City asks for more input on future of Victoriaville

Thunder Bay residents have two more chances to have their say on the future of Victoriaville mall this week.

The City of Thunder Bay is moving ahead with demolishing the south core structure, and opening up the currently-closed-to-traffic sections of Victoria and Syndicate avenues, in 2024.

"We have a number of steps we have to go through before that, and that's the detailed design as well as making some of the adjoining buildings weather-tight before the ... structure comes down," said Peder Olsen, a property agent with the city's realty services division.

On its Get Involved Thunder Bay website, the city states the stretches of road, which are currently part of the enclosed mall structure, will be renewed, and transformed into "vibrant public spaces for all users."

Exactly what that will involve, however, is still being determined.

"Our primary consultants on this have brought forward two ideas," Olsen said. "One being a kind of an urban space ... that is more hard-surfaced, has a lot more space for public activities, and the other being a boreal forest idea where there is additional elements brought in that kind of reflect the environment in northwest Ontario."

"Beyond that, though, they're also looking at ideas of what could bring people down to the space. What is it that would drive people to reconnect with Victoria Avenue and Victoriaville ... whether it's active recreation, whether it's event spaces or whether it's community program spaces."

The public can provide input on the future of the area at two open houses taking place this week:

There will be further public engagement sessions in the fall, however, and the public can also provide input throught the Get Involved website.

Olsen said the city hopes to have the design finalized by early next year.