Victoriaville Timeline Has Shifted: City Originally Promised Project Completion by October 2026

January 2025 announcement outlined a completed redevelopment this fall; current schedule extends plazas and landscaping into 2027

THUNDER BAY — October 21, 2026 — The City of Thunder Bay’s original public commitment for the Victoriaville redevelopment went beyond reopening Victoria Avenue this October.

It described completion of the project itself.

In a January 27, 2025, Facebook announcement supplied to NetNewsLedger outlined the removal of Victoriaville Mall, building renovations, two new public plazas, underground infrastructure improvements and the return of traffic to Victoria Avenue.

“Construction begins this April 2025 and is set for completion by October 2026,” the city stated.

The post’s timeline reinforced that message: renovations and deconstruction in spring 2025, public plaza construction beginning in spring 2026, and project completion in fall 2026.

Today, the city’s published schedule separates the roadway reopening from completion of the broader redevelopment. Victoria Avenue remains scheduled to reopen this month, while plazas and landscaping extend into 2027.

What the city originally told residents

The January announcement presented Reimagine Victoriaville as a comprehensive renewal of downtown Fort William.

Its listed improvements included two public plazas, a reopened Victoria Avenue accommodating vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists, and modernized watermains and storm sewers.

Nothing in the supplied post identified landscaping or public plaza construction as work scheduled for 2027.

That original timeline was also reflected on the city’s Phase 2 project webpage. Last updated April 8, 2025, the page anticipated construction beginning in spring 2025 and the entire project being completed by fall 2026.

Residents who understood the announcement to mean a completed redevelopment this fall had a clear basis for that expectation.

What the schedule says now

The city’s Phase 3 project page currently lists Victoria Avenue’s reopening for October 2026, with public plazas and landscaping to be completed during spring and summer 2027.

Its construction FAQ is more specific about the roadway, identifying an expected opening by October 31, 2026. That FAQ lists June 2027 for completion of the entire project, while the main project page uses the broader summer 2027 timeframe. Both acknowledge that construction timelines can change.

As of October 21, the roadway reopening target has not yet passed. However, the published schedule for completing the overall redevelopment has moved beyond the timeframe communicated in January 2025.

Opening the road this month would satisfy that particular milestone. It would leave other elements of the original redevelopment unfinished until next year.

Construction began later than originally announced

The January Facebook post said construction would begin in April 2025.

The city subsequently held its groundbreaking ceremony on May 29, 2025. Its announcement that day said construction would begin in early June, starting with temporary business access before deconstruction of the mall.

The city named Finn Way General Contractor Inc. as the construction contractor, selected through competitive bidding, with Colliers Project Leaders providing overall project management.

Those records establish a change in the announced start date. They do not, by themselves, establish why the overall completion schedule moved into 2027 or whether the later start caused that change.

Earlier construction assurances need an October update

In the earlier reporting supplied for this article, Kelvin Jankowski, the city’s manager of capital construction, described waterproofing, manhole installations, piping and other underground work that needed to precede final road construction.

He also acknowledged significant water-related challenges.

“With every project, you run into unknown conditions, and you absorb those into the schedule as best you can,” Jankowski said in that account.

This assessment should therefore be understood as an August update, rather than confirmation of construction conditions on October 21. No newly confirmed opening day or formal announcement postponing the October roadway target was located in the public sources reviewed for this article.

Businesses need certainty about access

For businesses operating around the construction area, the reopening carries practical consequences for customers, deliveries and access to entrances.

The city’s project page says temporary alternative business access is expected to remain in effect until October 31.

A current update should explain whether the road and adjacent pedestrian routes will open together, whether temporary restrictions will remain, and how next year’s work will affect access.

It should also reconcile the original public announcement with the revised completion schedule.

The questions requiring answers are straightforward:

• Does October 31 remain the expected roadway opening date?
• What work remains before traffic can return?
• When was the overall completion schedule extended into 2027?
• What caused the change, and has it affected the project’s cost?
• What construction and access restrictions will continue after the road opens?

The January 2025 Facebook post strengthens the case for a clear explanation. The city initially communicated completion of a redevelopment encompassing roads, buildings, infrastructure and public plazas by October 2026.

With that broader project now scheduled to continue into 2027, residents deserve an updated account of what changed, what remains and when each part will be ready.

NetNewsLedger reached out to City of Thunder Bay Manager John Collin and Mayor Ken Boshcoff for comment. We still await their answers.