AlgomaTrad Infrastructure Project Update, November 2021

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It has been a very busy year at the AlgomaTrad Centre. Thanks to the success of our AlgomaTrad Grows Fundraiser, as well as other funding, we have been able to move ahead with some key elements of the Infrastructure Project.

Phase 1 Construction Design Team Chosen!

AlgomaTrad is excited to announce that Sault Ste. Marie architectural firm, IDEA, has been chosen to lead the design for the Dining Hall upgrade and new Kitchen construction. IDEA is an Integrated Design, Engineering and Architecture firm that operates in Sault Ste. Marie and Ottawa. It provides consulting services for a multitude of project types including educational, health care, residential, institutional, recreational, commercial, industrial, and cultural. IDEA’s success with past projects has allowed the firm to expand provincially, nationally, and internationally with completed projects throughout Ontario, Alberta, the United States, and the Asia Pacific.

“We are very excited to be a part of this transformational project. AlgomaTrad’s dedication to traditional arts and culture along with their philosophies towards the environment and sustainable growth are truly inspiring to us. We feel that these are  ingredients for a meaningful project,” said Franco Pastore, founding partner of IDEA and Principal-in-Charge (Architecture). IDEA will be working with local engineering firm, Tulloch Engineering, to bring an experienced architectural, structural, civil, mechanical and electrical engineering team to the design of the Kitchen addition and Dining Hall upgrade.

Wasting no time, the IDEA team met at the AlgomaTrad Centre on Tuesday, November 22 with Julie, Pat and AlgomaTrad Infrastructure Cmte members David Spacek and Al Tithecott to take a look at the buildings and discuss the scope of the project. Stay tuned!

Surveys, Well Tests, and Feasibility Studies

Julie and Pat convened the Infrastructure Project Committee, made up of volunteers with expertise in engineering, construction, and project management, early in the year to identify the path to getting started on the Project to renovate the Dining Hall building for 4-season use and to build a new Kitchen addition. With the committee’s guidance we were able to get several preliminary steps completed. A Well test was conducted to find out both the quantity of water and the amount of volume/pressure that is available, and the existing well passed with flying colours. Requests for Proposal were developed for a drone survey of the property, a geotechnical survey, and a septic System feasibility study. Proposals were accepted and rewarded and both surveys have now been completed and the feasibility study is ongoing. Thanks to Infrastructure Committee members Mary Schneider, David Spacek, Al Tithecott, Tim Kelly, and Andrew McKay for their advice, hard work, and direction!

6800 Trees Planted

Thanks to funding from the Forests Ontario’s 50 Million Tree Program, a tree planting program supported by the Government of Canada, corporate sponsors, and donors, 6800 trees were planted around the AlgomaTrad Centre in the Spring. This planting, carried out by local company REGEN Forestry, is part of a larger permaculture plan for the 50 acre site and includes a variety of native conifers and hardwoods. These trees will help protect the Two Tree River, provide much needed wind protection to the site in the future, and eventually act as valuable animal habitat and wildlife corridors. Julie and Pat recently walked the planting which encircles most of the property, and are happy to report that the trees have done very well this summer!