Local businesses on the move in Sackville's downtown district

Several months after a Sackville marketing firm was forced to close its doors due to the sagging economy, a local entrepreneur has opened the building back up again, providing businesses with premium office space in a downtown location.

Sackville landlord Gordon Beal, who owns several other residential and commercial buildings in the Sackville area, recently purchased the former SGCI Communications building - a strikingly beautiful, three-storey structure across from Mount Allison University's swan pond.

"It's a real nice building. I like it," he said.

SGCI, an advertising company based in Sackville for more than 15 years, shut down operations this past fall after several years of economic turmoil, leaving more than a dozen people in the community out of work.

Beal said he has already secured four businesses that have re-located to the new office building in the past month - including a software development firm, a chiropractic and wellness centre, a hairdresser shop, and a yoga studio. He is, of course, looking for more opportunities to expand that list.

"I'm just going to take my time . . . I'll gradually work at it," he said.

Beal said he jumped at the chance to buy the building last November when it came up for auction.

He said he fell in love with the place the instant he stepped foot inside.

"My goodness, it's lovely," he said, noting there's plenty of spacious rooms with hardwood floors throughout, providing a very professional-level office building.

Beal said he plans to only make slight interior renovations, including adding a second kitchen on the main floor as well as a secondary full bathroom with a shower.

Two of the businesses that have relocated to the new digs have moved from the former Stedman's building in the downtown core, a building that Beal recently decided to sell.

The building - which currently houses a graphic artist studio, a real estate agency, a computer retailer, a liquidation store, a laundromat, a photography studio and a hairdressing business - has been sold to Jean Coutu, the pharmacy located next door.

Beal said Jean Coutu has plans to renovate the interior of the building and move into the space later this spring, providing an expanded location for the store.

"I think that'll make a lovely store," he said.