Northern Ontario developments!

[TbayON]

Site preparation work has begun at the property at the corner of Arthur St. and the T-Bay Expressway out front of the Valhalla. Some of the brush has been removed, and it looks like machinery is beginning to level the lot off. Still haven't heard myself who bought the parcel of land, or what is going to be developed there.

[Conker]

Originally Posted by TbayON

Site preparation work has begun at the property at the corner of Arthur St. and the T-Bay Expressway out front of the Valhalla. Some of the brush has been removed, and it looks like machinery is beginning to level the lot off. Still haven't heard myself who bought the parcel of land, or what is going to be developed there.

According to City Council minutes of meetings, this property was purchased by a number company.

[saultbie]

Lowes has begun construction of their new store in Sault Ste. Marie. They are converting the former Zellers store on Northern Ave. which has sat vacant since it was not chosen as a site by Target.

The former store was approx. 91,000 sq ft. however by the looks of the site work so far, the building may be extended forward.

General contractor is Manorcore, based out of Beamsville. Site work to date, including asphalt removal, Avery Construction (SSM) and re-roofing, Empire Roofing (Windsor)

Lowes will be taking over the majority of the plaza, joining tenants Metro, Value Village and Scotia Bank. The plaza is owned by Fengate Property Management / Fengate Realty

[TbayON]

Originally Posted by Conker

According to City Council minutes of meetings, this property was purchased by a number company.

It is another new hotel for the city. Not sure which brand it is yet, but it sounds like both local and out of town interests are involved. Applications are already in at the city. Not sure if this is the long-awaited Hampton Inn (that was originally supposed to go up the road) or if it is another hotel.

[TbayON]

The hotel that is going to be developed on Arthur St. is going to be a Hampton Inn Suites. Construction of the building will begin in the spring. It will be a 5 storey building, with over 100 rooms.

[Dakota]

Originally Posted by TbayON

The hotel that is going to be developed on Arthur St. is going to be a Hampton Inn Suites. Construction of the building will begin in the spring. It will be a 5 storey building, with over 100 rooms.

Yes i can confirm its a Hampton Inn as well .
I drove by there today , and now theres a workers trailer on site , and several pieces of heavy equipment there.
They have already dug a deep long trench which i assume is for sewers.
Are they just laying in the utilitys for now , and constructing later ?

[TbayON]

That would be correct. The lot is going to be cleared and some servicing will happen, depending on what the weather allows for and how much time the utilities have to get it done before winter freeze up. Construction will not begin until spring some time. The contractor is currently occupied with the Terra Vista development anyhow, so regardless of weather conditions, it probably wouldn't happen until spring.

[Dwils01]

New rendering released for St. Mary's Catholic School under construction in Sault Ste. Marie.

Source: http://www.sootoday.com/content/news...ls.asp?c=81427

[TbayON]

I have heard that a fairly large swath of land has been cleared along Dawson Rd., around Skyline Ave. and the hydro lines. Two potential developments; first being more housing lots as part of what is happening off Hilldale; second is the proposed multi-residential development that went through council that is to be located along Dawson Rd. Either way, more development coming to this area in the spring by the sounds of this.

The Ontario gov't has made public some vague spending priorities for infrastructure. Among interest is billions of dollars that will be spent on health and education related infrastructure. This could be a real benefit locally, especially with overcrowding issues continuing to worsen at the hospital. Puzzling is the recent expenditure of almost $2.5 million by the hospital on expanded parking. This is double the original cost estimate, with over-runs being attributed to poor site conditions. That cash could have been better invested into more patient space, not car space. The college and university could also benefit, although both seem only somewhat successful in landing big bucks for construction when compared to other post-secondary institutions in Ontario.

[Innsertnamehere]

Sault Ste. Marie needs a highway Bypass, I hope the new infrastructure money pays for that. Its one of the most painfully out of the way and slow parts of the TCH having to cut through town.

[Dwils01]

The winter weather has caused some problems with finishing off road construction projects. Some projects didn't get the asphalt down in time including one lane going up hill on Highway 17.

