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From Saturday's CBPost.

Membertou taking care of business

Mini-mall planned

Section: Cape Breton

By Tanya Collier MacDonald, Cape Breton Post

A proposed mini-mall for Membertou could open new possibilities for entrepreneurs eager to share in the community's growing business success.

"This mini-mall will provide badly needed retail space for new aboriginal businesses in the middle of Cape Breton's population base," said Owen Fitzgerald, director of Membertou Entrepreneur Centre. He made the comments during a business workshop held in Membertou Thursday. The workshop attracted about 25 representatives from five First Nation communities across the island.

Developing the commercial property in the First Nation community aids small business ventures often hampered by land ownership issues, said Fitzgerald. Having the community fund the project will lighten that financial load.

Although aboriginal entrepreneurs are the main focus, Fitzgerald added that Membertou is welcoming non-aboriginal business owners as well.

Plans for the $3-million, two-storey structure spanning about 20,000 square feet are still being developed but the community plans to open the mall in 2008.

Fitzgerald said the opening will coincide with the completion of a new access road that will stretch from Towerview Road to Mira Road.

"There will be a dramatic change in traffic flow," he said.

The proposed mini-mall builds on significant investments already planned for this region. There is the $400-million tar ponds cleanup, $300 million for Xstrata Coal in Donkin and a $300-million resort in Louisbourg area.

Those projects will require additional supports, services, and supplies and could mean many spinoffs for the region, said Fitzgerald.

From Friday's CBPost

Civic centre project fundraising drive surpasses $1M in public money

Section: Northside/Victoria

By Julie Collins,

Pledges continue to pour in for the proposed Northside Civic Centre.

"We've surpassed $1 million of the $1.5 in public funds needed to trigger additional provincial and federal funding," said Leo Steele, chairman of the Northside Civic Centre Society. "This is without the large chain stores, banks or the mail-out campaign. People realize the urgency of this and are coming forward in leaps and bounds; it's so encouraging."

The society is working to get the infrastructure money needed to build the new rink reinstated. The Canada/Nova Scotia Infrastructure Secretariat pulled the funding for the proposed civic centre in late January.

"We have until April 1 to pull this together and get the project back on the rails," he said. "The Northside needs the civic centre, the people want it and are proving their resolve by coming forward with their pledges."

Approximately 20 acres of land located off King Street, North Sydney, has been set aside for recreational use, which includes a site for a new arena. A skateboard park and soccer field are also planned for the complex.

Along with high school hockey, the society has lined up a major tenant for the civic centre that would bring teams from outside the area to the Northside every second weekend.

"Since the public meeting earlier this month, people have come forward from every corner of the community, not just the Northside, but beyond," Steele said. "For the next 50 years, visitors to the civic centre will look at the donor wall and see the names of the people who contributed. What a legacy to leave the community, our children and our children's children."

Board members have been receiving calls from people out west who are looking for pledge packages.

Along with the public fundraising, the board is continuing to work on other aspects of the project, including the design of the building.

"The regional municipality is helping in areas like the environmental assessment," Steele said. "In the meantime, people have really stepped up to the plate. We're confident we are going to go over the top when it comes to fundraising."

He added that whether people pledge $10 or $1,000, every cent counts.

For further information on the project, visit the Northside Civic Centre office at Archibald Wharf or call 794-3839.