Options laid out by the city include demolition.

THUNDER BAY — Forty years after it was built, a study starting this summer will examine whether Victoriaville Centre should be rehabilitated, repurposed or torn down.

The City of Thunder Bay is expected to choose a consultant for the project within the next few weeks.

Its Request for Proposals notes that the downtown mall was constructed in response to a decline in commercial activity in the south core, but "from its initial opening, the Centre struggled to attract tenants and has consistently returned a considerable annual operating deficit."

According to a tbnewswatch.com story in January of last year, Victoriaville had incurred deficits totalling more than $11 million since its opening.

There are currently multiple vacancies, with remaining tenants consisting of "primarily health and social services related and government offices," the RFP states.

The mall has become "a gathering place and struggles with loitering and trespassing."

It's also in need of significant capital investment.

The request for proposals lays out the following options:

rehabilitation and continuation of a commercial use

adaptive reuse

demolition and restoration of Victoria and Syndicate Avenue as through streets

other potential options that may be identified through the consultant's work

The consultant will identify and evaluate at least three options, including estimated costs for each, and recommend the preferred course of action.

Stakeholders and the general public will be consulted and surveyed during the process.

It's expected the consultant will also examine what's been done in other cities where downtown malls have struggled.

Cost considerations will weigh heavily on city council and administration.

In 2017, it was estimated that Victoriaville would require nearly $9 million to continue operating for the next decade, including several million dollars in repairs.

The cost of demolishing it was also pegged at $9 million.