New housing on horizon

September 19, 2007
Portage Daily Graphic
Written by: John Cairns

Participating in a sod-turning ceremony for Horizon Village in Southport are, from left to right, rural Portage la Prairie Coun. Terry Simpson, Brad Dick of Newton Enterprises, Barry Feller of Southport Aerospace Centre, Inc., and Tom McKnight of Newton Enterprises. Staff photo by John Cairns

Officials got the ball rolling on their new Horizon Village project yesterday with an official sod-turning in Southport.

Representatives from South-port Aerospace Centre Inc., Newton Enterprises and Rural Municipality of Portage la Prairie attended the ceremony at the construction site on Portage Street for the new 55-plus community.

Barry Feller, chief executive officer of Southport, said it was an exciting day for Southport.

“We’ve been working hard on this project and it’s great to see we’ll have something in the ground very shortly,” Feller said.

He described the Horizon Village development as an upscale retirement community that will offer a variety of housing options for people looking for a certain lifestyle. In the bungalows, customers will have the option to include bay windows, built-in entertainment centres and/or gas fireplaces, coffered ceilings, co-ordinated floor coverings and a one- or two-vehicle garage.

Buyers will have the option of life lease or condominium tenure. Re/Max Central Plains Realty will be marketing the units.

Public information sessions will be happening soon.

“We’re hosting two sessions on Sept. 27 at Southport, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. for people interested in the project. There will be lots of information in terms of units that will be available, the pricing and the cost and so on,” said Feller.

The public information sessions will take place in the Heron Centre at Southport and designers, builders, legal counsel and realtors will be on hand to answer questions.

Brad Dick, president of Newton Enterprises, said his company is very excited to be part of the project. They will be building units along with JDL Construction.

Dick said his company expects to get construction started this month, putting in duplex units side by side with garages.

“They’ll be very nice units -- one is a two-bedroom, the other is a three-bedroom, so there will be some choices there,” he said.

Tom McKnight, rural and commercial manager of Newton Enterprises, said construction should start this month.

“We’ll do some excavation in the fall, do framing in October, with some tie-ins in service and there will be a little bit of winter heat. Hopefully, in January we’ll have something completed and have people walking through,” McKnight said.

Newton Enterprises expects about 10 or more units to be completed within the next couple of years. McKnight said the information sessions and the follow up response from Re/Max “will tell us where to go from there” as far as development is concerned.

The current plan for Horizon Village includes a total of 44 units.

Portage RM Coun. Terry Simpson said Horizon Village will be “a great asset for the community.”

Simpson said the new units will be close to all the amenities, including recreational facilities in Southport. He said the development will allow seniors to stay in the Portage area.

“We’re looking to keep the seniors in the area rather than, say, go to Brandon or Winnipeg. We want to keep them here and they’re a great asset to our community,” Simpson said.

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