Events Centre project gentrifying the east side
Because of this, we never needed the Peace Tower project more than now.
The Events Centre project consists of four city blocks on the east side of the downtown that will soon be completely owned by the City of Greater Sudbury.
The city will demolish all the buildings that stand on these four blocks in order to have the properties “shovel ready” for either the construction of a new downtown arena or to land bank the area for the use of future private development.
Steady loss of inexpensive housing
In late 2020, the Ledo Hotel was condemned and the city lost 27 Single Resident Occupancy (SRO) units.
This year, the rental buildings to the east of the Ledo Hotel, were boarded up.
In 2012, Sudbury Police Services had a storefront office in the bottom corner unit.
These three attached buildings had at least 12 apartment units, perhaps more.
In 2023, the S.M, Apartments was condemned after being purchased by a new landlord. The city’s rental stock lost a further 25 apartment units.
The Events Centre project
This rooming house at 219 Shaughnessy Street will be demolished.
There are apartments above the Dog House that will also be lost.
Lorraine Street transitional units
The Lorraine Street project will not provide new housing units as soon as was expected. Construction on the four-storey transitional housing project was put on hold when the general contractor went bankrupt.
It is estimated that this project, with its 40 units, will be completed next summer. (About eight months later than scheduled.)
The need for affordable rentals
The city has lost over 80 affordable rental units. It needs to replace those 80 apartments just to make up for the downtown losses. Plus, there is a need for hundreds of affordable and rent-geared-to-income units.
The Peace Tower project
For the last three and a half years, the proposed Peace Tower housing project made the local news.
2020
Greater Sudbury greenlights Peace Tower affordable housing project
CBC News (abridged)
Angela Gemmill
25 March 2020
During a virtual meeting Tuesday night city council voted to allocate $5.7 million from the province's Home for Good Phase 2 program to the Peace Tower complex project.
The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing must still review the proposal and environmental studies and engineering assessments of the property still need to be done.
The group behind the Peace Tower complex, which includes developer Dario Zulich and the "I Believe Network" president Eileen Mahood, will be responsible for securing the financing for the entire construction cost of the project until it's completed and people can start moving in.
"At that point this [provincial] funding flows," Steve Jacques, city general manager of community development told council.
The building would be in councillor Joscelyne Landry-Altmann's Ward 12. She pushed the owners to paint the rusty 65-year-old water tower.
Construction of the housing complex is expected to take 18-24 months, with a few extra months to get through the planning and provincial approval process before a shovel can hit the ground.
2021
Sudbury Peace Tower Housing Project moves to the next stage
Sudbury Star
Mary Katherine Keown
Last updated 05 January 2021
Dario Zulich is pushing forward with his plan to build transitional housing for high-risk youth in the city core.
Zulich has named the potential development the Sudbury Peace Tower Housing Project, in honour of his friend, Pastor Jeremy Mahood, who passed away in June 2019.
“Jeremy Mahood was a dear friend and the manager of soul for our Sudbury Wolves Sports and Entertainment teams. His legacy and vision will bring peace to our community as we revitalize this tower as a beacon of hope,” Zulich said on his website. “The Sudbury Peace Tower encompasses four acres that will eventually become an open community space as a tourist attraction.
“The first phase is to clean up the green space, put up lighting and paint the tower. The second phase will be to create a community open space with a park, botanical gardens, a playground and a walking trail. Jeremy’s ultimate vision was to build a house of hope for at-risk youth. In the third phase, we hope to build a transitional place that will incorporate living space and social enterprise to teach youth life skills to help lift them up and give them renewed hope.”
Zulich aims to build a 38-unit apartment building for vulnerable youth, as well as space for organizations that may benefit residents, including employment services; life-skills programs and workshops; and other health and social services. According to the report, residents will have 24/7 on-site staff support to provide stability, security and a friendly face.
The planning department is recommending the committee approve the application.
