Elliot Lake is running out of commercial space, said the city's manager of economic development.
Steve Antunes, who has been in the role since 2021, said it's a problem that keeps him up at night, but it's really more of a good thing. The city is in the midst of servicing a cul de sac on Fox Drive, an area already located within an industrial park. Once that's complete, four new retailers will have the green light to start building there, he said.
In October 2024, FedNor provided almost $1.7 million in funding to Elliot Lake to help with three separate projects. Of that total, the city received $24,000 to help complete the infrastructure needed to further develop its Fox Drive project.
To grant them occupancy, Antunes said, the city has to provide water and sewer services. The current holdup is getting electricity to power the lift station.
“We are hoping to have hydro poles in the ground in the spring with power flowing to the area,” he said. “Then the property owners can start building.”
In 2021, when he was new to the role, Antunes said he had a good amount of commercial real estate available throughout the city. Today, however, lots are sold as fast as they become available.
“We are at capacity already with this project,” Antunes said. “(Fox Drive) is a smaller project, but it's indicative of the amount of commercial growth we are experiencing in the city, from small- to medium-sized enterprises that are establishing themselves here. The opportunities are here, the workforce is growing, and we're seeing that by people coming to live here.”
As part of the FedNor funding in October, Elliot Lake also received $72,000 to develop a tourism strategy, said Antunes. That funding allowed the city to hire consultant Bannikin to further develop the strategy. Their task is to develop a five-year tourism plan to make Elliot Lake stand out from its competitors, as well as identify further tourism opportunities.
In 2021, tourism fell under the same umbrella as economic development, said Antunes. However, during the pandemic, communities in Northern Ontario quickly realized they needed to be tourism destinations in order to bring in visitors.
“We also started focusing on tourism, realizing the unique offering we have here in Elliot Lake,” Antunes said. “We have been working very hard to create a tourism brand for the community.”
In 2021, when communities in Northern Ontario started to look at their tourism, they learned many were offering a very similar product, Antunes said, making it a real challenge to catch someone's attention. From Parry Sound all the way to the Manitoba border, communities offered hunting, fishing, camping and all kinds of outdoor activities.
What Elliot Lake has tried to do over the past few years is really create an atmosphere of exploration, he said. Tourists can do a multitude of activities while exploring, from hiking to swimming, camping, fishing, hunting, and snowmobiling, and they will never be more than 15 minutes from a compact, full-service community.
“After the mall collapse in 2011, we saw some desperate times,” said Antunes. “Community members moved, and investments left. Now we're one of the key tourism destinations along the North Shore and we're running out of commercial space. It's a problem that keeps me up at night, but it's better than tumbleweeds in the streets.”
SEE: Elliot Lake rising from rubble of collapsed mall
There certainly won't be tumbleweeds in the streets any time soon, Antunes said.
Elliot Lake is home to about 11,372 residents, according to the last census. The census also revealed 39.4 per cent of the city's population is 65 years of age or older, Antunes said.
“The community is doing great,” he said. “We are growing, and I am very excited for the next census to come out. We were one of the few communities in Northern Ontario to see growth (5.9 per cent) in 2021, and from what I have already seen, that number has grown.”
Antunes said he's also eager to see the demographic analysis provided in the census. Every year, Elliot Lake fights with several other communities in Canada as the oldest community in the country.
“I believe that is changing,” he said. “I think when the census comes out, we're going to see a marked shift. Our elementary schools have lots of students, and we're seeing a lot of young families starting to come back.”
Many of the city's newer residents are “boomerangs,” Antunes said, or people who grew up in Elliot Lake, moved away for whatever reason, and are now moving back.
These are the people who have decided $1.2 million for a house in southern Ontario is crazy, he said, and perhaps they miss home.
“We're seeing that, but we're also seeing a lot of new residents who have never been here, and they aren't retiring,” he said.
After the mines shut down, Elliot Lake became a retirement community. In fact, its message was based around affordable retirement. However, that's a message the city is no longer trying to portray, Antunes said. Yes, the city still wants retirees to move there, but the messaging now is about active retirement, and living in Elliot Lake affords one the opportunity to be very active.
“Elliot Lake truly is a value proposition,” said Antunes. “It's not just about affordable housing; Elliot Lake itself brings a lot of value to the table. We have seven major retailers and 17 dining options. These are things other communities in our little part of the world cannot offer.
“The basic amenities people expect in southern Ontario are available in Elliot Lake, and the fact you can buy a house for a fraction of the cost, and then potentially start a business, make Elliot Lake an attractive option.”
