Rezoning approved for strip mall in Valley East.

• Author: Stewart, Nick
• Position: SPECIAL REPORT: CONSTRUCTION

A new 194,000-square-foot strip mall may well be in the cards for the burgeoning town of Valley East, located within the City of Greater Sudbury.

Councilors recently approved the commercial rezoning of a 26-acre parcel of land with wide road frontage on Regional Road 80 in Hanmer, paving the way for the future development of the proposed mall by Sudbury-based Canada Builders Inc.

"The Valley is growing at a very rapid speed, and a lot of new families are going in there," says spokesperson Carolyn Piquette, real estate development and acquisition, Canada Builders.

"It's a community that's close to Sudbury, and people like it there because they can do a lot of activities with their children, and it's a little more affordable than Sudbury We just felt that on a long-term basis, this land had all the requirements necessary to build a new shopping centre, and when all is said and done, we think this mall can grow alongside the community"

Due to be located across from the Carol Richards Park subdivision, the mall known as the Canadian Shopping Center will cost $20 million and will create an estimated 500 part-time and full-time jobs. Before work can begin, however, Canada Builders must complete a traffic study to determine where a traffic light should be established. A storm water management report must also be completed to ensure water is retained on the company's land.

No deadlines have been established for these studies, but Piquette anticipates being able to kick off official development of the project as early as the coming fall.

Piquette brushes off concerns that the mall would threaten the livelihood of smaller, individually-owned businesses, pointing out that the nature of the businesses being planned for the mall will fill in gaps in the local retail market, rather than competing with it.

While no specific stores have yet been lined up, Canada Builders is planning to target bigger brand-name stores, with the potential for a fashion outlet as well as a restaurant.

"There are areas where smaller retailers can go, such as the Val Caron Mall and the Hanmer Shopping Centre, so we'll be bringing in new tenants to give the people a variety so they're not...