June 27, 2016 – Barbara Simpson, The Observer – Construction work is expected to start this week to create downtown Sarnia’s first grocery store in years.
Bayside Centre owner Gord Laschinger said crews are mobilizing to start demolishing and renovating the southeast corner of the downtown retail and office space building – at Cromwell and Vidal streets – in order to create a 12,000-square-foot space for the new grocery store.
Sarnia’s Davy Jones Quality Meats is expected to open a location there this October. The full-scale store will feature bakery, deli and produce departments, as well as an expanded lineup of other grocery staples.
“The space being renovated right now is about 16,000 (square feet) total because we’re building a new entrance way from Vidal Street straight to hook up to the interior part of the mall,” Laschinger said Monday.
The renovations are part of the ongoing revitalization of the Bayside Centre – once a struggling mall in receivership before it was purchased by Vaughn-based Wilsondale Venture Capital – a division of Wilsondale Assets Management – last year.
As of December, Laschinger, who was a Wilsondale Assets Management representative, is now the sole owner of Bayside Centre. He also owns the Drawbridge Inn and the former Industry Theatre.
Last fall, Bayside developers rolled out a multi-million-dollar, years-long revitalization plan for downtown Sarnia, which included the purchase of five buildings surrounding the mall as part of a plan to construct high-rise seniors’ housing and a downtown piazza.
The purchases were put on hold this spring to allow for soil samples to be taken at the properties and tested after Laschinger discovered there had been chemical spills along Christina Street decades ago.
On Monday, Laschinger said testing is still required on two properties, while a “technical glitch” is holding up the purchase of the remaining properties environmentally cleared for sale.
In the meantime, Laschinger said more prospective tenants have come forward with an interest in relocating to Bayside Centre.
“It’s actually been busier than anticipated,” he said.
A pair of community services are currently eyeing space in the mall’s south end, he said, while a local engineering firm is expected to move into the mall’s north end on at least a short-term basis.
Improvements to the more than 650,000-square-foot building – including its parking garage – are also still ongoing.
New speed bumps are now in the parking garage, with new light-emitting diodes (LEDs) expected to be installed next month.
“It’s about a $150,000 job to put in new lighting, but it’s anticipated to save about $55,000 a year in energy costs,” Laschinger said. “It’s a three-year payback or less, so it’s good for everybody.”
He also anticipates a study will start this summer into the mall’s broken escalators leading up to the second-floor Lambton Shared Services Centre. That study could end with either escalator repairs or replacing them with new elevators.
“It’s been extremely busy at Bayside,” Laschinger said.
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