THUNDER BAY – The Victoriaville Centre’s board chairwoman is mobilizing to demand the city explore options beyond tearing down the mall.
Kathy Skirving, who has also owned Crock N’ Dial Sandwiches in the mall for 20 years, began circulating a petition on Thursday that simply reads, “Keep Victoriaville Centre open.”
It has already attracted more than 400 signatures and Skirving plans to present all signatures to City Council during her scheduled deputation on Aug. 22.
“Stop talking about tearing it down. That’s one of the things that’s holding it back,” she said.
“Running my business day-to-day is enough stress and having this on top of it is even more but I’m not just going to roll over and let it happen. I’m going to fight this, one way or another.”
Skirving was disappointed with a public forum held late last month in which city administration presented few options beyond tearing down the 40-year-old roof and skylights that cover Victoria Avenue.
Claiming the mall has accumulated an $11.3-million deficit since 1980 and would require an $8.6-million investment over the next decade, administration representatives presented a $9-million demolition option the city could recover from the mall’s deficit over 10.5 years.
Skirving praised new mall management for its strong efforts to attract tenants despite the building's uncertain future and suggested Victoriaville could generate more revenue by charging rental fees for holding weekend events.
“It may be losing money but almost every single city facility loses money,” she said, listing the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium, the Canada Games Complex and local arenas among municipal investments made for the public good.
“Are we going to tear down everything because it might not be working at this moment? Maybe five years down the road, this thing will be full and we’ll be making a profit.”
The city’s online consultation regarding Victoriaville Centre’s future will be available until July 15.
