CORNWAL, Ontario – For dozens of grocery store employees, today is the first day of work.
FreshCo, a new grocery store at the corner of Ninth and Marlborough streets in Cornwall, officially opened its doors at 8 a.m. Thursday.
Mayor Bob Kilger, MP Guy Lauzon, city councillors and others took part in a ribbon cutting ceremony alongside store owner Chris Pierce.
The 35,000 square-foot facility brings with it as many as 80 news jobs.
City officials expect the new grocery store will grow, especially considering its proximity to Cornwall’s industrial park.
“There’s lots of traffic in that area,” city planner Ken Bedfor told Seaway News when the news of the new store broke. “And that will continue to grow as the (industrial) park grows.”
Last year the city’s planning advisory committee had to green-light a $679,000 rehabilitation grant, as well as cash for an environmental assessment and project feasibility study.
The site for the new grocery store was home to industrial operations before it was cleaned up.
The site was purchased last year by Goldmanco, a property development firm.
A dollar store could also be a part of the development, with space for at least one more tenant.
The area in question has seen controversy in the past as an appeal on the site’s rezoning in the past led to a five-year moratorium on development.
