By IAN ROSS
'Buy land. They ain’t making any more of the stuff.’
More than a few 40-ish couples are taking humourist Will Rogers’ time-honoured advice.
For years, the City of Elliot Lake has been branding itself as the retirement capital of Canada.
But there’s a younger crowd snapping up prime lakefront lots in the North Shore community of 11,500. And it’s a far cry from being shuffleboard city.
They’re not yuppies or wealthy Torontonians. They’re teachers, engineers, plumbers, computer programmers; solid middle class people with better than average incomes.
A Laurentian University study released last winter indicates couples in their mid-40s are willing to drive five or more hours from Sudbury, Kitchener, London, Barrie, and the communities of the Golden Horseshoe, to get their slice of vacation wilderness heaven in Elliot Lake.
“This is a whole new element to the city,” says Norm O’Reilly, the director of Laurentian University’s school of sports administration, who released the findings to Elliot Lake community leaders of a consumer-based survey of 80 new property owners. “It’s cottage country.”
The dream of owning some coveted waterfront recreational property is a motivating factor for those who’ve purchased lots on Dunlop and Quirke Lakes, located about 10 kilometres north of town.
Many buyers are savvy enough to realize its investment potential as well as having a future retirement home.
But most of all, “it’s enjoyment now,” says O’Reilly.
Price point is Elliot Lake’s big advantage. Many cottage seekers want a weekend getaway at less-than-Muskoka prices.
Most popular are the one acre to one-and-half acre undeveloped lots ranging between $40,000 to $60,000.
It’s resulted in a cottage building frenzy north of the city on former Crown land.
The revival of Elliot Lake from hard-luck uranium mining town to retirement community is the stuff of Northern Ontario legend. But the arrival and expansion of new cottage development may usher in a new wave of population with a waterfront development project that marries sound business tactics with ‘green’ development practices.
Elliot Lake’s cottage development was mentioned in a recent Re/Max national snapshot as being among the best bargains in waterfront recreational properties in Canada with a price point under $250,000.
The Laurentian survey results are no surprise to Wayne Wilcox, CEO of Lakeshore Properties. It only confirms what he’s known anecdotally from clients.
The survey results may slightly tweak their marketing approach. Lakeshore distributes about one million newsletters in targeted mail drops within selected neighbourhoods in Ontario cities.
So far, the City’s waterfront development agency -- officially known as the Elliot Lake Residential Development Commission -- has fared well, selling 172 lots put on the market.
This year’s release of more lots stands to be hot commodity again.
It’s not an uncommon sight every June to see clients lined up outside the commission’s office the night before the next round of lots are released, deposit cheques in hand, all angling for the best properties.
“These aren’t teenagers lined up for rock concert tickets, but they act that way,” says Wilcox.
Marketing the area’s peace and quiet as well as an environmentally-sensitive attitude toward development are emphasized to buyers.
Cottage development will be a measured and staged process over the next 10 to 15 years as more lakes open up.
Both the City and Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) have developed a sophisticated lake management plan specifically outlining what can and can’t be done on these former Crown properties.
As part of the province’s Elliot Lake Act in 2001, 10 of 800 lakes within the municipal boundaries were opened up by MNR for lot development by the City. Environmental safeguards were put in place including a fixed limit of cottages per lake as well as stringent requirements to ensure the long-term health of the lakes.
The municipality supplies road access and hydro but no sewer. All lots were carefully selected to accommodate Class 4 septic systems.
“It’s going to prevent the kind of sprawl level environmental degradation of the trophic levels that we’ve seen in lakes in south-central Ontario,” say Wilcox. “You don’t want to become the thing that people are trying to get away from.”
Two lakes are now under development, Dunlop and Quirke, with two more opening up sometime in the near future.
Elliot Lake mayor Rick Hamilton acknowledges they are the “poster child for future development on Crown land.”
The City is very cognizant to avoid the Muskoka effect of letting cottage construction get out of hand.
Hamilton says if cottages become year-round homes, it could boost the city’s population by as much as 900 people once the original 400 lots are sold off.
Now entering Year Four of their business plan, construction is underway on the first 30 cottages.
Wilcox advises community leaders to expect a “Tsunami” of building activity not previously seen with 100 more seasonal homes expected to go up over the next three years.
To scare off land speculators, as part of each sales agreement, buyers must agree to build a minimum of 700-square-feet of cottage space within three years. Many of the cottages now under construction are in the 1,000 and 1,500-square feet range.
“We’re doing it in stages and it’s worked out very well,” says Hamilton. “We’re finding it’s now slowing down people’s interest in buying.”
Hamilton says they must address a local shortage of skilled labour, but these are more palatable problems than dealing with the uranium mine closures of the early 1990s.
Establishing a cottage community also means a new economy springing up catering to a recreational clientele with new investment opportunities.
Community and business leaders are already studying what changes are necessary for the downtown core to evolve it into a more recreationally-oriented service area.
“A vast majority of our businesses are optimistic they’re going to be growing within the next three years not contracting,” sys Hamilton.
But would that mean the loss of that small town feel long-time residents have come to cherish?
Hamilton doesn’t think so, saying most of the cottage development north of town serves only to generate more local economic activity, open up more restaurants and giving retailers greater confidence to deliver new and expanded services.
“I see that as nothing but a plus for the folks living here now.’
