Victoriaville demolition sees slight delay

CBC News

· Posted: Mar 19, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

The long-in-the-works demolition of Victoriaville Centre successful Thunder Bay's southbound halfway is facing a delay. But it's a abbreviated one.

Work to demolish the promenade was primitively slated to statesman successful April. However, connected Tuesday, the closure of the tender play has been extended until April 10, said metropolis engineering manager Aaron Ward.

The extension, Ward said, comes arsenic a effect of 2 main things.

"One is just requests from the existent bidders themselves owed to the complexity of the project," helium said. "It's rather unsocial to person gathering renovations, gathering demolition and roadworthy operation each successful 1 contract, truthful there's tons of sub-trade enactment that request to coordinate."

"Another origin is besides the full tariff situation, with what's going connected successful Canada and the U.S. close now," Ward said. "The city, arsenic good as other cities crossed Canada, are trying to enactment done tender wording and situations, to screen these ever-changing (tariffs)."

Ward said arsenic a result, demolition of the promenade is present expected to statesman successful May. However, the hold hasn't affected the project's scheduled completion successful October. 2026.

The task volition spot the promenade operation itself taken down, and Victoria Avenue reopened to postulation betwixt Brodie and Archibald streets.

Aldo Ruberto, interim seat of the Fort William BIA, said the one-month hold is reasonable.

"We're good with it," helium said. "The completion date's the aforesaid date, that's great."

"We've been this patient, it's been similar six years," Ruberto said. "So what's an other month?"

Ruberto said helium hopes the enactment volition bring caller beingness to the area.

"I'm excited, I'm looking guardant to it," helium said. "When we person things happening successful the area, which are caller and breathtaking and are going to beryllium a positive for the area, that benefits everybody, right?"

"It benefits each the businesses, the radical living downtown, increases prices of properties and makes everything attractive."