Two buildings in Westlock that have sat empty and unfinished for at least two years are finally on track to be completed and occupied by spring 2014.
The buildings in question are the condo located on 102 Street behind the Servus Credit Union, and the apartment building at the corner of 97 Avenue and 109 Street.
Both buildings were bought within the last two years by Edmonton-based Oakridge Investment Holding, operated by Nick Spina and partner Frank Bilotta.
Spina said his company purchased the condo building on 102 Street out of bankruptcy in July 2011, and started working to complete it in August 2011.
The work has now wrapped up, and the 24 units went on sale May 6. The units range in size from 800 square feet up to 1,100 square feet, with one unit 2,200 square feet in size.
So far, only the east wing of the building has been completed, but Spina said the west side has not been forgotten.
“The plan for the near future, depending on the outcome of this (sale), is to build another wing,” he said.
In completing the building and preparing for any future expansion, Spina said his company made sure it had dotted all the i’s and crossed all the t’s it could think of.
“Every single move has been made inspected and all approved by the Town of Westlock,” he said. “We even have permits on stuff that didn’t need permits, but we wanted the documentation to back it up.”
With the first building finished, Spina said work has started to get the structure at 97 Avenue and 109 Street ready for occupancy.
He said his company purchased the building and the lot it sits on, as well as the adjacent lot in order to build a bigger parking lot.
Renovations and upgrades to the building include new windows, new siding and replaced the planned geothermal heating system with a conventional heating system.
There are 30 units in the building, Spina said, and the plan is for them all to be rental spaces.
He added he’s targeting the spring of 2014 to finish the work and start accepting tenants.
For both buildings, Spina said no corners have been cut in the renovation process. He said he’s heard stories of people having trouble with construction projects running afoul of the approval process, and did not want that to happen in his case.
“The town was very good with us,” he said. “If you have your ducks in order, you shouldn’t have any problems.”
