The Renaissance socio-professional integration organization, well known in the greater Montreal region for its thrift stores, bookstores and collection centers for used clothing and goods, chooses Promenades King to establish itself outside the Montreal region for the first time. The store, warehouse, offices and training room will cover more than 30,000 square feet. They will be located in premises 2293, 2297, 2299 King Street West and work will begin in the spring of 2020. “Renaissance is known for bringing significant traffic to the commercial sites they choose. We believe that Promenades King will be no exception to this rule and that additional traffic will be beneficial for the shopping center, “said Sébastien Morin, vice-president of Immex Société Immobilière.
The choice to settle in Sherbrooke seemed natural for Renaissance. “Sherbrooke is an extraordinary springboard for the development of Renaissance’s mission,” says Éric St-Arnaud, CEO of Renaissance. “The economic dynamism of this city and its desire to become a model of eco-responsible development are essential assets for us”, he continues.
New locations
In order to accommodate Renaissance, the Orient boutique will move a few doors to 2245 King Street West, still at Promenades King. In addition, a rental proposal in the shopping center is currently being studied by Le Grenier boutique. Finally, the Salon de quilles de l’Estrie will close at the end of its season in April 2020 to allow the owner, Mario Vachon, to take a well-deserved retirement.
Who is Renaissance?
Launched in 1994 in Montreal, Renaissance is a non-profit organization whose mission is to facilitate the social and professional integration of people who find it difficult to integrate the job market, while arousing everyone’s commitment to pose actions to preserve the environment.
At Renaissance, used items are recovered, people are reintegrated and donations are reinvested in the community. This triple purpose gives full meaning to the action of the organization and makes Renaissance a model of sustainable development. “We are convinced that by giving the necessary tools to a person to re-enter the job market, we are changing their life and also the one of the community,” said Mr. St-Arnaud.
Always in a spirit of integration, this social economy company relies on great collaborations with the Sherbrooke organization Récupex. “It was important for us to collaborate with local organizations and the partnership with Récupex was quite natural,” he adds.
Partnership with Récupex
Renaissance has chosen to partner with Récupex, a non-profit organization established in the region for over 40 years. Récupex also uses the context of clothes, fabrics and accessories recovery to offer different work stations to its employees in integration. “The coming of Renaissance will open up possibilities for placements for our training workforce, especially after their career with our company,” said Danny Roy, deputy director of Récupex. “Working with Renaissance allows us to increase the share of local reuse generated by our joint activities and divert more material from landfills. These are huge steps to preserve the environment,” he said.