A new 194,000-square-foot strip mall may well be in the cards for the burgeoning town of Valley East, located within the City of Greater Sudbury.
Councilors recently approved the commercial rezoning of a 26-acre parcel of land with wide road frontage on Regional Road 80 in Hanmer, paving the way for the future development of the proposed mall by Sudbury-based Canada Builders Inc.
“The Valley is growing at a very rapid speed, and a lot of new families are going in there,” says spokesperson Carolyn Piquette, real estate development and acquisition, Canada Builders.
“It’s a community that’s close to Sudbury, and people like it there because they can do a lot of activities with their children, and it’s a little more affordable than Sudbury. We just felt that on a long-term basis, this land had all the requirements necessary to build a new shopping centre, and when all is said and done, we think this mall can grow alongside the community.”
Due to be located across from the Carol Richards Park subdivision, the mall known as the Canadian Shopping Center will cost $20 million and will create an estimated 500 part-time and full-time jobs. Before work can begin, however, Canada Builders must complete a traffic study to determine where a traffic light should be established. A storm water management report must also be completed to ensure water is retained on the company’s land.
No deadlines have been established for these studies, but Piquette anticipates being able to kick off official development of the project as early as the coming fall.
Piquette brushes off concerns that the mall would threaten the livelihood of smaller, individually-owned businesses, pointing out that the nature of the businesses being planned for the mall will fill in gaps in the local retail market, rather than competing with it.
While no specific stores have yet been lined up, Canada Builders is planning to target bigger brand-name stores, with the potential for a fashion outlet as well as a restaurant.
“There are areas where smaller retailers can go, such as the Val Caron Mall and the Hanmer Shopping Centre, so we’ll be bringing in new tenants to give the people a variety so they’re not traveling to town to get their shopping needs done and keep them in the community,” Piquette says.
“Many of those smaller stores have their own niche, and people will go to them regardless.”
With concept work done by local architect Kim Zarichney of Kezcad, the mall is still in the early design stages, though a more detailed plan will be developed once retailers begin committing to the mall.
Local residents have expressed their support of the project, with some suggesting that such large-scale developments are necessary as the area continues to grow.
“This project goes with a lot of the growth that’s going on here, both in terms of population and of business, so I think it’s a good thing for the area,” says Marc Tassé, president of the Carol Richards Park Residents Association. “There needs to be some diversification in the different centres in the city, because everything’s concentrated in New Sudbury and the downtown core.”
Tassé, who represents 250 households in the area, says the development represents an overall benefit for people living in the area. It will not only drive up residential growth, but increase property values, he says. The redesign of the roadway will accommodate mall traffic and provide improved turning lanes for residents.
Over 1,200 open lots for new homes are located throughout the Hanmer area, a number which is expected to rise even further as submissions for residential development continue to be made to city hall, Tassé says. This makes projects such as the proposed mall all the more attractive for area residents.
“There are a lot of positives all around here, so we’re definitely in favor of this.”
