Home to the Sudbury Multicultural and Folk Arts Association since 1984, the building at 196 Van Horne St. in Sudbury was demolished on Sept. 18.
This follows the toppling of various other Downtown Sudbury buildings to make way for a new $200-million events centre/arena city council approved, slated to open by May 2028.
Almost all affected properties were purchased, with the lone exception being Wacky Wings, which the city is in the process of expropriating.
Prior to Wednesday, the most recent demolitions took place earlier this month, when the old Dog House and Old Rock buildings were taken down.
Although the city has yet to decide where, exactly, the events centre/arena will be located within a tract of land they purchased downtown, unused properties will be used to attract private ancillary services.
The Sudbury Multicultural and Folk Arts Association building was sold at a budgeted $500,000, and the organization has taken temporary residence within the economic development offices at Greater Sudbury city hall.
Their permanent space will be situated within the first floor Cultural Hub at Tom Davies Square (also within the city hall building at 200 Brady St.) slated to open by the end of 2026.
“We’ve been there for so long,” association president Bela Ravi told Sudbury.com in April. “It’s hard, but I think the move is good for us.”
City staff are expected to provide an update to city council on downtown demolition efforts during their Oct. 8 meeting. A city spokesperson said this would include the costs associated with the discovery of an oil tank found buried under the soil at 300 Elgin St. (the old Ledo Hotel).
“The city has retained a specialized licensed consultant and contractors to remove the tank and any contaminated soils,” a spokesperson said, adding that the work is not expected to impact the readiness of the site for future development.
The work to remove the oil tank and removal of affected soils from the former Ledo site will be funded from the Event Centre Project capital account and are “relatively minor in the scope of the project and will not affect the overall project budget.”
The downtown demolition work is being carried out by Lacroix Construction Co.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
