Piviniit Society announces new location for Iqaluit thrift store

Iqaluit’s Piviniit Society has a new location for its thrift store after having to leave its previous location earlier this month.

The new store will be located at Building 778 on Fred Coman Drive, in Lower Base, said Kira Bychok, the society’s chairperson. The building was previously the men’s shelter in the city, she said.

She said Piviniit’s new landlord, True North Properties Group, was planning to demolish the building and still intends to do so in two to three years’ time.

“But this is a really, really good solution for us in the medium term,” said Bychok, adding that Piviniit is still looking for a longer-term home.

She said she hopes the thrift store will be open in two to three weeks as renovations are ongoing at the new location.

Piviniit wants to reformat the interior of the building. The ceilings are being replaced, walls are being taken down to make the building more open concept. Mould inspections were completed before Piviniit expressed interest in the building.

The first two-thirds of the new building are being renovated while Piviniit’s storage is in the other third, Bychok said. Once that work is done, Piviniit will renovate the final third to rent out to other local organizations.

“The building really does suit our needs,” Bychok said.

With 2,500 square feet of space, the building will offer Piviniit more than twice as much room as the organization’s previous location, which was 1,000 square feet.

The process for moving from its previous location in Building 655 to the new one was smooth, said Bychok.

A post by the Piviniit Society on the organization’s Facebook page thanked numerous organizations and individuals who helped the thrift store in its relocation process.

Bychok said she wants to thank the community as a whole and all of Piviniit’s volunteers.

“It was very, very stressful but we have been overwhelmed with support,” said Bychok of the relocation.

In mid-July, Piviniit was served an eviction notice by its previous landlords, the Qajuqturvik Community Food Centre.

Rachel Blais, the executive director of Qajuqturvik, told Nunatsiaq News in July that the food centre needed more space after the pandemic increased demand for Qujuqturvik’s services.

The initial eviction date of Sept. 15 was later pushed to Oct. 16.

Correction

Mould inspections at Piviniit’s new location were done before the organization expressed interest in the building. An earlier version of this story said that a mould inspection is currently occurring.

Piviniit’s new location provides the organization with 2,500 square feet of space, while their previous location was 1,000 square feet. An earlier version of the story said that the new location was around 1,000 square feet and twice the size of their previous location.