New location a good fit for physio

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This article was published 22/10/2018 (2538 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For Kelly Berzuk, the owner of Nova Physiotherapy, the change is bittersweet.

After more than 25 years in the Medical Arts Building, located downtown on the 200 block of Kennedy Street, Nova Physio is on the move. The clinic will open a 4,500-square-foot modern facility, which will have 22 treatment rooms, at 575 St. Mary’s Rd. next month.

Berzuk said the new space will be a game changer.

“It’s always tough to leave. The Medical Arts Building has such great memories for us and we’ve been here for such a long time. But, the truth is, this is going to be a good change,” Berzuk said.

The future of the Medical Arts Building is uncertain. The former provincial NDP government bought the building with the intention of developing it into a new Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries corporate headquarters.

The Progressive Conservatives scrapped that plan when the party formed the government in 2016. The 16-floor tower was sold to Timbercreek Asset Management of Toronto.

When the sale was announced in April 2017, MLL refused to identify the buyer. At that time, Berzuk said she and her staff really began to wonder if Nova Physio would need to relocate.

Later, when Timbercreek was announced as the new property owner and the firm revealed it planned to convert the tower into an apartment complex, Berzuk knew moving was in the cards.

Nova Physio found its new space in January and began renovations on July 1. The entire first floor had to be gutted. While she wasn’t comfortable revealing how much money had been invested in the new space, Berzuk said “it’s surprising how expensive construction is.”

The timeline for moving in and opening the clinic is tight; renovations are expected to wrap up Oct. 31 and opening day is slated for Nov. 5.

The facility is more than 2,000 square feet larger than the old space, meaning the clinic can offer more services. Current plans include adding new education and exercise classes.

“We’re very excited to be able to offer all the same services… but we’re also really excited to be able to expand what we do for patients,” Berzuk said.

When the company began looking at where to move, finding a place that met two specific criteria was important: a central location and space for parking.

“We were really lucky to be successful in both points. Staying relatively central was key. We wanted people to be able to access from all areas of the city,” Berzuk said. “We also wanted to be able to offer free parking, because that’s been increasingly difficult for our patients downtown over the years. Parking was getting tougher and tougher, and parking in parkades can get expensive.”

Berzuk said having more than 20 free parking spaces for patients at the new location is one amenity that has staff “most giddy.”

ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @rk_thorpe