Home page

Text size

E-mail this page

IQALUIT
The grand opening of the fourth phase of Inuksugait Plaza in Iqaluit later this month will be a milestone for its owners and likely a celebration for its tenants.

Qikiqtaaluk Corporation President Harry Flaherty, left, talks with Evie Amagoalik, an interpreter and translator with the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board in the new Inuksugait Plaze Phase IV building in Iqaluit on June 6. - Jeanne Gagnon/NNSL photo

Qikiqtaaluk Properties Inc. (QP), a subsidiary of the Qikiqtaaluk Corporation (QC), owns the four-storey, 3,205 square-metre office building in the territorial capital. The building, worth $9 million, according to QC president Harry Flaherty, will bring QP's assets to over $40 million. Flaherty called the grand opening on June 21 a "major milestone."

The headquarters and regional offices of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency are on the first and second floors while the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board (NWMB) occupies the third. The fourth floor is still vacant.

"Overall, we're 70 per cent occupancy, which is excellent for a new building," said Flaherty. "We do get a lot of offers but we're holding off just to see if we could get the appropriate tenant in the building with the CanNor and the NWMB. Whoever is going to lease the fourth floor, we want them to lease the whole floor, instead of section by section."

The building, constructed of steel, has air conditioning and a stand-by generator in case of a power outage. Air conditioning improves air circulation, said Flaherty.

"When the temperature reaches 20 C, these offices, with no air conditioning, it can get pretty hot," he said. "We felt it was an appropriate time to install air conditioning, which hasn't been used at all in Iqaluit. Also, it's more comfort for our clients."

Jim Noble, executive director of the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board, said they've gained about 93 square metres moving into the new office from their previous location at Four Corners. They moved in just after the Easter weekend.

"It's very nice to be in a new building and I've got a very beautiful view of the bay," he said.

Kathleen McLeod, a spokeswoman with CanNor, said they moved into their new location on June 4.

"We are excited about the move," she said, calling it an "important milestone" for the agency.

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.