Subdivision in works for SFX

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This article was published 25/01/2016 (3723 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Greenskeeper Nursery sign still marks 780 Highway 26 in the RM of St. Francois Xavier, but owner Steve Dankewich has other plans for his 92 acres.

The property, located between the highway and Assiniboine River, now contains a building which houses Dankewich’s landscaping business, two small park areas and landscaped lots that are suitable for up to 16 new homes.

Dankewich started his landscaping business in 1968 and ran a garden centre on Roblin Boulevard in the RM of Headingley. He opened Greenskeeper Nursery in the RM of St. Francois Xavier in 1968. He said he’s been planning to open up a subdivision for years, but when river flooding in 2011 killed about 2,500 trees growing on his property, he decided to wind down his landscaping business.

“We now have to buy everything,” he said, referring to the trees he plants when working on a landscape design for a client.

He plans to retain the small parks on his property and develop a riverside pathway and possibly a communal garden area.

“We are hoping to get people (buying lots) who appreciated what I’ve done,” he said.
Dankewich said, a few years ago he had municipal and provincial government approval to develop 16 lots, but is now planning to work with a real estate agent to gradually pre-sell the lots.

In addition to working on his subdivision project, Dankewich spends time on his painting and photography during winter months. He’s constructed a lighting stage in the basement of his St. James home to allow him to manipulate lighting to create portraits that resemble famed Dutch artist Rembrandt’s painting style.

Dankewich also turns some of his photos into paintings. On a recent visit to his son, who lives in Honduras, Dankewich photographed hibiscus blossoms and transformed the photos into colourful paintings.

He has used the building on his SFX property as a studio to photograph collector car and a workshop in which he’s built custom furniture pieces.

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