Province expanding office space
August 21, 2007
Portage Daily Graphic
Written by: Leah Kellar
New building will allow new agency to consolidate its workers
Construction on a new building to house government offices has begun in Portage la Prairie.
A new 1,800 square-metre building at the west end of Portage at 2210 Saskatchewan Ave. W. beside Dollarama will be the new location for Manitoba Intergovernmental Affairs employees currently working out of the provincial building at 25 Tupper St. N.
Rod Berscheit, director of operations for Accommodations Services Division of Manitoba Infrastructure and Transpor-tation, said relocation was necessary in order to accommodate 55 people working for the province’s Crown Lands and Property Agency. Agency workers will move into Intergovern-mental Affairs’ space in the downtown location.
“The Crown Lands and Property Agency, which is a department of Manitoba Infra-structure and Transportation, is consolidating into the provincial building. Many of them were already in the building,” said Berscheit.
“There was a number of reports done a year ago that recommended that rather than have people in different locations in the building, for purposes of better efficiency that they should be consolidated into one location and one agency and that’s in fact what we’re doing.”
The creation of the agency, which was announced in March of 2006, was to improve administration of provincial Crown land.
Eighteen people from Inter-governmental Affairs will move from the provincial building on Tupper Street to the west end location. The department is in charge of communications between the province and other jurisdictions, such as municipalities.
The province is leasing space in the new building from Shindico Realty Inc.
“We’re now taking up more space in Portage la Prairie and just leasing space for the people that we need. Intergovernmental Affairs has a section in the provincial building that is about the right size and so it was decided they would have to move to new accommodations,” said Berscheit.
Intergovernmental Affairs will move into the new location at the end of November to occupy approximately 5, 000 square metres of office space.
Berscheit said he believes the department will be the sole occupant at the new location.
The Crown Lands and Property Agency had occupied 557 square-metres of office space in the downtown provincial building and is now increasing to 1000 square metres.
“I’m not certain who else will be moving in there. It’s my understanding that most of it will be taken up by provincial assessment department employees in Portage,” said Robert Shindleman vice president of Shindico.
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