Sherbrooke seeks to appropriate Bingo Hall

The City of Sherbrooke is looking to acquire the Abénaquis Bingo Hall on des Abénaquis street downtown as a part of its plan to reroute Grandes Fourches Boulevard and build a new signature bridge over the Magog River. The building, located at 45-55 des Abénaquis Street, between the train tracks and the Sherbrooke Curling Club, falls within the planned path of the future Grandes Fourches Boulevard and must, therefore, be removed.

“There is a big project coming to that area,” explained Mayor Steve Lussier, who spoke with enthusiasm about the developments to come while also stating that he prefers to let the city services carry out their negotiations with the business before commenting too much on the plan. “For the moment we are in negotiations.”

Lussier shared that while there has been no solid date fixed for the start of the work on the infrastructure project, the plan is to start building structures alongside the current Grandes-fourches Bridge next summer. The existing bridge, which the Mayor pointed out is crossed by some 10,000 vehicles each day, will remain open to circulation as long as possible while the work is done in order to avoid traffic delays and detours.

The news that the Bingo Hall needs to be demolished made it clear that the city’s outdoor venue, Place Nikitotek, will also need to be moved. On that front, Lussier said, the city’s revitalization committee is looking at multiple locations.

“We have not yet made our choice,” the mayor said, explaining that the outdoor stage will continue in its current location for another summer but will likely be relocated, at the city’s cost, in time for the summer of 2020

“All options are on the table,” Lussier said, when asked what locations were being considered for the new Nikitotek site.