New Thunder Bay Facebook group calls on council to demolish Victoriaville Centre
The structure, which was built in 1979, leaks and is losing money
A group of business and building owners in Thunder Bay, Ont., have started a Facebook page calling on city council to tear down Victoriaville Centre.
The city has been looking into options for the mall for more than two years now, noting that the structure, which was built in 1979, leaks and is losing money.
Staff told a public meeting in 2016 that it would cost taxpayers $8.6 million to repair and maintain the facility until 2026.
"People need an outlet to discuss what the fate of the mall is, and there was a group of us that were talking, and we said, "Well let's start a Facebook page,'" said Coun. Shelby Ch'ng, who owns a business near Victoriaville and serves as one of the administrators of the Facebook page.
The goal, she said, is to see if there's support for their proposal and to talk about what might replace the mall if a demolition goes ahead.
Tearing down the building is one of the possible solutions the city is exploring.
Council had been waiting on an environmental assessment on such a demolition, Ch'ng said, and that report is due to be presented at a council meeting in July. But Ch'ng said it's her understanding that the assessment found no barriers to demolishing the mall.
She personally would like to see it replaced with a plaza-like community space where people might assemble for marches or rallies, she added, but she looks forward to hearing other people's ideas.
Asked what she'd say to people who want to preserve Victoriaville as a community space for seniors and low-income people, she replied, "There are a lot of places - there are coffee shops in the area - there are places that people can get warm and have coffee and talk. Does it need to be funded on the taxpayer at half a million dollars a year? ... I think that there's other ways that we can find space and promote space than heating an empty space."