Northern Vision has purchased the old Canadian Tire store, and plans to have new retailers in there by next spring, says the company's chief executive officer.

Rich Thompson said this morning Northern Vision negotiated the purchase in late August and early September, with the deal officially to close in December.

Northern Vision, Thompson said, recognizes the vacant building needs work.

"So we will certainly be renovating and modernizing and bring it up to standard,” he told the Star. "It's a great location.”

The purchase is a good fit for the company's portfolio, as it already owns several commercial properties in the vicinity, he said.

Thompson said Northern Vision, for instance, owns the Yukon Centre Mall where the territorial liquor store is located, the Easy Home building across the street, as well as the Domino's Pizza building next door to Easy Home.

"We are already talking to people,” he said of the recruitment process to find interested retailers. "We have a lot of plans right now.”

Thompson said the purchase does carry a handful of stipulations, such as prohibiting a sporting goods retailer who would compete with Canadian Tire, and grocery store, as the Loblaws chain has an affiliation with the property.

How many retailers Northern Vision expects to attract at this point is pretty much a guess, the CEO said.

"It might be as small as one if they want to take the whole space, but it's more likely it will be three or four,” said Thompson.

"There is 54,000 square feet, so there is a lot of space.”

Northern Vision also owns the Gold Rush Inn, the High Country Inn, and is the developer behind the new Titanium Way industrial subdivision in the Marwell area.

The building along Ogilvie Street across from the Qwanlin Mall opened around 1980 as the new Hudson Bay location, and was sold to the Canadian Tire chain in 1992.

The amount of "consideration” identified on the land title indicates Canadian Tire purchased the property at the time for approximately $3.5 million, and still holds the title.

Thompson said Northern Vision is not disclosing how much it is paying for the structure.

Canadian Tire moved from the location into its new, much larger store at Chilkoot Way in the spring of 2007.

The land title indicates Loblaws still holds a caveat on the property, dating back to December 1978.

Others caveats going back to 1978, which were registered by KD Properties Ltd., Isaacs Pharmacy Ltd. and Kelly Douglas and Company Ltd., were all discharged on July 3.