Muskeg Lake Cree Nation is moving ahead with plans to construct a $3.5 million office building on urban reserve land in Saskatoon.

Construction of the 16,000 square foot building will be completed sometime next spring and it will house a fitness and physio centre.

Muskeg Lake Cree Nation Chief Cliff Tawpisin Jr. says this latest project is part of an ongoing business development vision the band has.

“We’ve always been leaders across Canada, having the first commercial urban reserve, and certainly the leadership that we’ve had in the past – having that vision – to ensure that we have opportunity for our people,” he says.

Tawpisin adds capitalizing on business development opportunities enables Muskeg Lake to fund its core services.

“The bottom line is we never receive enough funding for housing, for education, for health – so certainly our own source revenues offset some of the services we provide to our community.”

The building will be constructed by Saskatoon-based VCM Construction and located on 15 acres of urban reserve land off Packham Avenue.

The sod turning ceremony was held on Thursday morning.