Altona MCC is now mortgage free. A mortgage-tearing ceremony happened Thursday to mark the event.

The local thrift shop was expanded in 2016 at a cost of about $1 million.

"At the last annual meeting (in January 2018) we had a projection that in another year the mortgage would be paid off," said Corny Fehr, Chair of the Altona MCC Board of Directors.

In fact, the Board exceeded that expectation and paid off the mortgage this past October, two months ahead of schedule.

Fehr explained that planning for the expansion had begun five years prior to construction, and says the Board used that time to save up about $475,000 in a reserve account which helped slash the size of the overall mortgage needed to pay for the project.

The Board also sent a smaller portion of the store's profits to MCC Manitoba in order to dedicate more money to pay off the debt.

The 40'x120' addition was built on the north side of the facility to provide a bigger space to display furniture and store seasonal items. The added room also expanded the workspace at the back of the store in order to help alleviate some crowded work conditions.

"It was very crowded for the volunteers to work there," said Fehr.

It had been about ten years since the Altona thrift shop underwent any kind of expansion.