Canadian Tire seeking building permit for Elmira location

DON’T PLAN ON DOING your Christmas shopping there, but a long-discussed Canadian Tire store may be taking shape in Elmira by that time.

The company last week applied for a building permit at the south-end location adjacent to the Foodland store, a project first proposed the better part of a decade ago.

The application proposes a 39,850-square-foot structure with a construction value of $3.6 million.

All the necessary zoning and siteplan approvals are in place for a store at that location, so the building permit is the last piece of the puzzle from the township’s perspective, notes director of engineering and planning Dan Kennaley.

His staff is currently reviewing the application. Once issued, the permit will be valid for six months, meaning work would have to get underway within that timeframe.

“The impression I’m getting is that they’re going to act on that building permit relatively quickly,” Kennaley said this week.

Craig Wilson, a project manager at Canadian Tire Real Estate, said there’s no timeline in place for the new build.

“Hopefully it’s going to start soon,” he said of the smaller-format store planned for Elmira.

“Usually it’s about five months,” he added of construction time, noting completion depends on when building starts and if the winter weather becomes a factor.

He said he couldn’t predict when residents might see actual shovels in the ground.

Construction work at the site would signal the project is actually moving ahead, after much talk over the years. Early in 2008, for instance, the retail developer in control of the property at the time suggested a Christmas opening for that year. That was before the economic downturn hit, which might have changed the company’s plans.

With growth in Elmira, the market might now be more tempting for retailers, Kennaley suggested.