Casey Van Maarion gestures toward the historic Ogilvie Flour Mill, which his company 12Twenty2 Ltd purchased in August last year. The group has organized a free summer festival for Aug. 16 to celebrate the anniversary of the buy and the future of the space to come.--News Photo Anna Smith
asmith@medicinehatnews.com
The historic Ogilvie Flour Mill is getting a brand new lease on life, and one of the first steps is coming in the form of a new free summer festival.
Casey Van Maarion, owner of the Mill and 12Twenty2 Ltd, bought the property roughly a year ago, and sees a lot of potential in the space and accompanying acres of land. He explained that he hopes to see a new central hub in the space, with both residential and commercial spaces.
“This front building is this really nice 100-year-old wood building, and we’re looking at converting this into apartments,” said Van Maarion. He continued on to say he hopes to lease the brick building for commercial space, and ideally, see restaurants along the bottom floor, where the trains once ran, using that corridor as patio space.
This, alongside applying for the back land to be developed for high density mixed use, he plans to breathe modern life into the historical building, and create a new space for the community to gather, work and play within the city.
He sees a lot of potential in the old building, and is looking forward to seeing what can find a home there.
The first look at the bones of this project for the average resident, of course, is the upcoming Grain to Glory Festival, on Aug. 16.
The festival itself will feature live music starting at 11a.m, local vendors, food trucks and festival games, including a $10,000 Hole In One competition.
“I feel like people gotta get out and do more, connect more,” said Van Maarion. “It’s free to the public, so anybody can come. At about 9 p.m., we shift more to adults only, and the beer gardens are open until 2 a.m.”
Free entertainment includes music by the Presley Battle Band, Phoenix, Right Click, Rhinestone and Jason Crooks, as well as comedy performances by Stephanie Foley, Brandi Thomas and Troy Patterson.
The whole event has a focus on local connections, says Van Maarion; local vendors through the Mom Market and food trucks, local talent and getting to spend time with other local people.
12Twenty2 will also have a table with information on the planned development, allowing people a glimpse into the future of the site and what is to come for the Ogilvie Flour Mill.
“We’re hoping that we’ll do this every year, on that Saturday. It’s kind of our anniversary of the purchase of this place,” said Van Maarion. “Hopefully everyone comes down and enjoys themselves, brings the family. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
