Report recommends demolition of Victoriaville Centre

A new report is recommending the demolition of Victoriaville Centre in Thunder Bay, Ont., and the re-opening of Victoria Avenue to traffic.

The report will be presented to Thunder Bay City Council on Monday. However, it's a first report, and council won't make any decisions on the mall's future at that meeting.

Council is scheduled to vote on the matter on Oct. 19.

In a media release issued Wednesday, the city states that a few options for the future of Victoriaville were developed.

They were:

• Keep the existing building and either re-purpose it, or revitalize the retail space inside
• Reconfigure the mall to allow for the reopening of Victoria Avenue while maintaining a portion of the existing structure on Syndicate Avenue, south of Victoria
• Remove Victoriaville Centre altogether, while reopening Victoria Avenue to traffic, and making the stretch of Syndicate Avenue currently included in the building a public plaza

Jeff Palmer, project manager and community planner with consultant Urban Systems, said the project team was unanimous in recommending the building be torn down.

"It was intended to revitalize downtown Fort William as a retail destination," Palmer told CBC News.

"That never really happened, even from day one."

"With the nature of the changing retail environment, and how downtowns function within their communities, it just didn't seem to make sense going forward that retail was going to be an anchor," he said. "It hasn't been successful in most other communities."

Further, Palmer said if Victoriaville was to remain open, it would require some significant upgrades.

"Does it make sense to reinvest money in the existing structure, or does it make sense to look at alternative uses?" he said.

"We know, from looking at other communities, that when people can get around easily within a downtown, especially by foot … and on bicycle, as opposed to driving around from destination to destination, we know that is healthy for the success of a downtown community."

In the release, Joel DePeuter, the city's manager of realty services, said Victoriaville has been running a deficit since 1980.

DePeuter told CBC News the buildings that house the storefronts on either side of the Victoria Avenue section of the mall are privately-owned; only the tenants of the Victoriaville food court, and those who occupy the retail areas in the centre of the Victoria Avenue stretch generate revenue for the city.

The mall is currently about 75 per cent full, but even if it was 100 per cent occupied, DePeuter said any revenue generated wouldn't cover operating costs.

Revitalizing the mall so it could continue to be used as retail space would cost the city about $34 million.

"It would largely be the construction of additional tenant spaces, and second-floor tenant space," he said.

Removing the structure and reconstructing the street and public plazas, however, would cost the city about $10.8 million, according to the consultant's report, DePeuter said.

If council selects the demolition option on Oct. 19, DePeuter said work would start on refining the cost estimate, and design work.

"Projects like this typically take about a year for design and planning, and construction would take about that long as well," he said. "Construction would not be occurring in 2021."

"If council selects the demolition option, and wants to proceed quickly, budgeting for 2022 might be the goal."