The province said that they will not be proceeding with the eastern by-pass of the city through the Rankin reserve for the next five years so the city has been widening Second Line from Pine Street to Black Road and then will be widening Black Road from Second Line to McNabb Street. The city is trying to get provincial money for this since they are essentially cancelling the eastern by-pass.

The eastern by-pass would have Highway 17 going through the Rankin Reserve and meet up with the current highway at Second Line and Black Road. I don't there will ever be a by-pass of the north part of the city since the terrain is very steep and there is a few gorges that go through the area east of Landslide Road and north of Fourth Line.

[toaster]

Originally Posted by Dwils01

New rendering released for St. Mary's Catholic School under construction in Sault Ste. Marie.

Source: http://www.sootoday.com/content/news...ls.asp?c=81427

What a waste of money.

[TbayON]

The tender is out for construction of the new mental health wing at St. Joe's Hospital. The job consists of approximately 90 000 sq. ft. of new construction and 10 000 sq. ft. of renovations. There are about 6 pre-qualified general contractors bidding on the project.

The squash courts at the L.U. Hangar are going to be turned into a Yoga Studio. Quite a bit of interior work has to be undertaken on the building first.

The Kingway Motel has an application in with the city for re-zoning that would allow for construction of retail along Arthur St. The motel is also looking at expanding.

[TbayON]

I have heard that the MNR is going to be putting $25 million into one of their facilities in Thunder Bay. I'm not sure if it is 25th Sideroad, or at the fire base on Arthur St. W., but the investment sounds definite for the coming year.

Con. College held their official ground breaking for the first two of four residence buildings. Pilings are already being driven. Supposed to be completed by fall 2015 for the new school year... we'll see about that.

[TbayON]

First floor of the Whalen Building/PUC Building/Hydro Building/Whatever you want to refer to it as will be getting renovated this winter. Improvements and updates will be made to the entrances and lobby, all part of the city's multi-year floor-by-floor renovation of the historic building.

The conversion of the former Hillcrest High School into a condo building is about to go full swing. Some preliminary work has been ongoing for a little while now, but it sounds like work will intensify to a full scale retrofit in the near future. Plenty of mechanical and plumbing work is required to create the new units.

[tjernobyl]

RONS Virtual World on Van Norman, which was sold earlier this year and briefly became 3DS, was sold again and closed down, ending the era of the arcade in Thunder Bay. Rumour is that the building is to be converted to a women's shelter.

[TbayON]

I also heard that the recently closed Eekos Furniture location (owner retired in this case) has been picked up by another business. A few renovations are happening first though. The CEDC has now made one of their priorities to link retiring business owners with aspiring entrepreneurs looking to buy a business due to the large number of long-time local businesses closing down over the past few years. The retiring business owners are choosing to close their businesses rather than trying and find a buyer.

Renovations are upcoming to the third floor of the MTO/OPP N.W. Region H.Q. building on James St. Late winter to early spring start likely.

[swimmer_spe]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

Sault Ste. Marie needs a highway Bypass, I hope the new infrastructure money pays for that. Its one of the most painfully out of the way and slow parts of the TCH having to cut through town.

It looks like they could get rid of the curve and keep it going west to just north of the 3rd line.

Now, when will it get built? Who knows.

[vid]

If you haven't seen it yet, I posted a short tour of Simpson Street in the photos section last month:

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=214510

Working on another, hopefully I will be done by the end of the year.

[Beedok]

Originally Posted by tjernobyl

RONS Virtual World on Van Norman, which was sold earlier this year and briefly became 3DS, was sold again and closed down, ending the era of the arcade in Thunder Bay. Rumour is that the building is to be converted to a women's shelter.

I just walked by yesterday and it seemed open for business. I didn't pay too much attention, but all the games seemed to have their lights flashing and whatnot.

Also, I saw a building up by Lakehead labelled the Fort William Clinic. Why would they call it that when it's clearly in the north end?