A Ministry of Transportation official says plans for interchange improvements at Highway 403 and Wayne Gretzky Parkway are moving forward and construction could begin as early as 2023.
The improvements are key to further retail development in the area, including a long-discussed Costco big-box retail store.
“The Highway 403/Wayne Gretzky Parkway interchange improvements are currently in the detail design stage,” said Simi Ikotun, issues management co-ordinator for the ministry.
Ikotun said the ministry is reviewing improvements needed for the interchange, including on and off ramps and ramp terminal intersections.
“The ministry is working with the City of Brantford to support future developments in the area and to advance this project,” said Ikotun.
He said the ministry expects construction could begin as early as next year and be completed in one construction season.
A social media post made by Mayor Kevin Davis earlier this month made reference to interchange improvements at Wayne Gretzky Parkway. Davis said he learned that “buried deep in the recent Ontario budget is an item for work to be done on the entry and exit ramps.”
“This work is required for further retail development in this area, like a Costco,” said the mayor.
Maria Visocchi, Brantford’s communications director, said the city’s planning staff received a second site plan submission in February 2021 for the Costco development at the Lynden Park Mall property at 84 Lynden Rd.
“The city provided comments from that circulation in March 2021,” said Vissochi.
“We understand from their consultant that the project team is continuing to work to address the comments and finalize the detailed design of the site and, based on a recent update, we are expecting their third site plan submission soon.”
That plan is for a large retail warehouse to be built on the mall property on a site already cleared and prepped.
A spokesperson for Costco has said that, until planning issues are finalized, the company will not confirm its plans, but noted that a store can be built within two months.
Davis has said a Costco store for the city is one of the things he’s questioned about most frequently by Brantford residents.
The idea of the big box store being built in the north end has been a hot topic of discussion for years.
In 2014, Costco was linked to a 6.7-hectare property at Morton Avenue and Wayne Gretzky Parkway purchased by a property developer.
Despite a site plan and extensive negotiations, plans were scuttled when the Ministry of Transportation raised concerns about increased traffic from Costco backing up traffic on the nearby Highway 403 interchange. The property eventually was put back on the market.
In 2018, the Lynden Park Mall presented plans to the city that called for a big expansion that included a hotel, 85-unit residential building and a large retail building.
In May 2020, the transportation ministry said it was in discussions with the city and the mall owners about how development of a Costco store on the mall property would affect traffic at the Highway 403 interchange at Wayne Gretzky Parkway. Then, in September 2020, it was learned the ministry had completed a study, giving the go-ahead to the mall redevelopment plan.