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Social Services offices moving to the mall

Ministry of Social Services will be relocating from Athabasca Street West location to an office in the northern end of the Town'n'Country Mall.
2019-04-06 Social Services MG
The local offices of the Ministry of Social Services will relocate to the former Zellers location in the Town‘n’Country Mall. (Matthew Gourlie photograph)

The Town‘n’Country Mall’s newest tenants will be looking to offer services, not sell them.

In a departure from the retail stores that have traditionally occupied the mall space, the offices of the province’s Ministry of Social Services will be relocating into a portion of the former location of Zellers in the north end of the mall.

“The Town‘n’Country Mall site was selected through a Request for Proposal process initiated by the Ministry of Central Services. This leased space will allow us to consolidate all Ministry of Social Services staff in the Moose Jaw area into one office. No specific date has yet been identified for the move, but we anticipate it will be later this year,” said the Ministry of Social Services in a statement.

Social Services has been located at 36 Athabasca St. W. since their 14,663 sq. ft. office building was completed in 1991. The building is currently listed as being for sale with an asking price of $2,950,000.

Staff who are part of the Valley View Centre transition will also be housed at the mall location.

“The Ministry of Social Services currently has staff working out of four different locations in Moose Jaw – Valley View Centre, the office building on Athabasca Street West and two ministry-operated, residential-based programs in the community,” the Ministry of Social Services said in a statement.

“As the community is aware, in 2012 we announced the planned closure of Valley View Centre. Over the last number of years, we have been transitioning Valley View residents to inclusive living options in the communities of their choice. As of last week, we have 24 residents at Valley View Centre who are awaiting the completion of their new homes in various communities across the province. Since the 2012 announcement, we have been working with staff as the total number of positions assigned to the centre have been reducing to reflect the needs of fewer residents. The closure of Valley View Centre is scheduled to be completed by December of this year.

“With this planned closure, we need to ensure we have space for the programs and staff that currently provide outreach and prevention services, crisis support, and therapy and assessment out of Valley View Centre as these services will be continuing after the closure. The new office space in the Town‘n’Country Mall will allow us to co-locate these continuing services from Valley View Centre with the staff providing programs and services currently supported at the Athabasca Street West location.  The two ministry-operated, residential-based programs and staff complement will be remaining at their current locations, and will not be impacted by the move.”

The Town‘n’Country Mall currently has 29 spaces available for lease, including five “development opportunities” that range from 10,000 to 30,000 sq. ft. in size.

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