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New Colwood well-being centre taking shape

New two-storey building will have 15,000 square feet of space, with 8,000 occupied by Pacific Centre
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Mitzi Dean

With a new building headed for completion this summer, Pacific Centre Family Services Association is looking for like-minded tenants to share their new home.

Mitzi Dean, the association’s executive director, said the new centre will enable them to serve considerably more people than they are able to accommodate at their current location.

"Right now we have to work around the 11 rooms we have,” she explained while leading a tour of the new location building site on Goldstream Avenue in Colwood. “There are 20 counselling rooms in the new building, so we will be able to assist more people.”

The two-storey building will have 15,000 square feet of space, with 8,000 of that to be occupied by Pacific Centre.

“We are looking for renters who want to contribute to our vision of a centre for well being of regional significance,” Dean said.

Pacific Centre has about 35 people working at the existing location on Wale Road, providing counselling services for youth, families and adults, as well as child therapy programs. The number of staff is not expected to increase unless more funding is secured for programming, Dean noted.

“We are currently pursuing grants from the federal and provincial governments. The more grants and donations we receive, the more revenue we’ll have for services.”

Funding for the $8-million project has been made available through financing, and significant donations from some local community leaders, Dean said.

Work on the building project began more than two years ago, with construction getting underway in March 2016. The facility is targeted for completion by July of this year.

One of the complications at the site was that some of the land was being used for parking by the Colwood Dental Group. A partnership was negotiated to build a new parking lot which was sold to them, Dean said.

She said she’s had a few people ask her about the progress of the project, which, with new plans for the Colwood Corners project being considered, will change the landscape of the area significantly.

“It’s nice to see the building taking shape,” she said. “The feedback from the public has been great.”

Anyone interested in leasing opportunities can call Dean at 250-886-2481 or send her an e-mail to mdean@pcfsa.org.

reporter@goldstreamgazette.com