Portage la Prairie's going to have fewer vacant lots in the city, thanks to the approval of a new project along Saskatchewan Avenue. This afternoon Council held a special meeting to discuss the creation of a strip mall, at the former car dealership off 6th Avenue North West. Portage Venture Capital's Chris Bures presented the project to Council, applying for numerous variations that remained in line with other locations along the avenue. After his presentation, council unanimously agreed to the proposal, which was created while working with the Portage la Prairie Planning District's Kinelm Brooks. Nickel Communications' Wes Nickel's behind the proposal and says he's thrilled to have the city's support moving forward.

"The city has been fantastic to work with so far. They're very open to us coming in and doing this. It's been fantastic working with them."

Before the meeting even started, the area was fenced off in preparation for construction. The construction of the three-store strip mall will be underway in the near future, and is expected to be ready to go next year. Mayor Irvine Ferris says it's exciting to see the work taking place, noting it helps eliminate the vacant lots that became a hot topic during the municipal election.

"They put a lot of work into the planning, so this is good for Portage, the business community, and the avenue. This is not only new businesses coming to Portage but a new building in an established location. It's an area of town where we've seen a fair bit of activity, we recently saw another new business open in Portage's west end."

While the new building will be substantially larger than the current structure on the property, the presentation to Council noted their dimensions were well in line with what's been seen at the surrounding businesses.