THUNDER BAY — Businesses in the city's north downtown core are eagerly awaiting the end of an extensive construction project, with hopes that it will bring new energy to the area.
The multi-year construction project, which started earlier this year, is nearing the end of the first phase with work along Court Street set to wrap up in the coming days and weeks ahead of winter.
Waterfront District BIA executive director Kara Pratt said while the work itself is disruptive, businesses have remained open throughout the entire process.
"This construction has not stopped them from being open. Nadin Contracting Limited has been great at making sure there is access always to the businesses and buildings," Pratt said, adding the construction workers have even gone out of their way to help pedestrians.
"They'll carry strollers over any uneven ground, or they'll walk walkers through and help people with accessibility concerns too."
The BIA is engaging with the city for the next phase of the project to learn some lessons from the Court Street portion earlier this year, she added.
"We are in discussions of how we section off the area and keep it at one section and move that a little bit more progressively and keep walkways like a, more of a permanent walkway," Pratt said, hoping for a rolling construction zone next year when Red River Road work gets underway.
Pratt stressed it's about just keeping in contact with the contractor, keeping in contact with all the businesses and knowing what's happening downtown.
Justin Boyko, a co-owner of Atmos, an event venue space along Red River Road, hopes the revitalized space will equal more pedestrian traffic into the club.
"Hopefully [we] see more walk-in traffic and attract some new people who haven't been here before," Boyko said.
The bar is also planning to do its own renovations to match the upgrades happening at the street level.
"It was kind of like lighting a fire under our butts," he said. "There's so much happening down here, there's so many new businesses, and they're going all out, sparing no expense, and it's good for the downtown core."
Specifically, the venue will be upgrading flooring, painting and looking at doing a rooftop patio space, which will help increase guest capacity, Boyko said.
"We should get on this wave with the construction, do the reno here and then when Red River is done, hopefully, we'll be done too and have something new to offer and attract the new people downtown."
Boyko also noted that communication has been good, even referencing a recent email indicating that Court Street and Red River Road is expected to open soon.
The area's century-old infrastructure was due for an upgrade, leading to a reimagining of the area and wider changes to the streetscape, adjusting parking, making the space more pedestrian friendly and slowing traffic through the area.
"What you see here is more pedestrian-centric, slows down vehicles [and is] really a place that we get to activate more and a space that allows for more patios, which is something that a lot of the residents of Thunder Bay wanted to see," Pratt said.
The intersection of Court Street and Red River Road is almost complete, with crews laying temporary pavement for winter that will be upgraded when the second phase is finished next year.
