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Contractors break ground for a view of Lake Nipissing

The new vision for North Bay’s already-picturesque waterfront revival remains a work in progress, but the skeletal work of new construction on its fringes is already well underway.
City-(aerial)
North Bay crafts waterfront strategy.

The new vision for North Bay’s already-picturesque waterfront revival remains a work in progress, but the skeletal work of new construction on its fringes is already well underway.

Structural work for a new hotel complex and public health unit was being erected in late July as City of North Bay planners launched a downtown-waterfront master planning process to begin tapping the community for ideas on what the next stage of development should look like.

After an enlightening brainstorming session in June that attracted 120 people, city planning manager Bev Hillier said her department wants to hear from residents on what amenities they want to see to make the waterfront a year-round attraction.

With the designers of Thunder Bay’s award-winning waterfront redevelopment in the fold, Hillier said they’ll be staging more open houses in the fall to present the public with some options.

“We expect to have more definite ideas to go back to the people with concepts. Did we hear you right? Are we on the right track?”

The focus on rejuvenating the beaches and walkways along the Lake Nipissing shoreline is sending all the right signals to developers that the core is the place to be.

On the construction front, leading the pack is Darko Vranich, president of the Vrancor Group of Hamilton, the driving force behind a $20-million hotel development.

On a once-vacant piece of property at Oak Street and Memorial Drive, the foundation for a six-storey, 100-unit Homewood Suites hotel was poured in May. Tagged onto the development will be a Starbucks coffee shop and a restaurant.

Vranich is a well-known developer in North Bay having built two hotels – a Holiday Inn Express and a Hampton Inn with a Shoppers Drug Mart – in the McKeown Avenue retail strip in the city’s north end.

Paul Goodridge, Vrancor’s local agent, said the Homewood project was designed with an eye on the coming attractions from the master plan.

“Absolutely,” replied Goodridge. “Darko has two other hotels in town but this is going to be more of a showpiece development.”

New accesses will be installed off Memorial and Oak , including a four-metre widening of Oak since it’s currently half the size of a standard street.

Goodridge said the contractor, Reimar, should have the hotel enclosed by November with the opening slated for February. “It’s a pretty aggressive timeframe.”

Vranich owns an adjoining lot, which will be used as overflow parking for receptions and conferences at the hotel, he added.

“But obviously that’s going to be developed at some point.”

Not long ago, Vranich had ambitious plans for a waterfront hotel-convention centre on a brownfield property across Memorial, but contamination issues shelved it. That property is on the city’s shortlist for a provincial casino site.

Next to the hotel site, Tribury Construction is erecting a two-storey, 59,000-square-foot headquarters for the North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit at the corner of Oak and Cassells Street for a late spring 2017 opening.

Next to it, Marina Point Retirement Residence has a $24-million expansion in the works to its Oak Street complex to add 113 units. Construction starts this fall in time for a late 2017 ribbon-cutting.

The buzz of activity is reminiscent to what occurred when the City of Thunder Bay put plans in motion to redevelop the north end waterfront into the $130-million Prince Arthur’s Landing project.

The award-winning development became a catalyst for urban renewal as nearby property owners bought into the city’s “Waterfront District” vision with trendy new restaurants, nightspots and upscale accommodations.

Spearheading that process was the design consulting team of Brook McIlroy, who’ve been recruited by the City of North Bay to undertake the study to find ways to better connect the downtown to the Lake Nipissing waterfront.

“We’re excited,” said Hillier. “They’ve done a lot of great downtown and waterfront work before.”

The study area covers two major downtown thoroughfares, the city beach and marina, the Chief Commanda dock and a strip of parkland along the shoreline.

Through design workshops and an online survey, they want residents to tell them what’s needed by way of amenities and attractions, and how the entire area should look and feel.

“People are really passionate about it because it’s the focal point of the community,” said Hillier.

Compared to the public vitriol experienced by planners in Thunder Bay, Hillier believes North Bay residents are “open to the right kind of change. People really enjoy the space that’s there but they see a need for having the right kind of development that fits well.”

Hillier said it’s not a bottom-line proposition to maximize business opportunities on prime pieces of land but rather create a complementary mix of attractions, recreational pursuits and leisure space to draw both locals and out-of-towners to the lakefront year-round.

“As we get into more detail in the concepts, I’m expecting it will generate more discussion.”

The city needs a master plan as a guide to make a decision on how to address the aging cruise ship dock.

Over the years, North Bay residents haven’t been shy about expressing their views on the waterfront ever since the city purchased 35 acres of former Canadian Pacific rail land in 1999. Rather than take the province’s funding offer of building a big-box tourist attraction, a group of heady volunteers campaigned for a more low-scale, open park concept.

The strip of land, which runs between the shoreline and the railways tracks, has been redeveloped with a bike and inline skate trail, walkway, two carousels and a miniature kids train. The former CP train station was converted into a museum and a pedestrian underpass was built under the tracks connecting the downtown to the waterfront.

Oak Street was once a warehouse district due to its proximity to the rail yards. It now houses boutiques and shops.

“When I moved to North Bay in 1989, Oak Street was a pretty sketchy neighbourhood,” said Goodridge. “But you drive down there now and it’s amazing the amount of redevelopment. People have bought up shops along Oak Street and have recognized with the development that’s going to be happening with the waterfront that this is a good investment.

“It’s a great vision the city has had for the waterfront.”