The City of Thunder Bay is inviting proposals for high-value, quality development projects, for development on city-owned “opportunity sites” which are now available for potential purchase.
Developers, investors, housing providers, and other visionary community builders are being invited to help shape the city’s next phase of growth.
Joel DePeuter, the city’s director of development services, says the city is focused on growth through building more homes and businesses, and offering land for development.
“There are 10 properties in total,” DePeuter said. “Some are within downtown areas, and some of them are outside. They are all opportunity sites that could support large development of 200 units or more. We would easily be looking at more than 1,000 to perhaps 2,000 units that could be achieved through all of these sites if developed.”
DePeuter added that there are also business development opportunities, particularly in the downtown sites.
“These sites would be great for a development with a ground floor commercial or office space and residential upper floors,” he said. “Also, some of these sites are large enough that they could accommodate a mixed use, and perhaps neighbourhood services on the same site as apartment dwellings.”
He added that the new sites are high-potential, prime locations suited for quality, multi-residential, and mixed-use projects that align with Thunder Bay’s vision to grow the urban housing supply, build vibrant neighbourhoods, and support sustainable development.
He explained that this is essentially the next phase of the city’s work to identify lands that could be surplus for housing. Last year, the city declared several smaller sites as surplus that would typically permit six units, and in some cases, it could be split for more than one building.
Deanna Walker, the City’s manager of realty services, said this is a great chance to bring forward new ideas and help grow Thunder Bay in a meaningful way.
“We’re looking for proposals that make smart use of these, and other city-owned properties and contribute to the kind of welcoming, vibrant, and growing city we all want to live in,” Walker said.
Thunder Bay was named as a top-performing city across Canada for the housing accelerator program in 2024.
“We did very well in terms of meeting our housing goals and now those goals have increased with time,” DePeuter said. “This year, and in 2026, we have a lot of work ahead of us to meet those goals and remain a top-performing city.”
Eligible projects may qualify for financial incentives, including grants for housing, construction, and planning fees.
