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City presents Victoriaville Mall demolition option

THUNDER BAY -- The sky opened above the Victoriaville Mall only moments into a public consultation meeting on whether the city should demolish the 40-year-old structure. Mall staff scrambled to place buckets under the building’s leaking roof.
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(Photo by Jon Thompson, tbnewswatch.com)

THUNDER BAY -- The sky opened above the Victoriaville Mall only moments into a public consultation meeting on whether the city should demolish the 40-year-old structure.

Mall staff scrambled to place buckets under the building’s leaking roof. The sound of pounding rain nearly drowned out city realty services manager Joel DePeuter’s presentation.

“Utility costs are increasing, inflation has a role and also as the mall ages, the capital costs increase and more money needs to be spent to keep it in good condition,” DePeuter said.

“In particular the skylights, the cost is over a million dollars so when there are large expenses like that, council should be considering what it intends to do with the centre in the long run.”

DePeuter made the case for Victoriaville’s demolition, pointing out the covered street has imposed an $11.3-million cumulative deficit on the tax base since 1980.

If the city were to save the mall, it would require an $8.6-million investment over the next decade, including $4.4 million in capital repairs. In 2016 alone, it’s projected to run a $378,000 operating deficit and require $90,000 capital expenditures.

Conversely the $9-million proposed demolition would result in cost savings over 10.5 years.   

While business owners within the mall rallied around their cause, area property owners from outside the mall turned out to express their support for demolition. 

Michael Larizza’s family owns a number of properties in the neighbourhood, including the Chapple Building and Centennial Square. He sees the mall as a physical impediment to business success throughout the city’s south core.

“From what my tenants and myself, I think removing Victoriaville would probably be the best thing to do for Fort William's downtown,” he said.

“You’ll have people being able to come from Victoria Avenue right through. (Now) you’re deterred away from the downtown and you see that when you go on that side of Victoria Avenue, it’s full. On the other side, it’s not.”

Should the mall be demolished and Victoria Avenue opened, city staff will likely recommend Syndicate Avenue remain open for pedestrian traffic only.

DePeuter suggested the food court could remain a covered space but the city would need to recover $50 per square foot instead of the market rate it collects now at less than $20.

Kathy Skirving has operated Crock-N-Dial Sandwiches in the food court for 20 years. She’s hoping to sell her business and retire within the next decade but can’t imagine anyone buying if the food court had to stand alone.

“That’s ludicrous,” she said.

“For that small of an area, you’d have four tenants to have to cover the heating, the security, everything. It just wouldn’t be viable for someone to do that.”

Many among the 110 citizens who attended the public meeting were in favour of keeping Victoriaville standing.

Mark Drombolis offered the city should harken back to its original vision in making the mall a civic centre that could serve as common space, host conferences and concerts. He pointed to Las Vegas’ Freemont Avenue as an example where a crime-ridden, derelict area was saved by covering the street and making it an attraction.

“I think it’s just caught in a rut,” he said.

“People are saying, ‘what’s Victoriaville doing for the city?’ Well, what has city council done for Victoriaville, really? The only plan that was tabled was demolition, so what’s the option?”

The city intends to publish its online questionnaire on its Victoriaville Mall page.  





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