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Building resumes of new Elliot Lake mall

Materials are on their way for the construction of a new mall in Elliot Lake. The steel is expected to arrive this weekend and phase two of the construction of a new 27,000-square-foot Foodland grocery store will commence shortly after.
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Materials are on their way for the construction of a new mall in Elliot Lake. The steel is expected to arrive this weekend and phase two of the construction of a new 27,000-square-foot Foodland grocery store will commence shortly after.

Materials are on their way for the construction of a new mall in Elliot Lake. The steel is expected to arrive this weekend and phase two of the construction of a new 27,000-square-foot Foodland grocery store will commence shortly after.

Elliot Lake has been without a one-stop shopping centre since the Algo Centre Mall's roof collapsed in 2012, killing two people.

The foundation for Foodland has already been poured and the store is expected to be opened by March or April of 2016.

“The Foodland has been operating at a temporary location and is only about 8,000 square feet and it just doesn't work well,” said William Elliott, of the Elliot Lake and North Shore Corporation for business development (ELNOS). “They (Foodland) have been very anxious to get in.”

The mall is to be known as Pearson Plaza and is slated to be finished by June 2016 and will host a new library, Dollarama, and a food court.

Additionally, the mall will meet the main three criteria that the residents of Elliot Lake were requesting for their new shopping centre: No elevators or escalators, a completely enclosed structure where everything on site can be accessed without stepping outside, and a food court where shoppers can congregate.

“Elliot Lake has the second oldest population in Canada and retirement living is a big part of our economy,” said Elliott. “All of the three main design elements have been included. This is very uplifting for the community, people have been waiting and waiting and there have been delays and there didn't seem to be any light at the end of the tunnel, but if you go there now the site is crawling with contractors and equipment and there's so much there now and people can see that it's close.”