THUNDER BAY — The Thunder Bay Indigenous Friendship Centre is set to add a second location in the city.
Throughout its strategic plan, centre officials have said they want to expand, and to make it happen, earlier this spring acquired the former Bank of Montreal building located at Red River Road and Court Street.
Board vice-president, Derek West, said they looked across the city to find a location that would suit their needs,
"It was uniquely positioned within a [downtown] core, which really shows high visibility in an area to provide those core services that we do for the community that we're serving."
Executive director Charlene Baglien said the interior is being assessed by an architect for its redesign and is expected to open sometime in the spring or summer of 2025.
"Our intent is to move all of the justice programs over to that site," Baglien said. "We are also going to move over our literacy and basic skills programs, and we are going to provide an area for our healing and wellness programs to come over there as well to support the justice programs."
Once the former bank has been upgraded to suit the group's needs, the Cumberland Street location will remain open for programming and administrative requirements.
She also noted that since the former bank's industry-grade safe can't be removed, it will likely be turned into storage for the facility.
There will be an expansion of some services, said the executive director and more staff would likely be needed, "We are going to need additional [staff], some maintenance, perhaps some reception staff. We are going to move over, think two managers over to that location as well, for supervision."
Upon completion of this new location, as well as the transitional housing space on Junot Avenue, this will give Thunder Bay Indigenous Friendship Centre three locations in the city.
"I think that all three of them are in a great location for accessing each other's supports because they all offer different, unique and collaborative opportunities for individuals," Baglien said.
