Restoration of downtown Sudbury begins with makeover of Memorial Park

3 Days ago 2

Sudbury

Work is being done successful Sudbury’s downtown Memorial Park to bring it backmost to its erstwhile glory, arsenic portion of a program to alteration the bluish Ontario city’s downtown.

City hoping much events and festivals brings astir a rebound for downtown Sudbury

Kate Rutherford · CBC News

· Posted: Nov 05, 2025 6:00 AM EST | Last Updated: November 5

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Downtown parkland successful Sudbury, Ont., getting a makeover to pull much radical to the area

Sudbury's parks section giving Memorial Park immoderate loving attraction successful hopes of bringing much radical downtown adjacent year.

Work is being done successful Sudbury’s Memorial Park to bring it backmost to its erstwhile glory, arsenic portion of a program to alteration the city’s downtown.

Like galore downtowns crossed bluish Ontario, nationalist spaces became neglected arsenic galore radical stayed location during the COVID-19 pandemic and didn’t instrumentality successful regular numbers post-pandemic.

Early successful the pandemic, a stateless structure encampment popped up successful Memorial Park and the Tom Davies Square plaza crossed the street, starring to an eviction by the metropolis successful June 2021.

The enactment being done present is, successful part, to repair the infrastructure of the park, including the turf.

Jeff Pafford, the city's manager of parks and leisure services, said that crews are re-seeding the northbound tract this autumn and program to bash the southbound broadside successful the spring.

Some histrion stumps painted successful time glo overgarment successful a tract scattered with leaves.

Bushes and histrion limbs are being trimmed, helium said, to amended sightlines crossed the thoroughfare to metropolis hall, areas for pop-up vendors and nutrient trucks volition beryllium installed, a signifier for performers upgraded and improved seating enactment successful this coming spring.

It’s each portion of the program to bring radical unneurotic and bring them backmost downtown, said Pafford.

"Whether it's done a festival oregon whether it's done pop-up programming and truly making definite it's a dynamic, welcoming space, with each the efforts successful the downtown wherever a batch of concern successful the forms of a taste hub, and a caller lawsuit centre, we spot Memorial Park being cardinal to those different developments arsenic well."

A bald antheral wearing a grey windbreaker stands against immoderate bare crushed with trees successful the background

Jeff MacIntyre, enforcement manager of Downtown Sudbury, said it’s been a conflict to get some the nationalist and entrepreneurs backmost to the halfway of the city.

“We mislaid a batch of large businesses,” helium said.

“Some of them were retirements that lined up a small excessively choky unneurotic due to the fact that of COVID. If you're a tiny concern proprietor and you cognize you're reasoning of retiring successful the adjacent 5 to 10 years and past each of a abrupt the satellite closes down, you recognize you person to wholly rebuild your concern oregon sell.”

He estimated the downtown is astatine the midway constituent of rebuilding.

MacIntyre sees the makeover of Memorial Park arsenic a cardinal measurement successful revitaliziating the downtown.

A antheral with a chaotic grey beard and hairsbreadth wearing a pinkish garment stands successful beforehand of a representation of downtown Sudbury

He’s moving connected bringing much festivals to the greenspace, hoping to pull much customers for downtown businesses and restaurants.

But helium admitted it’s been a pugnacious merchantability post-pandemic to organizers of outdoor events.

“It wasn't the beauteous parkland that it utilized to be,” helium said. “We dressed it up for a mates of weeks. But it needs changeless maintenance. It needs care. It needs to beryllium a comfy spot for radical to spell sojourn and, and be and radical request to spot different radical there. Using events to assistance spike that volition truly help.”

MacIntyre is calling connected the national and provincial governments to supply lodging and societal services to radical who habitually bent retired successful nationalist spaces, similar Memorial Park, truthful everyone tin bask them.

In the meantime, parks crews are grooming the lawns and preparing for an unveiling successful the outpouring erstwhile the snowfall melts.

Sudbury parks worker Ron Wolynsky said radical are funny astir what they’re doing.

“We archer them we're doing a restoration,” helium said. “They each look to beryllium each for it, excited to get the parkland back.”