Coldwell Banker Southwest Realty has opened a second Sarnia location in the former Scotiabank building downtown.
Co-owner and Manager Rob Longo said they spent eight months renovating the 4,400 square foot space, at 169 Christina Street, across from the Imperial Theatre.
"It was vacant for a period after the bank closed, then we purchased it from the bank and were in there renovating and now everything is finally complete and our doors are open," said Longo.
He said it's a great central location.
"It's a really neat looking building," said Longo. "We've got a lot of 20 foot ceilings, and an open concept, modern, office space. Much like when we created our building on Exmouth Street five years ago, we wanted something that was very modern and up to date in terms of its design and aesthetic and I think we were able to accomplish that with the building downtown as well."
Longo said both offices will operate simultaneously.
"It's a fully functioning secondary office. So, everything is here. It's fully staffed, there are agents working out of there every day and obviously our Exmouth Street location will continue as well," he said.
One thing in particular remains from the bank, that Longo said "isn't going anywhere."
"Everybody wants to know about the vault," he said. "The vault is still here. Obviously, we can't get rid of that. It's a tough one. It's 18 inches of concrete and rebar on every single side."
Longo said they've been very happy with the growth and support received from the community in the past five years.
"We have grown from four agents to 34 agents. So, obviously we saw a need for more office space and also we love to be involved in the community and seeing things developed throughout the community and especially for our downtown. We think that's so vitally important."
