City increasing industrial space.

The many companies struggling to find available industrial land space in the city with the Heart of Gold will soon be able to breathe a little easier following a series of development initiatives currently underway.

One such project being led by the city, is assisting private developers with the creation of serviced industrial land space. Rising business interest in Timmins has sparked the need to update the city's official plan. As a result, several imbalances have come to light.

Not only is the city oversupplied with residential land, having much more than a 20-year supply, but it lacks commercial and industrial availability.

"The City of Timmins did show excellent initiative years back when they created the Noranta Industrial Park at the end of Mountjoy Street," says Mark Jensen, director of development services with the city.

"We've basically sold all the lots there now so we don't have a municipal industrial park anymore. We have been approached by individuals wanting to construct industrial buildings such as warehousing, and we just don't have the space for them."

In fact, aside from the 12 lots at the existing site, there remains little to no industrial land which is serviced and ready for immediate development within the city.

A 2005 study identified a series of three preferred locations for future commercial and industrial development: one on Government Road in the west end, which is already seen as a hot spot for new construction, another by the Victor M. Power Airport and Hallnor Road in Porcupine, to the east. A more extensive review of the sites is being undertaken with a $75,000 investment from FedNor.

This has led to an analysis of the soil type and capability, as well as a preliminary design for a future subdivision, including lot layouts and servicing requirements.

The Hallnor Road site has already been ruled out as a result of soil conditions that are not conducive to larger-scale development.

Once this is complete and preliminary design work is done in the coming months, the project will be put forward to council for approval. By spring, it's expected the costing estimates will be complete and a request for proposals will be issued so that the lands will be sold to a private developer who will then move forward with the industrial park.

While the Noranta Industrial Park represented a proactive approach by the city, Jensen says current efforts are much more about enabling industry-partners to take the lead.

"We don't want to compete with the private sector," says Jensen. "We want to work with them, and we feel doing this work upfront will help to spark some interest and get some land available."

portal.timmins.ca

By NICK STEWART

Northern Ontario Business