Nipawin, Canada, 2015-9-29 — /EPR Retail News/ — Thanks to an outpouring of public support — and a $25,000 prize from Co-op Community Spaces — the town of Nipawin is well on its way to making its downtown an exciting and vibrant destination for visitors and locals alike.
The Nipawin Business Improvement District’s (BID) vision of a new town square won the top prize in the inaugural Co-op Community Spaces contest, which ran Sept. 14 to 25. In total, more than 9,100 votes were cast online for finalists in Nipawin, Sask., Winnipeg, Man., Stony Plain, Alta. and Nanaimo, B.C. Videos profiling the finalists have received more than 130,000 views online.
“While not the largest community in this contest, Nipawin certainly showed its heart,” said Vic Huard, Executive Vice-President of Strategy at Federated Co-operatives Limited. “The community should be proud of its effort and this project, which we know will have a lasting impact.”
The funds will help support the BID’s plans to revitalize the site of a former gas station by turning it into a town square for community events. Once finished, the new space could host farmers’ markets, live concerts and yoga classes while connecting to bike and walking trails.
The Nipawin town square project already received $90,000 this year through Community Spaces. It was one of 16 recreation, environmental conservation and urban agriculture projects in Western Canada that shared $1 million in funding from the Co-operative Retailing System, which is comprised of Federated Co-operatives Limited and 210 independent retail co-ops.
“We were thrilled with the response to Co-op Community Spaces, both from the inspiring organizations that are developing these projects and the communities that came out to support them,” said Huard. “We are excited to watch these projects grow at the local level. We’re already looking forward to seeing the enterprising proposals that will make up next year’s Community Spaces program.”
More information about Community Spaces and this year’s recipients is available on communityspaces.ca.
| Community Spaces 2015 final results |
| Nipawin | 3,465 |
| Nanaimo | 3,167 |
| Stony Plain | 2,310 |
| Winnipeg | 220 |
| Total | 9,162 |
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