The Town of Chapleau got some good news in January, when FedNor announced it would provide the town with $836,500 in funding for a trio of projects designed to energize the town and boost economic development in the region.
The largest chunk, $535,000, will go toward a waterfront renewal project that Mayor Michael Levesque hopes will invigorate the town’s attractions and draw more travellers to linger longer.
“One of the goals of this project is to create linkages between the downtown and the waterfront. We don’t have that right now,” Levesque said. “Tourists will pass through very quickly. Now they can buy whatever they want to buy and come down to the beach at the same time.”
Developed in conjunction with Tulloch Engineering and Toronto-based EDA Collaborative — the same landscape design firm behind Sudbury’s Elgin Greenway — Chapleau’s waterfront concept will include a railroad-themed splash pad and playground, a swimming area with floating docks, and a new boat launch.
“We have a boat launch now, but it’s so old,” Levesque said. “So we’re going to remove it to include brand-new docks and a paved turnaround and parking space, especially for tourists — a place to park overnight.”
A pavilion that was installed by the local Rotary Club in the 1990s has been underused, Levesque said, and so part of the waterfront upgrade will include adding tiered seating, LED lighting and landscaping, to make the pavilion area more attractive for hosting events.
The project was supposed to start last summer, but addressing engineering details delayed the project by a year. Now, it’s expected to take two years in total.
Tenders for the work were released in early February, and Levesque expected the town would choose a contractor in March.
Because Chapleau is located off the highway, Levesque hopes the project will renew in tourists an interest in taking a break, spending some time in town, and spreading their tourist dollars through Chapleau.
“The idea was to have a focal point, a gathering point in the community,” he said, noting that cottage owners typically drive through town without stopping to get to their properties.
“The beach was underutilized before…so we’re trying to enhance it so that we have more activity at the waterfront.”
Levesque is optimistic that a rejuvenated beachfront could even be the jumping off point for canoe or kayak rentals at the waterfront, activities the town currently lacks.
Much of the work that’s been done so far is thanks to the town’s new economic development officer, Chelsea Swearengen, who was hired for a three-year term to implement economic development initiatives outlined in Chapleau’s strategic plan.
Of the FedNor funding Chapleau received, $256,500 will be used toward the cost of bringing Swearengen on.
Levesque said she’s excelled at searching out avenues for boosting economic development.
“She’s done an excellent job,” Levesque said. “She’s very good at finding pockets of money, which, in this day and age, is a rare skill.”
The final chunk of FedNor money, $45,000, is going toward a mining readiness and growth implementation strategy. Levesque expected KPMG, which was hired to complete the strategy, to have a final draft ready by March or April.
The strategy is a direct response to Goldcorp’s proposed development of Borden Lake gold mine, located outside of Chapleau, which the company picked up when it acquired Probe Mines in early 2015.
Levesque said details are still scarce on the project, but Chapleau wants to be involved if there’s any opportunity for the town to benefit from mine-related activity. Town and company representatives meet every three months to talk about the project’s progress.
The mayor said Swearengen is organizing workshops for this spring on how local companies can do business with the mine, what products and services the mine might be looking for, and what local businesses are capable of delivering.
Levesque said there are currently no mining-related businesses in the Chapleau area.
The community also recently secured a separate parcel of funding to redo its museum, but Levesque said it would be several years before it was up and running again. In the meantime, the town hopes to open it in the summer as an information centre, where visitors could also buy locally made art and crafts.
“We’re off the beaten path, as everyone knows — you’ve got to come into town from the highway,” he said. “So we’re hoping that generates a bit of interest.”
