Steady Work for Local Construction Industry in Thunder Bay Area
by Scott A. Sumner
Harold Lindstrom is the General Manager & CEO of the Construction Association of Thunder Bay. He is a professional engineer and been in the position for 25 years. I asked him some questions on the local construction market.
We have several large projects ongoing right now in Thunder Bay?
“Yes we have several large projects ongoing. The new prison is a huge project and the biggest one we have ever had in NW Ontario including the size of mining projects here. The construction value of the project is somewhere between $1 and $1 1/2 billion because it is a design build operate contract with the Ontario government. They are using as many local trades as available. The local subtrades have ongoing other local clients they have to serve as well. They are estimating that on full operation the prison project will have 1500 people working there. Full operation will come in another 4 or 5 months I think. The project started about 1 and 1/2 years ago and could take another 2 1/2 years to complete.”
“ The Thunder Bay Art Gallery on the waterfront is a good sized project here. It is a form of a design build contract.”
“ We have two large apartment buildings and a stripmall going up in the River Terrace area.”
“ We have another two sets of transition residences for the First Nations in the Junot area with 58 and 71 units.”
“ There are a lot of projects on the go right now.The work going on at the old Abitibi mill site for a mining loading facility is an example.”
“ There are also some good jobs in Marathon ongoing.”
“ There is a new hotel going up near the hospital.”
“ The Magnus Theatre expansion and renovation is ongoing.We have steady work.”
The big projects compliment the ongoing construction work in Thunder Bay?
“ The big projects are good to advertise but all the smaller jobs are fairly steady. The general and sub trades are operational. We have had school work ongoing since the beginning of Covid. The city are talking about a few projects, the soccer plex, bridge and road work. The Greenstone Mine area is just wrapping up with many local subtrades and suppliers.”
Tell me about the Construction Association of Thunder Bay?
“ We have between 230 and 240 members of the Construction Association of Thunder Bay with different classifications such as associates who work in the field such as lawyers or insurance companies, design engineers, architects, manufacturers and suppliers of materials, sub trades and generals.”
Overall the members of the association are doing well?
“We are doing fairly well right now and will probably hold the same for the next year. People bid contracts now and that work could be for 1 or 1 1/2years out when they start. Tender bids are pretty high right now. A lot of the tenders have gone electronic now and we put lists frequently out so our members know what is out there.”
