BRANDON — Brandon Fresh Farms hopes to convert the historic downtown McKenzie Seeds building into studio apartments, instead of the $30-million vertical farm it first proposed, which didn’t attract investors.
“This project will have a better chance of success in attracting investment and contributing to downtown revitalization. We believe there’s an opportunity to convert the whole property into live-work studios for artists, entrepreneurs and small business owners,” company president Adam Morand told the Brandon Sun.
The decision to switch gears was made because it was difficult to secure investment capital for the farming project, which was announced last year.
Tim Smith / The Brandon Sun
Plans to turn the McKenzie Seeds building in downtown Brandon into a vertical garden have fallen through.
The president said the new plan is a better fit for the sire — a seven-storey, concrete-and-brick structure that was designed in the Chicago School style and opened in 1910.
“The building has high ceilings and that makes it ideal for studio spaces and it will not be luxury condos, but affordable studios with a smaller footprint to keep costs competitive. There are a lot of people in Vancouver and Toronto who would gladly move to Brandon for a better lifestyle at a lower cost.”
Morand said he is in negotiations with groups that have experience with similar developments and he’s optimistic the live-work studio concept will attract financial backing.
“We’re getting huge support for the live-work studios from several groups. They don’t want to support the farm, but they’re excited about this,” he said.
The cost hasn’t been finalized.
Downtown BIZ executive director Emmy Sanderson said she is optimistic the retooled project will transform the area.
“If they go ahead with that project and turn that building into apartments, I think it will have a huge positive effect on our downtown. It would open more housing opportunities, which is crucial given the housing shortages we’re experiencing,” she said.
Morand said the company had to abandon the original plan after several promising investment leads failed, with the latest potential deal collapsing just last week.
“We worked on numerous deals with various companies to get the vertical farm up and running. We got close at least five times, with potential investors from the U.S., Europe and Canada showing interest,” Morand said.
“However, the federal tax rule changes earlier this year led to the swift departure of American investment, leaving (the company) without the necessary financial backing.”
Morand added that the situation took another unexpected turn when one of the final interested parties, who had been involved in lengthy due diligence, ultimately declined to invest in Brandon.
“They wanted to invest in the technology, not in the farm or the community. It was a shock because all our discussions had been centred on Brandon,” he said.
Manitoba’s tax credit program, he said, is considered among the best in the country, but even with a $10-million tax credit approved for the project, BFF could not attract any serious interest.
“We’ve scoured the world. We’ve talked to European, American and Canadian investors. There’s lots of support for doing it elsewhere, but not in Brandon,” he said.
BFF local representative Connor Morand said the company is hopeful that its new vision will bring a fresh wave of entrepreneurship to the city’s downtown.
“We’ve put a lot of time, money and energy into moving this forward. The live-work studio concept seems to have strong backing and fits well with what Brandon needs right now,” he told the Sun.
— Brandon Sun