Any doubts Timmins would see a tougher construction market in 2010 have all but evaporated in light of numbers topping last year’s totals, with contractors working throughout the city.
“We’re seeing encouraging numbers throughout, and it’s been a good year so far,” says Esa Saarela, the city’s chief building official.
“We’re anticipating the rest of the year to be solid, too. There’s going to be activity going on so long as we’ve got gold, so in that sense, we’re very fortunate we’ve a mining-based economy.”
To the end of May, the city saw 141 building permits worth $17 million, with a mix of steady work through the commercial, institutional and industrial sectors.
During the same period last year, 133 permits were recorded, valued at $15.9 million.
It’s on pace with the strong numbers experienced between 2005 and 2009, when Timmins averaged 556 permits annually valued at $47 million.
Among these figures is the completion of a $5-million sanitary sewer project in the city’s west end, to the rear of Wal- Mart on Algonquin. It’s something that will have “huge implications on economic development in the future,” says Mark Jensen, director of community and development services.
City officials have eyed the land for some time as a means of allowing for more in-filling rather than pushing urban sprawl past the western edge of town. In particular, there is a strong need to pull additional construction projects off the main highway, which is considered an attractive location though continued sprawl is putting an expensive strain on the municipality’s ability to service them.
The completion of the new sewer project will also mean building a new road north of McBride Street and west from Camille Street, creating a new corridor serviceable with water and storm sewers.
This will allow for the development of a new industrial park, which the city is currently seeking to create through a series of partnerships. A request for proposals has been issued for the private sector to develop the park.
The space is something that’s badly needed, as requests for serviced industrial land have been increasing, says Saarela.
Part of the city’s infill strategy also involves fleshing out the downtown core.
After years of promoting the area as a positive place to build, the city is now seeing interest from companies looking to locate there, though this is being stymied by the inability to assemble sufficiently large land packages, as well as sufficient parking.
To help address the parking situation, the city is looking to convert the former Doran’s Brewery property on the corner of Algonquin and Spruce into a two-tier, 90-space parking area. Preliminary designs have been produced by J.L. Richards.
Still, these challenges haven’t stopped Sudbury’s Autumnwood Mature Lifestyle Communities from beginning construction of a new $16-million, multi-purpose living space adjacent to City Hall. By tearing out much of the interior of the existing St. Mary’s Hospital, the company will create a space to serve as a seniors’ residence, with some space for community groups.
Similarly, there’s some talk of a Radisson hotel stepping into the 101 Mall, just one of a handful of new accommodation-related firms showing interest in Timmins. Institutional projects are also fairly robust, with work having already begun on the construction of a new $12.3-million French-immersion school in the southern end of the city.
Northern College is continuing work on twin projects at its local campus, including the $17.3-million Centre of Excellence for Trades and Technology. The 35,000-squarefoot space is being built by Cy Rheault Construction Ltd., and will be ready for student occupancy by the fall.
The school is also working on the construction of an new East End Family Health Clinic, a $3-million, 7,800 facility. It will provide residents with access to care while also providing students in healthrelated programs with hands-on learning, says Northern College President Fred Gibbons.
In a similar vein, the Timmins and District Hospital is moving on the construction of a $10-million dialysis unit.
Even new housing construction, something which has typically lagged in Timmins, is up over last year. As compared to the nine homes permitted to the end of May 2009, the same period this year saw 15, with a value of $3.1 million. This is due in part to Timmins’ status as the second-tightest rental market in Ontario, with a 1.6 per cent vacancy rate, second only to North Bay’s 1.1 per cent.
Over the next two years, the city will be forced to spend some $60 million on a secondary sewage treatment facility, something which Timmins Mayor Tom Laughren says “is not a ‘nice to have’ thing, but something we must have.”
It will be built next to the existing sewage treatment plant on Airport Road.
