Brandon University News Release BRANDON, Man. — Brandon University (BU) has reached agreements through the approval and support of the City of Brandon and Renaissance Brandon to expand its downtown footprint significantly. “This is a truly exciting opportunity that we are ready to seize,” said BU President Dr. Gervan Fearon. “We are building on the priorities of our Academic Plan and on the themes emerging from our Campus Master Plan to serve as a catalyst for growth and innovation, and to leverage the University’s capacity in support of community development. We will be pursuing a large-scale mixed-use and residence development in the downtown core that is good for BU students, faculty and staff, and for our partners. This is an outstanding development for the city and the entire region.” A motion passed by Brandon City Council on Monday night, Feb. 6, and an agreement in principle reached with Renaissance Brandon, will increase BU’s new downtown holdings to five parcels of land on the 100-block of downtown Brandon between Ninth Street and 10th Street adjacent to the former Strand Theatre. Yielding tremendous value to the city and to the University for years to come, the land transfers are at minimal dollar value to facilitate the initiative while not straining the University’s financial resources. Favourable discussions are also underway with a private landowner to acquire two more neighbouring properties which would complete a parcel of nearly 70,000 square feet for the future development. “It’s been a very positive and constructive working relationship with the City of Brandon, Renaissance Brandon, Landmark Cinemas, and other landowners to assemble these properties,” President Fearon said. “This initiative was sparked by the generous decision of Landmark Cinemas to make the former Strand Theatre property available to us, allowing us to bring all of the parties to the table and develop a collaborative vision for downtown.” The property being assembled covers the entire vacant southern half of the 100-block between Ninth Street and 10th Street at Princess Avenue. The University is committed to a development that will add value to the existing neighbourhood, bringing new amenities and vitality to the downtown core. Brandon University is already building new community partnerships. Discussions with senior housing group Servants of Service to explore combining a student residence with a seniors’ residence have been fruitful, and the University and Servants of Service have completed an initial senior’s housing survey. This partnership will extend the benefits of the downtown initiative beyond the University to support housing for seniors who also face a tremendous shortage of available or affordable space within Brandon. “We’re very pleased with these developments. There’s a clear demand for affordable housing for people of all ages in Brandon. Rather than working in silos, this concept will allow us to share design and project costs that seemed to be duplicated in the past,” said Jim Brannan of Servants of Service. He says students and seniors have a lot in common in terms of residential requirements: smaller spaces, laundry facilities, and easy access to food outlets, banking, professional services and a great transit system. “We see this trend in affordable housing in the U.S. and particularly in the Netherlands, where seniors and students intermingle in the same complex with the benefit of being able to exchange thoughts and ideas. It just makes sense for us to work together.” Future commercial partnerships could include offices, retail or food service in the building, and the University will be exploring options for development partnerships and other innovative arrangements. “We will be doing further consultations with our students, faculty and staff as we determine how a downtown campus can best fill student residence, teaching and learning, and academic needs,” President Fearon said. “Over the past several months, we have already done extensive community consultations for BU’s Campus Master Plan and I have heard the need for mixed-use space, combining residences and commercial partnerships with academic programming. This is a long-term initiative with a payoff to be delivered over years and even decades. It is fitting that we are embarking on this as we mark 50 years since our establishment as a university and as we look towards the 120th anniversary of the institution in 2019.”   (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});     With the decision of Brandon City Council and the arrangements with Renaissance Brandon, BU will now dig deeper into refining a vision for the future of the downtown campus and will establish an advisory committee consisting of BU faculty, staff and students as well as community representatives to develop and consider future uses for the property. “A major new presence downtown will enable us to increase the impact of our university-community engagement significantly,” said Dr. Steve Robinson, BU’s Vice President, Academic and Provost. “A Brandon University presence downtown opens doors to new academic and research activities, as well as for co-op work-study collaborations and experiential educational opportunities for our students, faculty and staff.” “Building a new development downtown is an excellent opportunity for Brandon University