Richardson International is building a new $30-million facility near its main office in downtown Winnipeg.

The Richardson Innovation Centre will house Richardson's food development team, product development suites, analytical laboratory, and a culinary test and demonstration kitchen.

Senior vice-president of technology Chuck Cohen said there will be a lot of important functions going on at the centre.

"We have food scientists, food technicians, working in all kinds of places across our network. In many cases, right in the production facilities that we have across Canada, the US, and the UK. Having this facility is going to let us bring those people together, we're going to be able to equip them in a modern, single space with all new equipment, and as we move into new products, new businesses, new product lines, this building has a lot of room for expansion," said Cohen at a press conference today announcing the new facility.

Cohen says some people will be moved to the new building, but nothing is being closed as a result of consolidating.

The building is being constructed at the corner of Westbrook Street and Lombard Avenue. It will be a four-storey building, with the third and fourth office floors to appear as a glass box perched atop a tyndall stone base.

Brent Bellamy is the creative director of Number Ten Architectural Group, which designed the building. He says the site represents a new opportunity for growth in downtown Winnipeg.

"It's a bit of a quirk, but even though we're this close to Portage and Main, there has never been a real building on that site," says Bellamy.

The target completion date for the building is spring 2020.