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Big box outdoor supply store planned for College Heights |
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Written by Citizen Staff
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Tuesday, 13 May 2008 |
A big box outdoor equipment store is in the cards for College Heights.
Wholesale Sports Outdoor Outfitters aims to occupy 30,000 square feet -- about two-thirds the size of The Brick at River Point Shopping Centre -- of a 60,000-square-foot retail development planned for 5920 O'Grady Road, just south of College Heights Plaza.
City council passed a rezoning bylaw for the proposal through third reading Monday following a public hearing in which no objections were raised
Wholesale Sports is “one of the largest sporting goods stores from Winnipeg west,” developer Harry Backlin told city council.
It operates outlets in Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Lethbridge and Kamloops and claims to "carry the largest Canadian selection of outdoor products" according to the company's website.
Wholesale Sports first considered locating a store in Prince George seven years ago, Backlin added, specifically at what is now home to the Chances community gaming centre. But the company was talked out of the proposal by Mayor Colin Kinsley who said a better site could be found elsewhere in the city.
“Here I am almost seven years later and we're going to put together twice the size of building that we were going to put downtown,” Backlin said, adding the project's construction costs will be in the millions of dollars.
Backlin did not give further details on what will fill the other half other than to say most of the space is accounted for and the tenants will range from 1,800 to 10,000 square feet. He also promised Coun. Glen Scott no liquor store will be opened there.
L&M Engineering transportation engineer Terry Fjellstrom said the Domano-O'Grady intersection will experience some queues during Saturday peaks as a result of the development but wait times can be improved by adding more time to the northbound green light.
Access to the site will be from a new road, to be called Stringer Road, which will be connected to O'Grady and running roughly parallel to Domano. Fjellstrom said traffic flow at the intersection of O'Grady and Stringer it will be a problem during peak periods because of eastbound movement from the Westgate development, but said those peak periods are "very short and pronounced in duration" and other routes in and out of the area will come more into play.
In answer to concerns raised by Coun. Debora Munoz about access for walkers and cyclists, Fjellstrom said O'Grady is a 13-metre-wide collector road with room for a sidewalk along the east side once the development increases along the road.
"This development will have sidewalks in front of the development connecting to the existing sidewalks at the College Heights shopping centre, so they will be continuous to that point and as development occurs along O'Grady Road the sidewalk will be continued," he added.
However, Munoz noted that there is no sidewalk along either side of the entry ramp off O'Grady into College Heights Plaza. Fjellstrom said building a sidewalk along that stretch will be considered during the development permit process.
Initially, that wasn't good enough for Munoz, who wanted those issues considered as part of the traffic impact study. But Mayor Colin Kinsley assured her they will be dealt with during the development permit stage.
While a traffic analysis had been completed so results could be presented to council during the public hearing a traffic impact study has not been formally submitted to the city, which is a requirement for the bylaw to be passed through final reading.
A preliminary site plan indicates underground parking will be needed once occupancy reaches 50,000 square feet, Fjellstrom also told council.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 13 May 2008 )
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