New building under way at Dixon Block site

Downtown Sackville will soon be home to 3,600 square feet of new commercial space and 12 more student housing units.
A four-storey building is under construction on the corner of Main and York Streets and will fill the empty lot that has remained in the centre of town since the historic Dixon Block was destroyed by fire more than two years ago.
Local property owner John Lafford purchased the downtown lot early last year and said he and his brother Joe have been working with designers since that time to come up with a first-class concept for the site.
"We've worked with an architect and the engineers quite a bit," he said last week. "The building will be quite nice. We've put a lot of time into the architecture of the building."
The new building, at approximately 40 feet high, will feature business space on its main floor (the number of units have yet to be determined) and four apartments on each of the three upper levels - which will include six two-bedroom, three three-bedroom, and three four-bedroom units.
The exterior faÇade will be a combination of stone and brick along the first 12 feet, while the upper part of the building will be finished in stucco.
"I think the final product will be quite nice," said Lafford.
And town officials would tend to agree.
Sackville's chief administrative officer Barry Carroll said the blueprints for the new building were recently reviewed by members of the local heritage review board, who readily gave their thumbs up.
"They were in agreement with the look and design of the building," Carroll said.
Although approval for the project was not required by town staff or council, he said a clause was added last year to Sackville's zoning bylaw to ensure that the design of any reconstructed buildings would be architecturally compatible with other downtown structures.
Coun. Merrill Fullerton said he's also pleased with the proposed design of the new building.
"The building owner seems to have gone out of its way on this project," he said.
Fullerton also noted that it's nice to see local investors are bringing in much-needed infrastructure and new real estate to the downtown.
Lafford said the project is a major undertaking, collaborating with architects, engineers, planning commissioners, electricians and builders. And he credited his brother for bringing it all together.
"Joe has done a lot. I'm the investor but he has been the guy who has done all the work."
Lafford said he is hopeful the new building will benefit the community by bringing more businesses to town.
"Although it is an investment for myself, it will bring commerce to the downtown area."