The City of Thunder Bay's plans to build a new arena and convention centre received a blow when word came that the project will not be able to access P3 Canada funding.
However, the city intends to move ahead anyway with a second phase feasibility study to move the proposed Multiplex to a 'shovel-ready' stage.
The news was no great surprise to city manager Tim Commisso who said in a statement that P3 Canada received 120 applications this year for the latest round of funding, 20 more than last year. About 80 were submitted by municipalities.
“Given the national scope of the competition, this is not an unexpected result,” Commisso said. “We need to keep working to get the project shovel-ready for the time when funding does become available.”
The city has set aside $25 million for the event centre as part of its Renew Thunder Bay Plan, a major legacy project over the next five years.
With FedNor funding, the city plans to hire a group of consultants, including True Grit Consulting and Conrad Boychuk of CEI Architects, both of Thunder Bay, to complete the study.
Come March, the study will outline detailed engineering analysis for a short list of three sites, proposed design concepts, capital financing and a business model, an economic impact statement, and parking and traffic reports.
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