Western Medical Clinic set to open on Victoria

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This article was published 31/10/2015 (3844 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

After nearly half a century in downtown Brandon, the Western Medical Clinic is moving to a brand-new complex in the city’s west end.

The clinic will relocate from 144 Sixth St. this weekend, and is set to open the doors of its new location at 2425 Victoria Ave at 8 a.m. on Monday.

“I believe the new location will give us a new look and improve deficiencies, as well as an opportunity to expand our physician group,” said Sandra Levandoski, business manager with Western Medical Clinic Medical Corp.

All 11 of the clinic’s physicians are moving to the new location, along with two new doctors. Dr. Laurel Stevenson (nee Stitt) will begin on Nov. 2, while Dr. Kara Wettig will join the practice in early 2016.

“It’s extremely exciting … and we believe that this was the right choice for us as a group,” Levandoski said. “It was a very big decision. so obviously it was not taken lightly.”

The clinic is moving into the building’s 10,000-square-foot main floor at the corner of Victoria Avenue and 25th Street, a project of local developer Kirk Brugger. The 30,000-square-foot complex includes a Pharmasave pharmacy, which opened its doors last week, as well as a Subway restaurant.

“I feel very blessed that it’s finally come to fruition,” Brugger said. “It’s exciting to see all the hard work and effort come to this point in your life.”

Brugger is working with potential tenants for the second floor. Details are under wraps until a deal is official. The goal is to add more professional offices.

The development also includes a separate 22,000-square-foot financial institution at the corner of 23rd Street and Victoria Avenue. Sunrise Credit Union opened its doors there this past summer.

The buildings were designed to be esthetically pleasing for the area, using brick Tyndall stone, brick, stucco and “high-end” windows.

“Everything will have a new, fresh and professional look,” Levandoski said. “The most exciting thing of all is about having windows and having natural light. I think that’ll be the biggest thing that every doctor, every staff member and every patient notices.”

The project has been years in the making for Brugger, who ran into some roadblocks back in 2011. His attempt to rezone a parcel of the property into commercial land was originally rejected by the Brandon and Area Planning District board.

Later that year, Brandon City Council approved a proposal from Brugger to develop the land along Victoria Avenue for commercial use, on the condition that the remaining available land be used for affordable housing projects. Brugger has donated land toward a Brandon University housing project, and plans are in the works with Manitoba Housing.

“After all the headaches and hassles I went through to get this done, I think it’s a beautiful addition to the west end of Brandon. It’s a first-class building,” said Brugger, who gave special mention to the clinic organization.

“There’s no way I could have done this without Sandi and the managing doctors at Western Medical Clinic,” he said. “It’s not about me, it’s about them. It’s always about the tenants.”

The clinic opened at the Sixth Street location in the mid-1960s. That building will continue to house Super Thrifty Pharmacy, as well as a number of professional offices, including counselling services, GRMC Vision Centre, Yury Psychological Services and Brightside Dental Care.

“It is my understanding that the owners of the building, of course, are working very hard to find a suitable tenant for the area,” Levandoski said. The president of Brandon Professional Building could not be reached for comment.

The clinic will be expanding walk-in clinic hours at the new location. It will now be open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. — an extra hour.

“We’re very excited to have our patients come in,” Levandoski said. “There will be a few things left to do, finishing touches within the building. So if everyone can have some patience for us, until we get everything all organized and settled in there, it’s going to look great.”

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