Zulich has received letters of support from various individuals and agencies, including Nickel Belt MP Marc Serre; Habitat for Humanity; the Blue Door soup kitchen; Sudbury-based Centreline Architecture; the CMHA; College Boreal; the Elgin Street Mission; the Samaritan Centre; Public Health Sudbury and Districts; Spark Employment Services; and the Sudbury Women’s Centre.
2022
Affordable housing by the water tower to open next summer
Sudbury.com (abridged)
Tyler Clarke
24 June 2022
A 38-unit affordable housing complex is planned to be built by the Sudbury Peace Tower Housing Inc. not-for-profit organization on land donated by local businessman/developer Dario Zulich next to the water tower, which he has separate plans for involving lights and a walkway
The long-discussed affordable housing complex slated to be built next to the Sudbury water tower is expected to break ground this year and open to residents by next summer.
So said project lead Tim Laderoute earlier this week while giving Sudbury.com a walkthrough of the site earlier this week, east of the water tower on the Pearl Street hill.
The 38-unit building will consist of one-bedroom units marked below market rent, and the project will be undertaken by the not-for-profit Sudbury Peace Tower Housing Inc. on land donated by local businessman and developer Dario Zulich.
The goal is to get the site prepared by the end of the year and for the prefabricated components to be plunked on site and linked together by next summer. Once site preparation work is completed, Laderoute said the building should be able to go up within a month.
The main floor is being planned to accommodate service providers, such as a potential daycare, to help ensure the residents “remain successful,” Laderoute said, and an elevator on the main floor, at the same level as a bus stop, will assist those residents unable to traverse the hill to the upper floors and parking lot to their units. The building will be constructed into the hill’s slope.
“I’ve always wanted to do more than just be a businessman, I wanted to give something back to the city,” Zulich told Sudbury.com.
The not-for-profit initiative is anticipated to bring in $5.7 million of provincial funding through the Home for Good program filtered through the city, as well as additional funds through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
The affordable housing complex on Pearl Street is intended to be used as permanent affordable housing.
“This building could house individuals who are successfully transitioning from the Managed Alcohol Program at 200 Larch St. and the transitional supportive housing project being built on Lorraine St.” a city spokesperson noted in email correspondence to Sudbury.com, adding that the Home for Good program’s intent is to house people who are at risk of or are homeless.
“They just need that hand up, and if we can get some people up into a nice safe and decent facility, and once they’re in there they can have some programs to help get them up on their feet,” Zulich said.
While Zulich plans on gifting land for the affordable housing complex, he also intends to do something with the long-dormant Sudbury Peace Tower (water tower).
Zulich’s goal is to paint, preserve and spruce up the water tower and add some kind of a walkway system around it, with the area serving as a backyard for both the affordable housing complex’s residents and the broader community.
A lights display will also be tied into the project, he said, with the water tower serving as the “world’s biggest goal light.” It would light up whenever the Sudbury Wolves score a goal. Zulich owns the hockey team.
“I want it to be on every postcard,” he said of the water tower. “The view up there is unbelievable.”
Affordable housing complex to open next summer in Sudbury
CTV News Barrie (abridged)
Molly Frommer
14 July 2022
A 38-unit affordable housing project is moving ahead in downtown Sudbury.
It's an initiative from local developer Dario Zulich, who decided in 2019 to build a space in honour of a well-known church pastor.
The land located next to the water tower downtown will be the site of a new permanent affordable housing complex that will consist of 38 one-bedroom apartments.
The overall price tag is between $10 million-$12 million.
Laderoute said there is government help to cover some of the costs.
“We have access to funding from the provincial government through their Home for Good project,” said Laderoute.
He said they're working with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., where they will access most of the funding.
Zulich donated a large part of the land he owns for the project. He said he’s making Mahood’s vision a reality: building a space for people in need of a home, as well as a place that can offer them services.
“We want to help people and we’re going to put those God-given skills that we have to work and help our community. There’s going to be some facilities within the building that could go towards helping those that are in need.”
The goal is to have the housing complex complete by August 2023.
2023
August came and went with no sign of any work being started on this project.
There has been no public updates on what the status is on this much needed development.