PUGWASH - For several years Lee Weir was looking for a way to consolidate his businesses so he could grow them together under one roof.
Several years of exploring locations around northern Cumberland County has led the Tidnish man to buying the former Seagull Pewter manufacturing facility just outside Pugwash.
“It was a way to bring everything together,” Nancy Burgess-Graham of Cross Roads Cycle Sales said. “We were looking for a building to buy to get everything under one roof and away from Lee’s home. We needed something big enough to get everything together.”
Weir looked around Amherst for a building that would meet his needs but couldn’t seem to find one. After searching for a couple of years, he saw the former Seagull building that has been vacant for several years. He knew it needed work and a lot of restoration, but he looked at it as an opportunity to put his footprint on the building and saved it from demolition.
“He’s been working on it for about 10 months. It’s nice to see it come together,” Burgess-Graham said. “It was a lot of work. There was some damage to the building and there had been a fire. Everything had to be up to code.”
The 65,000 square foot building has been retrofitted and the business has opened at its new location - although due to COVID-19 restrictions it’s unknown when there’ll be an open house.
The front of the building includes the showroom where powersport vehicles - including motorcycles, ATVs, watercraft, and snowmobiles - are sold and serviced with online and in-person parts sales.
It takes up about 20,000 square feet and will feature a number of classic cars, hot rods and antiques on display and for sale.
Cross Roads also has a construction division that builds and sells build-to-order sheds for Old Hickory Buildings of Canada - a multinational firm operating throughout North America.
The shed manufacturing division occupies approximately 25,000 square feet at the back of the building.
It was the first division to be set up in the building in November.
Burgess-Graham said the plan is to employ between 30 and 40 people. The business is looking for people in the sales and service side as well as building framers/roofers, an industrial painter and powersport and vehicle technicians.
Resumes can be sent to [email protected].
Other services that will be available include indoor vehicle storage and motor vehicle inspections for motorcycles.
One of the things Cross Roads is excited about is the close proximity to existing recreational multi-use trail and exploring opportunities to integrate the trail use with Cross Roads activities and services.
Weir is appreciative of the level of interest and support he has received from the Pugwash community during this huge undertaking. He would like to thank the many people who have worked to help renovate the building and especially recognizes their efforts undertaken during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He is very proud of his new-to-him facility and very much looks forward to operating his businesses in Pugwash.
Weir and his staff plan to hold a major celebratory event when the COVID-19 situation allows. In the meantime, when visiting Cross Roads, people will be asked to wear a mask, sanitize their hands and respect the six feet distancing guidelines that are currently in effect in Nova Scotia.
