THUNDER BAY — The city is one step closer to seeing the construction of a "large retail warehouse and gas bar" on Central Avenue.
Developer Toby Singlehurst, president of Forum Properties, told Newswatch in an interview that he “cannot confirm or deny” whether the project will be a Costco.
A zoning amendment for a proposed retail warehouse and gas bar at 1091 Central Ave. passed unanimously during Monday’s city council meeting.
Similarities between the proposed development and some Costco floorplans have fuelled speculation but deputants at a public meeting were discouraged from referring to the retail warehouse as a Costco because the brand name of the future retail space was not included in the application.
It is only an assumption, said Mayor Ken Boshcoff, that Forum Properties plans to build a Costco at that location.
Three out of the five deputants who spoke at the meeting were opposed to the site location. They raised concerns that increased traffic volumes might pose safety concerns and that there could be a potential environmental impact from gasoline running off into the nearby Mcintyre River.
One deputant said the block of Golf Links Road between Central Avenue and the Harbour Expressway is notorious for traffic congestion and collisions.
“I mean, yes, accidents can happen everywhere, but all of a sudden we're gonna be building a big box store there. More cars and more traffic are going to be in that area, and it's inevitable,” he said.
Tyler Rizzuto, project manager with engineering firm Stantec, said a traffic study was completed to support the application. It concluded that there would be minimal impact on the traffic if the retail warehouse was built on that location.
Aaron Ward, city manager of engineering, said the traffic study showed that roads, such as Golf Links, Central, and Innovation would not exceed their capacity.
“The traffic was around 23,000 vehicles per day. We looked at the four-lane study for Golf Links; We're checking far in the future and that was at around 33,000 to 35,000 vehicles, so we're around 70 per cent give or take, of that volume,” said Ward.
However, there would be some notable improvements needed, said Ward, such as turning lanes, signage, and a traffic signal at the intersection of Innovation Drive and Golf Links Road.
Another concern was that stormwater runoff could potentially wash gasoline into the Mcintyre River.
“I would submit that there's a slope from this property, property to the McIntyre River. You can see it by your own eyes. The concern I have is with respect to the gas station and also the concrete with regards to storm water absorption that water will make its way to the McIntyre River, which may cause water issues for the people across the street,” said another deputant.
Aaron Ward, manager of engineering, said that this new building will need to meet the city’s “quantity and quality control requirements” to manage the volume and cleanliness of water that will run off the site.
“It's a requirement of both the city, as well as the Ministry of Environment's requirements for stormwater management,” said Ward.
Ward noted that a provision for the development would require the site to have oil grid separators that will capture the water from the parking lot before it flows into a stormwater pond, which will undergo “further treatment and retention before it ultimately leaves the site and goes back to the Mcintyre River.”
Singlehurst said that his company has spent “close to a million dollars” on consultant reports and analysis on the property.
“Our client is absolutely one of the top. Analysts of those types of concerns make sure that everything is met and they operate smoothly on every site that they operate,” said Singlehurst.
He said the next steps in development are a site plan control process and feasibility study to consider the full cost of the project.
Once all the approval processes are done with the city, Singlehurst said work will be done “very quickly.”
