Canadian Tire will move to new digs on Old Airport Road
Jorge Barrera
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Dec 08/00) - Canadian Tire is moving from their downtown location to build a bigger, slicker department store on Old Airport Rd.
The $6.5 million project has been a year in the works and is part of a national strategy by Canadian Tire to crank up its image.
The company bought the Old Airport Rd. lot from Arctic Frontier Carrier this summer and plans to begin construction on the 19,800 sq. building this spring.
The lot sits beside Northern Metallic.
According to city records the estimated cost of the land is about $600,000, but the market value could well range closer to $1 million.
"The store will be open by Christmas next year," said Trent Holfield, Calgary- based development co-ordinator with Canadian Tire in Yellowknife this week.
According to Holfield, the new development will create an estimated 60 construction jobs and 40 new part-time to full-time positions in the store.
The store's architecture fits with the new wave of big-box store design predominantly displayed by Wal-Mart and southern multi-media retailer, Future Shop with its brightly coloured and lit interiors and massive exterior banners.
The new store will have a 180 stall parking-lot lying in front of a huge, white and red Canadian Tire facade hanging over the front doors. The lot will be landscaped and framed by 21 trees.
According to Marshall Hundert, urban planner with IBI Group in Calgary and consultant for Canadian Tire with the Yellowknife project, the store's sharp new look could boost investment along the predominantly grey and concrete Airport Rd.
"I think it will help mature the industrial area," said Hundert, "hopefully it will start a domino affect."
The old building will be transferred to Canadian Tire's surplus division and go up for sale once construction starts on the new site.
"We'll aggressively try to find buyers," said Holfield.
According to city planner Dave Jones, the store's current downtown location is prime development fodder.
"From my perspective it is a good site for re-development," said Jones, "maybe for a hotel or convention centre."
"The building is not in good shape and it would need a big investment," he added, "but it has a great deal of potential."
Canadian Tire started as a small independent business in 1922. It now employs 38,000 people and is publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange. They have 432 stores across Canada and claim that three of four Canadians live within a 15 minute drive of an outlet.
