Convention centre coming to the Waterfront

The construction boom in North Bay is showing no sign of slowing down. City council proudly announced Monday night that it has accepted a proposal from a developer to build a high end hotel and convention centre at the edge of the waterfront.

The convention centre is expected to hold between 600 and 1100 people, the biggest of its kind North of Toronto according to North Bay mayor Vic Fedeli.

“This is the most significant news of this new council, this term. This is absolutely a legacy project for North Bay. There is no tax payer money involved,” says Fedeli.

The five acres of land is located next to the Timber Mart on Memorial Drive and is currently used as a parking lot. Fedeli says the land is contaminated and part of the agreement with the developer will include a cleanup of the property.

The developer, named Vrancor, is the same company that built the Holiday Inn on Seymour last year. This latest project is expected to be in the tens of millions of dollars according to council.

The name of the hotel chain was not released, but the mayor says it will be a high end establishment. Deputy Mayor Peter Chirico says the entire city will benefit, including other hotels, because of the draw convention centre will create.

“I think it’s just going to enhance it, help our downtown, help our businesses in the city of North Bay, and help with our economic development as far as attraction to our great city.”
The mayor says finding a buyer has been a year in the making and they are excited to move forward.

Negotiations can now proceed between the city and the buyer and both sides will need to iron out the price for the land and how it will be cleaned up.