After much waiting and anticipation, Battlefords Trade and Education Centre Inc. has finally moved into its new home.
Monday Oct. 24 marks the first day for clients at their new location at the Pfeifer Learning Centre on the corner of Railway Avenue and 105th Street in North Battleford.
The organization spent the previous week moving from its long-time home at the century-old armoury building on 102nd Street to the new facility.
“The staff has worked really, really hard all week long,” said Mona Leece, BTEC executive director, so participants would be able to start there Monday.
The move began the previous Monday morning as they began moving items from the old facility. Those were all in the new location by Wednesday, leaving only the organizing of those items and the various desks and furniture as their remaining priorities.
By Friday the move was complete, with only a few workers there to finish up a few last-minute items.
The new building is located right next to the Battlefords Publishing building, home of the News-Optimist. Officials with BTEC were excited to provide their new neighbours a tour of their new facility Friday afternoon.
The building offers a number of advantages that the old armoury couldn’t offer, including more accessibility features for clients both in entering the building and in moving around once they are inside.
A particular advantage, said Leece, is there are no stairs in the new facility compared to the old one, making it much easier for those with wheelchairs or walkers to take part in activities.
There is also considerably more space in the new building and what Leece describes as a brighter feel to the atmosphere.
“It’s bigger and brighter,” said Leece.
“It’s a great neighbourhood, we’re closer to restaurants if we want to walk down for coffee. It’s a little more accessible than having to cross the tracks with where we were before.”
The largest area is the multi-purpose room, which is where parties, karaoke events and other social activities will take place.
Adjoining that room will be a number of smaller “pods” where clients will do a number of activities such as colouring, math work, puzzles, games, exercise and music.
The tables in the multi-purpose room came from Bee-Js and the chairs were donated by the Meota Lions Club. Office furniture, chairs and tables were donated by Husky Oil, which also happens to be their neighbour across 105th Street.
Battleford Furniture was a major contributor, donating $21,000 worth of items that are found elsewhere in the building, including a couch and chairs, pictures, microwave ovens, dishwashers, fridges and other items.
Other areas of the building include a personal care area for clients who need tube feeding, a multi-sensory area, a staff room and a locker area.
A large room is set aside for the New to You Bookstore and shelves were already stocked with the used books transported from the old location.
There are other features as well, including lights that automatically come on in the washrooms without having to flip a switch.
Most clients have already had a chance to see the new building. They have taken tours around the facility and Leece said “wow, wow, wow” is the common reaction they had.
She said the clients were “very excited and can’t wait to come in.”
Members of the community can see for themselves what the new facility looks like during the grand opening celebration for the Pfeifer Learning Centre Nov. 4.
Tours will take place from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and a celebration will take place at 2 p.m.
There will be a dedication of the building itself to Pius and Ida Pfeifer, who donated $500,000 to the project. Individual rooms will also be dedicated.
A more formal ribbon-cutting ceremony involving provincial officials is also in the works and will likely happen Nov. 3, but the Nov. 4 event will be the major one open to the public at large, and will serve as a thank you to the community for their support for the project.
A fundraising campaign that wrapped up last November successfully raised $2.3 million towards the construction.
The community provided “overwhelming support to us to get this up and going,” Leece said. “We have to thank the community for the tremendous support they have given us over the last few years.”
