The 5,000-square-foot outlet is now going into the abandoned building that once housed the local Green and Ross franchise, near the intersection of Highways 3 and 24, and right next to where it was supposed to be built.

Renovations are expected to start in September and be completed by the end of the year, said Lee Greenwood of Canadian Commercial Development, the company that has developed a retail hub at the corner that includes a Boston Pizza and a Shoppers Drug Mart.

"We're excited. Bulk Barn is chomping at the bit," Greenwood said after council voted last night to approve the new site.

Bulk Barn, he added, sees the operation as a "regional store" that will attract customers from across the county.

Originally, the business was to be located on the former gas station land along with a Coffee Culture restaurant. But problems with bringing the site up to environmental standards delayed the move and the company chose to go into the Green and Ross building instead after it became available.

Work on the gas station site, which is still owned by Petrocan, is continuing and "it's very close" to being ready for development, Greenwood said.

He said his company still plans to put a Coffee Culture there along with "three or four" smaller stores such as a fast-food outlet or a hair salon.

Approval from town hall didn't come easy. Planning staff had recommended council turn the proposal down, saying it didn't conform with the county's official plan to keep downtowns and "main streets" vibrant.

Councillors, however, welcomed the chance to give the development a second life.

"We have a vacant building now in a commercial block," said Simcoe Coun. Charlie Luke. "Entrances and parking are in place. Let's get a tenant in."

Simcoe's other representative on council, Peter Black, objected and voted against the proposal.

"There are areas in downtown where a commercial development could occur," said Black, who then rhymed off half a dozen potential sites in the core that now sit empty.

County planner Mary Elder told the meeting that a recent survey of downtown showed the core has an 11% vacancy rate.

"Ten per cent is the maximum vacancy rate that you want to have to be seen to be healthy," Elder said. "We are at a level that is a concern."

In the past 10 years, "there has been a sizeable increase in (commercial) square footage on the Queensway and out of downtown," acknowledged Chris Baird, Norfolk's general manager of planning and economic development.

The county, he added, is planning to prepare a "comprehensive commercial review" of Simcoe that will detail the town's empty retail spaces.