Good Construction Activity in Thunder Bay!
by Scott A. Sumner
The construction industry is very busy in Thunder Bay with many projects on the go in both the residential and commercial areas. There is a shortage of residential homes in Thunder Bay and this is definitely being addressed in the city with many new projects, multi unit projects being approved, including large land sales from the city of Thunder Bay. One large project includes a local developer purchasing three different land sites from the city of Thunder Bay and intending to build multi residential unit apartment buildings with close to 1000 units. These multi residential apartment buildings will help the overall market in the sense some people will sell their longtime family homes to downsize and move to an apartment type setting and this will free up other homes in the area.
If you look around Thunder Bay, probably the largest project that has been underway for several years now is the Thunder Bay Correctional Complex on Highway 61, which is a $1.25 billion project with an opening date slated for 2027. The Thunder Bay Turf Centre is also undergoing construction near the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium and is a large project. The Thunder Bay Regional Health Science Centre is building a new wing to hold cardiac surgery for the first time in Northwestern Ontario.
On the waterfront, the Thunder Bay Art Gallery continues work on their large new facility at the Prince Arthur's Landing area.
A huge retail development can be seen in the Golf Links Road and Harbourview Expressway area. Forum Properties has sold a large land site for the construction of a Costco store in Thunder Bay, much talked about for many years. In addition, Forum is developing Forum Centrepoint with their buildings, including a McDonald's restaurant and other properties that will come in phases
. In Innova Business Park Ontario Power Generation is producing a large office building to house their operations.
Overall it is a very strong construction market in Thunder Bay which signals a fairly stable economy.
