Sharon and Michael Molnar with one of their son, Joey, inside the old Lavington glass plant.
(CHARLOTTE HELSTON / iNFOnews.ca)
October 05, 2016 - 4:58 PM
LAVINGTON - They won’t be creating glass, but the new owners of the long-shuttered Lavington glass plant promise they will be creating jobs.
After pursuing a vision for the plant for five years, Michael and Sharon Molnar of Restoration Lands Inc. now hold the keys to the 91-acre property on Hill Drive in Lavington. The plant shut down in 2008, putting roughly 300 people out of work.
“When things like that happen, we believe that as leaders in the marketplace, that we need to find solutions. The politicians can’t do it all, and on that note, it personally bothered me at the time of the closing and at the sheer loss; I began to think of ways to take responsibility,” Michael Molnar said at a news conference today, Oct. 5.
The Molnars will be manufacturing environmentally friendly building products at the plant.
“Our goal is to work towards creating 150 to 200 new jobs, plus ancillary jobs from this company alone,” Molnar said, adding there will be work for skilled trades people, supervisors and labourers.
They will also be developing the Okanagan Eco Park, a commercial and industrial park made up of complimentary businesses.
“We expect by the time the park is completed we will have somewhere around twenty-plus quality companies employing local residents and supporting the tax base,” Molnar said.
The Molnars, who have lived in Vernon since 1993, will need to do some upgrades on the building before it is operational, but hope to launch in mid-2017.
“It is important for us to also involve local residents, many of whom have family and themselves that will benefit from the economic activity that will occur here, and I will be planning some town hall-style open houses to show further details of our plans in the future,” Molnar said.
The sale price has not been disclosed, although it was listed for $5 million and Molnar said it was a “fair deal for everyone involved.”
The former Lavington glass plant is situated on roughly 91 acres.
Image Credit: Restoration Lands Inc.
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