Sudbury city council to purchase downtown buildings for $12M, paving way for future event centre

The owner of the Sudbury Wolves welcomes a nearly unanimous decision from Sudbury city council Tuesday night to purchase several downtown properties for $12 million, to make way for a possible event centre and arena.

"I was in complete shock," said Wolves and Sudbury Five owner Dario Zulich at the surprise decision.

"I said to myself last night, 'I will never play cards with the mayor or this council because they kept that very quiet.' 

"But I'm very ecstatic. You know, that's a positive sign moving forward that something's going to happen."

Zulich said the city "desperately needs" a new arena. While he was a major proponent for an arena on the Kingsway, he's now in "full support" of building one downtown instead.

Mayor Paul Lefebvre called the move to purchase the properties an "historic investment in our downtown" and said it will pave the way for future development opportunities; namely a downtown event centre.

The properties the city is buying include:

• The Golden Grain Bakery
• The Dog House Sports Bar
• The Old Rock Coffee building
• The Advanced Detailers building
• The Alexandria's Restaurant and Lounge building
• A rooming house on Shaughnessy Street

WATCH | Sudbury mayor and business owners talk about council's decision

City of Greater Sudbury to buy downtown properties

1 year ago

Duration 1:34

Greater Sudbury will be purchasing several properties in the downtown core to make way for an event centre and arena. Mayor Paul Lefebvre explains this decision, followed by reactions from Sudbury Wolves owner Dario Zulich and Old Rock Coffee co-owner Luc Roy.

The buildings are slated for demolition next year to make room for future developments.

"I believe that the time is right for us to invest in ourselves, in our future, in our children," Lefebvre said.

"Because if we don't make this investment ourselves as councillors and a city council, nobody else will. It shows that we are serious about investing in our city, sending this message to the private sector of where we are going next with the vital revitalization of our downtown."

While city council hasn't yet made a decision to build a new arena downtown, or refurbish the existing Sudbury Community Arena, Lefebvre later said in an interview that purchasing the adjacent properties is an important step.

"The purchase of all those properties and the revitalization of all of that sector is key to bringing this project forward," he said.

Fair deal for businesses

David Andler, the owner of the Golden Grain Bakery, said he had "a lot of mixed feelings" about the city's plans to purchase, and later demolish, the building.

Andler's family has owned the bakery for 92 years, and it has been at its current location on Brady Street since 1936.

But he said the city offered him a fair price for the building, and he supports plans to build an event centre in the city's downtown.

"I think it'll be very instrumental in helping improve the downtown core and bringing people back,"  said.

While he has been in talks with the city for several months, Andler said he only learned about the city's decision to buy the property on Tuesday night, and was still processing what the future of his business will look like.

Luc Roy, co-owner of Old Rock Coffee, said he also got a fair deal for his building.

Roy said he's been in discussions with the city since late May about the property, and like Andler, only learned about the final plans to buy it on Tuesday night.

With that certainty he said they can figure out next steps for the business. But Roy said a lot of their sales have already moved online and they also make money with licensing. 

Benefit to downtown

Jeff MacIntyre, co-chair of the Downtown Sudbury Business Improvement Area, welcomed council's decision to purchase the properties to move ahead with development that will benefit the downtown.

"These types of investments tell people that this is a great place to invest and the taxes that we'll be able to generate will benefit the entire community," he said.

While past debates around a future arena's location have been divisive, MacIntyre said he believes the city is starting to come back together.

"The owner of the Wolves is very excited to be part of the downtown community," he said.

"We're working together with him on several projects to help promote the downtown and help make things exciting down here."