THUNDER BAY — The City of Thunder Bay has released a list of properties it's offering developers, investors and housing providers a chance to purchase and build on.
It's dubbed the ten locations in urban cores and emerging neighbourhoods "opportunity sites."
They include plots on Hudson Avenue, Arundel Street, Tupper Street/Camelot Street, Tokio Street, Fanshaw Street, Empire Avenue, May Street South, Brodie Street, Victoria Avenue at Simpson, and Miles Street between North Street and Simpson Street.
In a call for proposals, the city describes these properties as high-potential, prime sites for quality multi-residential and mixed-use projects that align with its goal to grow the urban housing supply.
Financial incentives may be available, including grants for housing, construction and planning fees.
"The city has issued RFPs in the past, but this is the first time this has occurred with a menu of properties available," said Joel DePeuter, director of development services. "Council had directed that city administration find properties that could be potentially developed for housing or other uses, so this is a next step."
All the sites are serviced and vacant, most are already zoned to permit residential, and together they could accommodate well over 1,000 new housing units.
"This is a great chance to bring forward new ideas and help grow Thunder Bay in a meaningful way," said Deanna Walker, manager of realty services for the city. "We're looking for proposals that make smart use of these and other city-owned properties and contribute to the kind of welcoming, vibrant and growing city we all want to live in."
Depeuter told Newswatch he believes there will be considerable interest in the initiative.
"We've been hearing over and over again that it's difficult to find development-ready sites that are infill sites. That's why we've put particular focus on those that are already serviced. Many of these are already zoned, and they could be ready for development fairly quickly."
He said he's had developers who are currently constructing large buildings say they are looking for more land, and could adapt existing building plans for other properties relatively easily.
Applicants could qualify for multiple incentives including a multi-unit residential grant, a construction assistance grant and a planning and building fees grant.
Monday's announcement followed on the heels of the release of the city's draft Growth Community Improvement Plan, which the city describes as a bold strategy designed to position Thunder Bay as a competitive, investment-ready community by encouraging industrial and commercial development.
Its focus is high-value projects that generate jobs and tax revenue.
Unlike traditional CIPs that focus on certain areas such as downtown sites, the Growth CIP is city-wide and supports broader economic goals while complementing the existing Housing CIP.
The plan includes programs to support development-ready employment lands, tools to reduce risk and encourage reinvestment in former industrial sites, incentives to help the city compete with other jurisdictions in North America, and a focus on increasing population growth.
The city is inviting input on the draft plan through a short feedback form available on its website until June 11.
"There's a lot going on right now. Here are a pair of new or additional actions that are supporting growth for Thunder Bay, and both are strategic. They're targeting a particular type of development, and we're looking to increase the tax base," Depeuter said.
"This is a very exciting time for myself and the team," he added. "It's nice to see some of these strategies bear results. The zoning bylaw came into place in 2022, for example, and in the ensuing years now we are seeing more and more infill within already-built-up residential areas. We see our density thickening up, and when that happens the tax base does as well."
