THUNDER BAY -- The process intended to begin the Victoriaville Centre's demolition could end up saving it.
City council voted Monday to expand the scope of an environmental assessment to include options beyond simply demolishing the covered street mall and civic centre.
"All options are on the table, including demolition," said Coun. Iain Angus, who introduced the successful amendment that altered the assessment from considering only demolition to read, "relative to options for the future of Victoriaville."
Angus conceded the structure has suffered years of neglect but he sees the service it provides and the potential it holds.
"This is more than just a place to go shopping. This is a civic centre. This is a place people go for coffee, to be warm, to meet friends. It could be a lot more than what it is today," Angus said.
"I also think we've seen a remarkable change in approach in the last year with the new management with the kinds of events that have been created. It's beginning to match what Intercity Shopping Centre is doing in having more than just those retail outlets. It's having things for people to do, reasons for them to come into the mall and to utilize it as a very large meeting centre."
The environmental assessment process will cost $150,000 and take 12 to 18 months.
Council heard from a number of Victoriaville supporters when chairman and Coun. Joe Virdiramo took the unusual step of opening the floor to unscheduled deputations.
Centre board member and Crock N' Dial Sandwiches owner, Kathy Skirving presented a 600-signature petition along with her deputation asking council to give the mall a 10-year lifeline.
"We've got 12 to 18 months to prove we can do something. We're going to make this work," she said following the vote.
"We're going to do whatever it takes to prove to the city that this will be viable."
Victoriaville's detractors were also well-represented. Those included property owners as well as Couns. Brian McKinnon and Linda Rydholm, who reminded their colleagues that over 90 per cent of the 1280 people the city consulted through questionnaires expressed they would prefer to see Thunder Bay divest itself of the enclosed space.
"We should remember that at the public consultation, the vast majority of people who filled in the surveys, the people who own the buildings and properties around the Victoriaville Centre are in favour of opening up Victoria Avenue again -- that's a more positive way to put it: opening up Victoria Avenue -- and that 'a small number of residents in the survey thought the city should invest in, and possibly repurpose Victoriaville,'" Rydholm said.
According to city administration, Victoriaville has run a cumulative $11.5-million deficit since 1980 and it will cost $9.3 million more to sustain it over another decade. City realty services manager Joel DePeuter estimates the city could recuperate the estimated $9.3-million demolition cost in 10 years.
"It appears that the removal of Victoriaville may have merit, and if so, would be finanically feasible," DePeuter's report reads. "An enivronmental assessment is a public process first required to determine if demolition is the best alternative."
