An alarming decline in the number of downtown stores in Kirkland Lake had merchants packed into a special Sept. 16 meeting of the Kirkland Lake Chamber of Commerce to hear what the future of retail holds.
The town's economic development department and a consultant are conducting research with a Retail Renewal Project to reverse that trend. A report is expected to bring forth recommendations in early October as the basis for developing an action plan.
The community is banking on their proposed Hockey Heritage North to eventually attract more than 30,000 tourists a year, based on visitations to other well-known Northern Ontario attractions such as Science North in Sudbury and Old Fort William in Thunder Bay.
It is estimated such an attraction would generate about $4 million in spinoffs for the town, based on tourists spending $114 per person a day.
.jpeg;w=120;h=80;mode=crop)
