A fresh coat of baby blue paint is being applied to the water tower overlooking Downtown Sudbury from the top of Pearl Street.
A crew was seen applying the paint near the top of the water tower on Sept. 20, where it was beginning to cover the rust colouration that has been creeping down from the top of the structure for years.
"We recognize the need to refurbish it, so Phase 1 is to complete the paint work on the upper bowl this year, and our intention is to phase it in over the next year,” project lead Tim Laderoute told Sudbury.com of the water tower owned by local developer Dario Zulich.
“In conjunction with the development of the 38-unit housing development (next door) we felt that it was important to start the process now."
Zulich recently donated land to its immediate east toward the development of a 38-unit affordable housing complex which is currently under construction.
Laderoute said the entire upper bowl should be fully painted within 10 days, and that subsequent phases could include additional painting, an observation platform (not at the very top of the water tower, but overlooking Downtown Sudbury nonetheless), and improved lighting.
The vision is still for the water tower to light up whenever the Sudbury Wolves score a goal.
“The water tower could be almost a beacon downtown ... It’s almost spiritual,” Zulich told Sudbury.com earlier this year. “You aim for the light and you’ll be taken care of.”
In addition to its rust discolouration, the water tower also suffered vandalism in 2018.
Sometime between July 6-8, 2018, the tower was tagged by a spray painted “Skoden” over the “Sudbury” facing Downtown to the west.
Property owner Dario Zulich had a crew remove “Skoden” from the water tower in November 2018, which covered the bottom half of “Sudbury” with a band of baby blue paint. Only the top half of “Sudbury” remained visible until this week.
A 31-year-old turned himself in to police a couple weeks after the water tower was partially repainted in November 2018.
With even more of the water tower repainted on Thursday, the blue colouration stretches further up the water tower, leaving only a trace of “Sudbury” visible at the top of the letters.
Zulich named the water tower the Sudbury Peace Tower in honour of Jeremy Mahood in 2019, who died earlier that year. At the time, a park, botanical gardens, playground and walking trail were planned for the area, all of which has yet to materialize.
The water tower is here to stay, Laderoute said, affirming, "Dario is committed to ensuring that this is a continuing landmark in the city.”
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
