By Ian Ross
A Thunder Bay developer is moving ahead with plans to create a resort-inspired "smart" community in Haileybury, one he is billing as Ontario's premier place to retire.
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Ray Williamson's Bayport Village will be an extension of a revitalized $250-million downtown project extending southward along the Lake Temiskaming shoreline, linking the waterfront to the site of the new retirement community.
Williamson is still seeking financial backing for his multi-phase development, weighing his options between pre-selling the units and proceeding with construction, or building the units on speculation.
He intends to hold a press conference in Haileybury in early July to unveil his partnership consortium and outline additional details on how the project will unfold.
Williamson says his project team is finalizing the engineering and marketing plans for the town in gearing their future advertising campaign towards retirees in southern Ontario and the Ottawa Valley region.
Townhouses and condominiums will be in the $189,000 to $205,000 price range - a tempting offer for southern Ontario retirees to scale up their
accommodations in the unspoiled beauty and spacious living of northeastern Ontario, says Williamson. Approvals are still needed for zoning of the
400-acre site, much of it vacant, along with some official plan amendments and technical studies needed for a proposed 36-slip marina as part of a Phase 1 condominium complex.
The first phase, encompassing a 70-unit townhouse and condominium development, will be an expanded version of his "smart home" subdivision in Thunder Bay known as Sterling Village, a 60-home community designed for seniors. Each unit is wired with a high-tech computer system which controls and monitors household functions such as utilities, security and lighting.
In "smart" townhouses and condominiums, homeowners gain the full benefits of technology. Easy-to-use computer touch screens will provide e-mail and videoconferencing capabilities, online banking and shopping access, distance education opportunities and direct links into municipal services and health-care providers.
"(In the North) we're still building homes with 50-year-old technology compared to the rest of the world. It costs more to change infrastructure in finished homes to accommodate new appliances and conveniences than to build brand new homes with new technology in place.
Since unveiling his master plan two years ago, he's experienced a ground swell of across-the-board community support.
James Smyth, Haileybury's clerk administrator, says the project is a much-needed economic boost for the town of 4,700 caught in the doldrums of youth migration, unfulfilled promises of government jobs and layoffs in the mining industry. The prospect of new home construction and upgraded infrastructure to appeal to active retirees has won the support of the townspeople, he adds.
"The concept always appealed to us and (Ray Williamson) further enhanced it with additional amenities like the "smart" home technologies," says Smyth.
"We've always wanted to do something to in-fill the downtown and this seemed like a logical choice."
"We just think we have a jewel that needs to be sold," Smyth says, "With the location being on the shores of Lake Temiskaming, and the potential for boating and accessing the Ottawa market through the waterway, we think would sell the project."
www.town.haileybury.on.ca
