business will vary, depending on when the town issues the development permits for each. Development permits provide a two-year window for construction to be complete, unless an extension is applied for.
Springwood did not indicate on its website any estimated time the announced businesses would open, other than for Wal-Mart.
Several future lease spaces remain available on the Quarry site, mainly in the south and east sections of the property, with the northwest corner being utilized as mixed use.
