With crews active in nearly every corner of the city, Sudbury’s construction industry is not only surviving, but even thriving amidst a flurry of infrastructure spending and big-ticket projects.
One need only look to the likes of Tribury Construction (1995) for an example of this vitality, as the company is working on the $17- million Vale Inco Living With Lakes Centre on the shores of Lake Ramsey as well as Collège Boréal’s $4.2-million, 70-unit residence addition.
It’s also overseeing the construction of Sudbury’s second Walmart, a 185,000-squarefoot facility going up on Long Lake Road in the city’s south end.
“We’re busy right now, no question about it, and there’s still a lot more coming out, and that’s a good thing,” says Robert Cecchetto, president of Tribury.
Having built the Walmart sites in Kapuskasing and New Liskeard “years ago,” Tribury currently has a team of 50 erecting the building’s structural steel as well as exterior wall panels. That number will rise to 100 people once roof work begins in the coming months in anticipation of opening the store in the spring of 2010.
Rezoning applications are also underway to allow for additional development opportunities directly south of the site.
The nearby 300,000-square-foot Southridge Mall has also received city approval to nearly double in size, conditional on some infrastructure improvements.
“It really is a strong time for us and for many others,” says Cecchetto, who also serves as president of the Sudbury Construction Association (SCA). “You gotta keep up with the times, of course, but there’s no question that opportunities are there.”
Other major projects going up include the 153,000-square-foot Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse, which is 35,000 square feet larger than the nearby Home Depot. Massive amounts of blasting and crushing was needed to prepare the rocky area at 1199 Marcus Dr., behind the SilverCity theatre in New Sudbury.
Work there is well underway, and the facility is scheduled to be open by Christmas.
Projects such as these have helped keep local builders busy through the recession, with work underway throughout nearly every corner of the city, whether through infrastructure improvements or new construction.
Building activity also continues on major projects that were initiated during better times, such as the one-site Sudbury Regional Hospital, which is also helping to lift the fortunes of the local construction industry.
“Sudbury’s doing very well,” says Denis Shank, executive director of the SCA. “This so-called economic downturn has not hit the city as hard as some. Everybody, from the smallest supplier to communication services to large contractors, is pretty busy.”
In fact, Shank estimates that at least 90 per cent of members are seeing increased levels of business through 2009, due in part to infrastructure and stimulus funding by provincial and federal governments.
This has also helped to drive up membership in the association, which has risen eight per cent over the last year. It now sits at 240, a total unsurpassed throughout the association's history.
Part of this growth has been driven by increased interest from other parts of the province. Growing numbers of Toronto-area firms have taken to joining the SCA as they look further north for jobs in an attempt to ride out the economic storm.
www.city.greatersudbury.on.ca
www.sudburyca.com
www.tribury.com
www.lowes.ca
