The Wacky Wings building at 187 Shaughnessy St. is slated to begin coming down this week.
“The demolition is a work in progress right now, we’re just waiting for the final permits,” city CAO Shari Lichterman told the finance and administration committee of city council on Tuesday.
“We anticipate that demolition will start on that property anytime this week.”
In a media release issued by the city after Tuesday’s meeting, they note that crews will mobilize for demolition on Wednesday. This will mark the final demolition of properties acquired by the city to support downtown redevelopment efforts centred on a new arena/event centre.
Demolition is expected to be completed within four to six weeks.
On Tuesday, the building was seen fenced off and boarded up.
The owners behind Wacky Wings were the lone holdouts in the city’s efforts to purchase a swath of properties through the city’s south district to make way for a municipal arena/event centre and private ancillary services, such as hotels and commercial spaces.
In late 2023, owner Craig Burgess told Sudbury.com that the city’s expropriation of Wacky Wings was “heartbreaking,” and that he’d hoped the restaurant would be part of the ancillary services to accompany the arena/event centre.
Earlier this year, the city selected a site for the arena/event centre whose footprint includes the Wacky Wings property.
In November 2024, the expropriation cost hit $2.49 million, which accounts for the market value of the land but doesn’t include other variables, such as damages attributable to the disturbance and special difficulties in relocation.
As Burgess put it at the time, the final number is "going to be substantially greater” than the city’s initial payment.
Following Tuesday’s meeting, Lichterman told Sudbury.com that the work to finalize the final payment to Wacky Wings’ ownership was ongoing.
“The property owner has reserved the right to claim additional compensation under the Expropriations Act,” she said. “The act sets out the process and timelines for making such a claim. The city is not reviewing a formal claim at this time.”
In April, Wacky Wings’ owners purchased the long-vacant Northern Breweries building on Lorne Street, at which time they estimated to be back in business “as soon as possible,” which was likely by early 2026.
By Dec. 31, 2024, the city had spent $16.73 million of their $20.25-million budget on downtown land purchases and demolitions. Alongside preliminary Wacky Wings costs, this included the purchase and demolition of the Ledo Hotel, various apartment buildings, Alexandria’s Restaurant, Brûlerie Old Rock Roastery, the Advanced Detailers automotive shop, the Dog House Sports Bar, Golden Grain Bakery and the Sudbury Multicultural and Folk Arts Association building.
The affected south district included in the event centre/arena plans is enclosed by Brady Street to the north, Paris Street to the east, the railroad tracks to the south, and Grey Street to the west. All of the enclosed properties are owned by the City of Greater Sudbury, except for the CP Rail building at 233 Elgin St., the Sudbury Theatre Centre at 170 Shaughnessy St., and the Samaritan Centre at 344 Elgin St.
Within the city-owned footprint of downtown Sudbury’s south district, Wacky Wings joins the downtown fire station and Sudbury Community Arena in continuing to stand.
City council has yet to decide what to do with either the fire station or the more than 70-year-old arena, with the fire station either facing extensive renovations or a new build in a new location, and the arena either being repurposed or torn down at an estimated cost of $5 million.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.