Town of Gore Bay planning for downtown revitalization project

The Town of Gore Bay is working with residents and businesses to evaluate how to revitalize its downtown. 

The goal? To transform Gore Bay into the prettiest small town in Canada. 

In its preliminary planning stage, the town has hired a private landscape architect to brainstorm how to link the downtown to the waterfront.

"We decided that our downtown needed a facelift," said Mayor Ron Lane.

The revitalization would encompass Meredith Street from Main Street to Dawson Street.

Everything from curbless streets and sidewalks to flower planters and benches are being considered under the proposal to improve the appearance of the downtown. 

According to Lane, major improvements to the downtown business area haven't been made since the 1970s. The price tag on the entire project is sitting around $4 million.

The town has secured $500,000 in funding from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation's (NOHFC) community enhancement program. Now, municipal leaders are working with businesses to figure out alternate funding sources to either proceed with the current design plan or a variation of it, depending on what the town can afford.

"Funding is always a problem for anybody, whether you're a large city or a small town," said Lane. 

When the funding is sorted out, the plan will be proposed to town council in August for approval.

Tourism is a driving force for project

With a population of just 900 people, tourism is a key driver for the revitalization project in Gore Bay. The plan compares Gore Bay to several small towns in Nova Scotia, such as Mahone Bay, Lunenburg, and Tatamagouche, which have similar population sizes and are well-known tourist destinations.

In July 2021, the federal government provided the town of Gore Bay $249,000 from its Tourism Relief Fund to upgrade its waterfront and boardwalk to attract more tourists, and in turn, increase spending at local businesses. 

The funding was slated to pave the front parking lot of the Harbour Centre, and landscape the shoreline.

Landscape architect Mark Elliott is working with EXP, an engineering firm, to develop the vision plan for the revitalization proposal. The project, Elliott says, is a 'forward-thinking' model that will shape the town for the next 50 years.

"It's about creating a destination, you know?" said Elliott, who has a family camp 20 minutes away from Gore Bay. 

"There's a tourism objective, but there's also an emphasis on developing the kind of downtown where there's business attraction and retention as well. So that's all part of the sustainability piece," he said. 

LISTEN | How the mayor of Gore Bay is planning to revitalize the downtown core: 

Morning North7:51Gore Bay mayor shares his plans to revitalize the downtown core to attract more tourists

A community on Manitoulin Island is aiming to become the prettiest small town in Canada. But the downtown needs a little bit of work before it can get there. We speak to the mayor of Gore Bay.

Even if the plan can't be implemented at once, Elliott says it can be broken down or phased out to meet a town's desired goals. 

Last month, public meetings were held in the council chambers to present the idea to local businesses and residents. The response, Lane says, has been overwhelmingly positive.  

"We're a small community but we have so much to offer. This plan will bring the community together and it'll be great for downtown businesses," said Kathy Roque, owner of My Ol' Blues, an apparel manufacturing company on Phipps Street for 27 years.

"When we have our next business meeting, we have to look at ways to move this forward as a group, so that it just doesn't go by the wayside," she said.

"Our big objective is to create the most charming small town in Canada. We're not going to set the bar low," said Elliott.