to expand and integrate into the city,” added Brandon University Students’ Union President Nick Brown. “We will be able to address students’ housing needs, including students with families, and the academic space needs of BU.” On March 9, the Campus Master Plan process will continue, with an open house held for members of the public, along with students, faculty and staff, to share their ideas for the development, as well as possible partnerships. An engineering assessment shows that the decade-long and unfortunate deterioration of the building makes restoring the former Strand Theatre not feasible. Nonetheless, BU is committed to salvaging and preserving the building’s key cultural and historical details. Before the existing structure is taken down, experts from BU and the community will document the building’s history for the S.J McKee Archives at BU, and for display in the new downtown development. Brandon University aims to preserve elements of the building and its design in a fashion that is complementary to the area and future development of the downtown core. The BU downtown initiative will be transformative for the city. A mixed-use development anchored by BU is expected to encourage further investment and revitalization in the area. A mixed-use development of this magnitude, including education, commercial space and residences for students and seniors, will unquestionably spark new energy in the heart of our city,” said Steve McMillan, Renaissance Brandon Board Chair. “People who live and study downtown will also shop, eat and play downtown which will boost foot traffic for existing downtown businesses. This development will also help add diversity to our downtown and will increase the number of people walking the streets at all times of the day. This development will truly make a huge difference to downtown Brandon.” The University is continuing discussions to finalize arrangements. “We are very pleased with the progress of our discussions, work and engagement with Brandon University,” said Curtis Shewchuk, on behalf of the ownership group of the remaining two properties. “We are very supportive of this project and feel it will be a catalyst for the redevelopment of downtown Brandon.” As BU’s downtown initiative continues to unfold, the priorities that remain front and centre are academic excellence, serving students, supporting faculty and staff and building possibilities for the university for decades to come. “Brandon University is a leader,” said Derrick Stewart, chair of the BU Board of Governors. “As we strengthen the University and support the growth of our city, we will continue to demonstrate our leadership in community engagement, teaching and learning, and research activities. This shared community vision will redefine downtown Brandon for decades to come. Along with students, faculty and staff, we all can be proud and excited about the promising future ahead for the University and city.” Brandon University invites everyone to be a part of the downtown vision by sharing their thoughtful comments online at BrandonU.ca/Downtown and by participating in our next Campus Master Plan open house on March 9.  

Source:  Brandon Police Service Media Release ASSAULT On Sunday morning, a female attended to the Police station and reported that she was assaulted by her ex-boyfriend while both were at a residence in the 1800 Block of Rosser avenue. The assault consisted of punches to the face and head area resulting in minor injuries. A 21-year-old man from Sioux Valley was arrested at the residence on Rosser Avenue. The man was intoxicated and was lodged at the Brandon Correctional Center to appear in Court on Monday charged with Assault. ROBBERY On Sunday afternoon, a male reported to Police that on Saturday night while hosting a party at his residence an unknown female who was at the party grabbed a knife from the kitchen and while holding him at knife point, robbed him of his cell phone and beer. The man did not receive any injuries and Police continue to investigate. BREAK AND ENTER A 17-year-old male was arrested on Sunday afternoon as a result of an ongoing investigation in relation to a Break and Enter from November 19th 2016 at a Brandon business located in the 1300 Block of Rosser avenue east. The male was released to attend court in March. THEFT UNDER $5000 A 31-year-old man from Griswold Manitoba was arrested on Sunday in relation to a shoplifting incident that occurred on February 3rd. It was reported to Police that the male stole $60.00 worth of merchandise from a business located in the 900 Block of Victoria Avenue. The man is to appear in Court on Monday. OTHER ARRESTS An 18-year-old female was arrested at a residence on Clement Drive after Police were called to attend to a disturbance. The female was highly intoxicated and was detained at the Brandon Correctional Center. On Sunday evening, a 45- year- old man was detained under the Intoxicated Person Detention Act after Police received calls that the man was intoxicated and stumbling in the down town area. The man was located and lodged at the Brandon Correctional Center for release when sober. On Sunday night, Police received a call that a man was intoxicated and refusing to leave a business in the 1000 Block of 18th Street. A 40-year-old man was located and detained under the Intoxicated Person Detention Act.

