Video: An Old Building In Winona Is Getting New Life

WINONA, Miss. (WCBI) –  An old building in Winona is getting new life.

For a over a decade, a building previously used for automotive parts has been vacant, but not for much longer.

A local insurance agent wanting to bring more activities to Winona, is the new owner of the old ECS building, that will soon be known as Wonder World.

“I just bought a vacant building that was owned by the county, to turn it into something that the community could use as a, to bring revenue into the county, but as a fun place that families can come to,” says Aaron Dees.

The building is getting a total makeover, and will have a skating rink and arcade, with an investment of at least $850,000 dollars.

“He’s doing something with an old building, that was sitting out there that’s going to contribute to the whole area. The landscape of the area, and what his plans are for the building will give a whole new presentation to that area, which is actually the entrance into our Industrial Park,” says Montgomery County Economic Development Partnership Director, Sue Stidham.

The new center will not only bring fun, but it will also bring a handful of jobs to the area.

“There’s not a lot of jobs in our area, not for young people, and so I decided well you know, this will give in the beginning, twenty to twenty-five jobs as we expand hopefully outdoor, go carts, and things of that nature. There will be more jobs, so we’ll wait for the revenue and go from there,” says Dees.

The idea has been in the works for several years, and was finalized last week.

“It’s just a lot of hoops to jump through to make something like this work, and we’re thankful for Aaron’s presence, I mean persistence. He could’ve gone anywhere with this venture, and we’re just excited to have it in our area and surrounding counties,” says Montgomery County Economic Development Partnership volunteer, Mike Sullivan.

Although Wonder World isn’t expected to open until August of 2017, it’s already bringing anticipation to the area.

“It’s just a wonderful thing. What’s good is we just got a grant to redo the road going out there to the Industrial Park, and that’s going to play a big part, and I know it will help that business too,” says Montgomery County Board of Supervisors President, Keith McGee.