Known for over 50 years as the Catelli Pasta Factory, the landmark Plaza 1 building, located at the geographical center of the City of Lethbridge at the intersection of Highway #3 and 13th Street, carries a strong history in the Lethbridge community.
The original building was was constructed (circa 1949) for Catelli to better service Western Canadian needs for high quality durum semolina pasta products. Catelli is one of the oldest trade names in Canadian food processing, having been founded in 1867, the year of Confederation.
By the late 1990s, the Lethbridge plant was producing 30 million pounds of pasta each year and shipped a wide range of products right across Canada. There was a staff of 65 working three shifts a day, seven days a week. In 1998, more than one-third of all pasta sold in Western Canada came from this plant in Lethbridge.
However, corporate changes within New World Pasta (operator of the Borden Pasta/Catelli Lethbridge facility) resulted in a restructuring plan and the closure of the Lethbridge plant in 2001.
The building was acquired by Hobgoblin Holdings Limited in 2004 with plans for redevelopment. Following extensive renovations, the 60,000 s.f. building was reopened to the public as a mixed use commercial plaza serving as home to household name retailers and professional offices in the heart of the city.