It's official. Direct Liquidation will be opening a new second permanent location, in the current Sears store, on Brandon's North Hill. The new store, named Direct Wholesale, will be an expansion of the existing Direct Liquidation store specializing in wholesale truckloads of home furnishings like: appliances, mattresses, and furniture. Merchandise will be sold at wholesale pricing with full warranty, in the 10,600 sq foot space. Darcy, and his team, are presently beefing up their stock in anticipation of the Grand Opening of the new location. They invite everyone to pop down to 205-16th Street North to check some of the items that will be featured in the expansion. The new location is set to open in May of 2017 at 1828-18th St North. Stay tuned to bdnmb.ca as we plan to have a followup to this story with additional details on what the consumers can expect.     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});    

With files from Brandon Police Service. Pair Arrested for Possession of Chystal Meth & Cocaine For Purpose of Trafficking Two Brandon males, a 30-year old and a 38-year old, were arrested on multiple charges including possession for the purpose of trafficking methamphetamine, possession for the purpose of trafficking cocaine, and breach of recognizance. Police say that on Monday evening they stopped a vehicle in the 1400 Block of 1st ST. North and a search netted approximately 20 ounces of Crystal Methamphetamine with a street value of $150,000, as well as 17 grams of cocaine with a street value of $1,700. The 30-year old was also found to have brass knuckles on his person and faces addition charges of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose. Both males were lodged at the Brandon Correctional Center to appear in Court on Tuesday. Possession of Cocaine A routine traffic stop, for a vehicle traveling without a rear license plate, has lead to the arrest of a 21-year old Brandon male for Possession of cocaine and Breach of Undertaking X 2. During the traffic stop Police noticed two small baggies of cocaine on the floor on the vehicle. The driver was arrested and a search of the individual resulted in another small bag of cocaine and two cell phones. Police say the man had conditions not to possess any electronic devices and was required to notify police of any address changes. He had failed to notify Police of his address change after having recently moved. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});      

Recently engaged? Grand Valley Park is a beautiful outdoor wedding venue with dates still available for 2017 & 2018. The park is an excellent location for both ceremonies and receptions, is located only minutes from Brandon, just off the Trans-Canada Highway. This outdoor chapel, nestled in the midst of 50 acres of beautiful oak forest, will provide a breathtaking experience for you and your guests. Owners, Katherine Jeroski and Jordan Ross, took over the lease on the park last spring, and have focused in on using the park as a wedding rental venue for both ceremonies and receptions. Jordan tells bdnmb.ca “ We have received a great response as the park is a beautiful setting with nice amenities, and an easily accessible location only minutes from Brandon. We can accommodate small to large ceremonies, and receptions, at affordable rates.  Prices are based on guest numbers and needs, so people are encouraged to contact them for quotes, at the contact information below. They will also have a booth at the up-coming Westman Wedding Expo on February 5th.     In addition to having an on-site wedding chapel, Grand Valley Provincial Park has a nicely treed campground set in the beautiful Assiniboine River Valley. Their campground has 22 electrical sites and 20 un-serviced sites. The campground has washroom facilities with showers, and water is available at different spots throughout the park. There is also a large cook shack that can be rented for group functions. The cook shack seats up to 80 people and is equipped with a fire place, stove, fridges, freezer and a BBQ.  Depending on the weather, they usually like to get the campground facilities open by May long weekend. Grand Valley Park also has a long First Nation History, and some information signs, explaining some of the history, can be found on the self guided interpretive trail with a look out tower. The park covers nearly 50 acres of beautiful oak forest, which has many summer and winter recreation opportunities. “We are open to discuss all types of usage of the park facilities this summer, including camps, retreats, reunions or any other group functions. Please email or call for more information!” Their plans for the near future are to continue to clean up the property, and invest in some of the facilities that exist already. They hope to work with the Parks Department to develop some plans for existing and possibly new trails throughout the park. Katherine Jeroski & Jordan Ross Grand Valley Provincial Park 204 573-3798 grandvalleyprovincialpark@gmail.com www.facebook.com/grandvalleypark     Owners, Katherine Jeroski and Jordan Ross