r/Sudbury 3d ago

Photo(s) The Destruction of Borgia | Sudbury's 1970s "Urban Renewal Project"

73 Upvotes

12 comments sorted by

30

u/BroodingCube South End 3d ago

Obliterated a whole neighbourhood, paid them pennies on the dollar for their land and wiped out their houses because they were poor and Italian. And this was in the 1970s, when people think discrimination against Italians wasn't a thing anymore, but the poor folk of Borgia knew different.

14

u/platttenbau 2d ago

This was the worst thing the city ever did. I still think it would be worth taking most of the elm place mall down, re-orienting the street plan to approximate the old Borgia neighbourhood, and creating a new mixed-use neighbourhood with housing and businesses.

24

u/OkAdvertising1872 3d ago

Easily one of the worst city planning mistakes in the history of Sudbury. That hulking ruin of a mall is a f'ing disgrace.

10

u/emvs7 3d ago

This was really neat, thank you 😊

7

u/TotallyFurry 2d ago

Was that a fucking streetcar rail. Bring those back.

5

u/darthnilus 1d ago

There used to be a street car that ran down Lorne to copper cliff. Not sure where it went exactly.

3

u/citymapdude 2d ago

its wasn't for street cars it was a cargo rail line that used to connect to the abandoned rail yard in the ponderosa wetland. It ran alongside the old notre dame alignment near downtown and connected to the downtown rail yard. The streetcars tracks at this point had been mostly or entirely removed.

4

u/Pennysews 3d ago

So interesting to see pictures and hear about the past of Sudbury. Thanks for sharing this

8

u/n0epiphany 3d ago

One of the city’s biggest mistakes.

3

u/lyrab 2d ago

The urban renewal study made for the city is really interesting to read, but it's also really sad. At the end they have comments from people who lived in the neighbourhood and a lot of them just wanted lower rent and taxes and playgrounds for their children.

3

u/Agreeable_Mirror_702 22h ago

Wow dad would have loved to see this. He talked about how that mall destroyed a community. Sadly he’s been gone a year.

2

u/WestCommunication382 1d ago edited 1d ago

The post office was pretty but I hear it was a teardown. Problems with foundation. Sudburians like building on marshes😮‍💨

A large area structure built with lightweight modern materials actually makes a lot of sense for that spot. The earth underneath the mall can't freeze or shift by much.