The city’s elected officials will vote next week on whether Greater Sudbury should contribute $8,599,488 toward the construction of a road to open up industrial lands on The Kingsway.
The contribution, which city staff recommends for approval, would come in the form of $2,866,296 in reimbursements to the developer upon substantial completion of the road, and $5,732,592 in transferable development charge credits.
The total eligible project cost is $11,465,185, of which the developer would foot the bill for its $2,866,296 balance (25 per cent).
“Eligible costs do not include infrastructure that is only required to support the new industrial subdivision,” a report by city Planning Services director Kris Longston clarified.
The road would extend Levesque Street northward, opening up Jack Nicholas Business and Innovation Subdivision, which is also referred to as the Kingsway Employment District.
Located north of The Kingsway, these lands were referred to as the Kingsway Entertainment District until the city pulled funding from a municipal arena/event centre project in 2022. This project has since shifted to the city’s downtown core and is expected to open in 2028.
The northward extension of Levesque Street extends to the northern boundary of the developer’s property, but would be part of a much larger project which would eventually see the road connect The Kingsway with Lasalle Boulevard.
Longston’s report notes that in the event city council does not proceed with cost-sharing the road extension now, they might end up needing to acquire lands to construct the road as part of a future municipal project, at a higher cost to the municipality.
“This cost-sharing application would allow the city to complete a portion of its planned motorized and active transportation network in the short term, while sharing a portion of the construction cost with the applicant,” the report notes.
The extension of Levesque Street is projected to open up 30 hectares of the subdivision’s 70 hectares of land, with an accompanying privately-funded road slated to create a westward loop to create another connection with The Kingsway.
The road would transfer to the city once substantially complete.
It’s to be developed to an “urban collector standard,” which means a 14-metre-wide asphalt surface, a centre left turn lane, a 1.5-metre-wide sidewalk on both sides and 1.5-metre asphalt boulevards on both sides.
The Jack Nicholas Business and Innovation Subdivision has been in the works for decades.
Developer Miro Zulich bought the land more than 30 years ago with the plan to “develop a world-class industrial park,” he told the planning committee at the time.
Other plans took hold in later years, with Miro’s son, Dario, championing the Kingsway Entertainment District until city council withdrew financial support for a municipal arena/event centre in 2022.
A 2010 draft plan of subdivision for a 33-lot light industrial park has remained in play since 2010, with city council members voting in August 2024 to extend its approval to Oct. 26, 2026.
Last year, a waste transfer facility was also greenlit for the site.
The city’s elected officials will decide on whether to proceed with a cost-sharing agreement for the northward extension of Levesque Street during their March 18 finance and administration committee meeting.
The public portion of the meeting is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m., and can be viewed in-person in council chambers at Tom Davies Square or livestreamed by clicking here.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.