The Town of Espanola, located along the north shore of Lake Huron, will use $18,000 from the federal government to regenerate business downtown.
With the funding from FedNor, the town will develop a plan to offer incentives to businesses locating, updating or expanding their operations in the downtown core. The plan will also feature a streetscape design to enhance the appearance of the area and generate more traffic for local retailers.
“This project will enable our community to create a new vision for our downtown and help us recover from recent fires in the business sector,” Espanola Mayor Michael Lehoux said in a news release. “With FedNor’s assistance, we will investigate business development incentives and devise a plan to rejuvenate the downtown core.”
In addition to the fires, which have destroyed commercial and residential space, the town recently learned it owed Domtar more than $4 million after the papermaker’s Espanola mill property was reassessed by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation.
Espanola has been looking at options for economic development to combat these setbacks.
Last year, it welcomed anchor tenant Helios Developments to its industrial park and plans to expand the area, adding a connecting link to Highway 17. It’s also wooing the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League in hopes of attracting a new team to a new permanent home in Espanola.
