Some new serviced lots at the Dymond Industrial Park, just off Highway 11 in Temiskaming Shores, are available for purchase.
“We have done a lot of work on the park and put the water and sewer in and this year we are completing the project by putting in natural gas and hydro,” said Temiskaming Shores Mayor Carmen Kidd. “With a boom in the mining industry, we hope to see some companies servicing the mining industry.”
The city is ideally located to service mines in northwestern Quebec, Elk Lake and Kirkland areas. The park, which is on more than 100 acres, was previously unserviced.
Its tenants used three wells to provide nonpotable water and septic systems handled waste. Funding from the federal and provincial governments allowed the project to proceed last year.
While new lots were developed, existing tenants could also take advantage of the upgrades.
There has been interest in the park, and the city has been dealing with different real estate companies to try and sell the lots under the Multiple Listing Service.
Another upgrading project the city will undertake is a sewer and water expansion on Latchford Street in Haileybury, to accommodate a new residence for Northern College.
“We will be ripping the street up, replacing the infrastructure, and then going back and repaving that road. That will give them the capacity to put the residence in place,” said Kidd.
The upgrade will cost about $5 million and government funding will be sought. “Finding places to live for the students has become quite difficult for them, especially the first-year students,” he said. “The residence will be a first for the campus here.”
Some developers are looking at creating some new housing for the city. A 28-lot development, near Lake Temiskaming, and a new 12-lot subdivison could be in the works.
“The housing market seems to be very hot in this area,” Kidd said. “Not sure why, but even if people are working in Kirkland Lake or Elk Lake, they tend to want to be here. It’s an area where people want to live, even if they work somewhere else.”
New apartments are under construction in downtown Haileybury, adding to its revitalization. A southern Ontario developer has taken two adjacent buildings that have not been in use for about eight to 10 years, and is creating apartments.
A third floor is being added, to obtain a scenic view of Lake Temiskaming, and some of the apartments will be suitable for students.
