GORE BAY—One of Gore Bay’s oldest commercial buildings was taken down almost two years ago, but the current vacant space will now see a new building being created to provide for new commercial space and apartment housing in the town.
“It is progressing. It has been a long time coming,” said Gord Smith, chief executive officer of Manitoulin Transport, which purchased the former Robinson Supply building from Bill Robinson in 2019. “Construction will start next week full bore (by Lignum Builders Limited in Espanola) with completion expected to be June 2024.”
“I’m sure local residents will be happy because it will be a nice building when it’s completed, it will provide more accommodations and more area for commercial businesses to locate,” said Mr. Smith.
The new two-storey building will include three commercial spaces on the ground floor and four apartments being created on the upper floor of the building. There will be a total of 4,200 square feet of space created on each level of the building.
The former Robinson Supply building was taken down in October 2021. Chris Robinson, who had operated the former business told The Expositor at the time, “I’m not sure exactly when my dad (Bill Robinson) had bought the building. I know when he first bought the building, Lloyd Noble rented space in the building from us. This must have been in the early 1970s.”
Other tenants of the building over the years included Pat Long of Manitoulin Music, Jan Turley, who owned a glass shop and George Boyd, who owned a hardware store.
