North Bay’s economic development department may have a new team, but it has set its sights on two big initiatives this year – the city’s new airport industrial business park and the downtown.
“They are going to be our big focus for this year,” said manager Erin Richmond. “Our big plan for our marketing this year is partnering with the airport, and all efforts will be focused on the park.”
Richmond, who took over the role of manager in January from Rick Evans, has been with the department for 13 years. Her new team of economic development officers includes Steve McArthur and Tanya Bedard.
The airport park offers airside and groundside parcels. Currently, one new building has been built and another is slated to begin construction in the spring.
“We will do an official opening of the park in the spring,” she said. “We needed a new industrial park because we don’t have a lot of publicly held lands. We are almost full in the Gateway Park (West Ferris area) and only a few parcels are left down there.”
Serviced lots are available at the new park, but those northeast and northwest of the runway are not, since they are part of a long-term plan.
“It looks like the land is mapped out in specific parcels but what we have done is worked with the planning team and leave it like blocks, so we have the option to carve out whatever size parcel the project needs,” Richmond said.
The land is available for sale or lease, which is fairly unique for an airport setting.
“We haven’t seen a lot of the airside land for sale in airports across the province and country,” she said.
There has been a lot of interest in the park, despite not officially launching or promoting it but some announcements about tenants are expected this spring.
The economic department has been working with the Downtown Improvement Area (DIA) and some other partners to put together a more cohesive strategy for the city’s core.
“The waterfront development is moving ahead, the underpass to connect it to the downtown is there, and we completed a cultural plan last year,” Richmond said.
“It’s the first time ever we have done that (cultural plan) and we have a group now tasked with implementing it.
“There are lots of good things happening downtown and we thought it would be a really good time to pull it all together in a cohesive way and market it and fill our empty spaces.”
While the city’s downtown is doing fairly well, and there is more interest from new young entrepreneurs, the department wants to build on what already exists.
“The next generation is coming along and they are excited about downtown so we want to build on that excitement and energy,” she said.
Retail has traditionally been the focus of downtowns, but the project the department is undertaking is focusing on it becoming more of a place where people can work and live.
“We are looking at attracting professionals to the downtown. We want to move ahead with more residential, because more people living downtown drives the services they require,” Richmond said.
“Instead of everyone closing up a retail shop, and going home, there would be an ongoing activity of people living down there.”
Other initiatives the team will work on include tourism, immigration, advanced manufacturing and the film industry, which attracts about four to five productions a year.
“We are also going to work with our existing companies and see how we can help them to grow. It is a strategy that has served us well over the years and it is one that we will continue. Our own companies area a great source of leads for us,” she said.
