Duane Hicks
The Town of Fort Frances is seeing “heightened interest” in the new Huffman Court subdivision on Williams Avenue after recently mailing out a brochure to area residents.
“We put the brochure out as part of a marketing effort,” Fort Frances CAO Mark McCaig said Friday.
“We’re very pleased with the results of that brochure and we’ve gotten a lot of very positive feedback about it.
“On that brochure, it notes that there’s one lot that’s been sold,” McCaig noted. “[But] during this past week, we’ve been very happy—we’ve gotten some additional interest.
“We have one more pending lot sale and we have numerous other discussions going on regarding other lots at the present time,” he said.
“We expect to have a run on them at this time,” McCaig added. “That’s our anticipation just based on the contacts that we’ve made.”
McCaig noted the town is getting ready to do final work on the subdivision, specifically paving and installing curb and gutters.
“That’s going to also give people a very clear picture of what the subdivision will look like,” he remarked.
“We think that that will also be a further impetus for lot sales.
“But right now, we’re quite happy,” McCaig reiterated. “We’ve gotten a lot of calls and inquiries about specific lots.
“And like I say, there’s one more lot sale that’s pending right now and we have numerous other conversations on the go as we speak.”
Other than paving and curb and gutter work, the 16 residential lots—with six fronting Williams Avenue and an additional 10 on a cul-de-sac—are fully-serviced and ready to go.
“It’s all ready for people to build houses when they purchase lots,” McCaig said.
“I anticipate houses going up next building season, but that doesn’t preclude anybody from starting now if they’re so inclined,” he stressed.
“Obviously, the town is here to assist anybody if they have that inclination.
“We’re excited about the prospects.”
The Huffman subdivision has drawn some criticism from those who feel the town’s capital investment in the project has tied up dollars they feel would be better used for other ones.
But McCaig said people have to think long-term.
“In terms of any capital outlay, one has to look at this as an investment because the pricing of the lots kind of goes hand-in-hand with what it costs to develop the subdivision,” he explained.
“Then people have to look at the long-term benefits of a subdivision like this because you’re looking at taxation,” he added.
“You’re talking about taxation in a residential area that’s relatively new for homes that are assessed probably at reasonably higher levels, and the corresponding taxes received from the town for the benefit of the town and its operations in the community.
“That can’t be stated enough how much of an impact that will have for the long-term,” McCaig stressed. “It’s critical. . . .
“We’ve lost a significant amount of industrial assessment so any strategy moving forward, from an economic development perspective, would be for a real focus on building up your assessment.
“That’s what we need to do to keep the town operations running,” he remarked. “That’s what we need to do to promote a vibrant economy in our community.”
McCaig said the new subdivision is but one component of what the town is trying to do from an economic development perspective.
“Some people have misconstrued the subdivision as, ‘That’s the town’s only plan,’” he noted. “That’s untrue.
“It’s just one of many in regards to economic development that are currently underway.”
McCaig also said it would be a mistake to think that there’s “nobody out there” that’s going to buy the lots.
“There’s conversations ongoing,” he reiterated. “People are making decisions regarding what they’re building plans are, whether it’s relocating to the community or whether it’s downsizing or upsizing.
“There’s all kinds of decisions being made.
“We’ve seen this in the past, whether it was with condos or with other subdivisions,” McCaig noted.
“The first couple may move a little slowly, and then people have the perception that, ‘Boy, I better get in there before they’re all gone,’ and then, ‘Boom!’” added McCaig, citing Kaitlyn Drive as a prime example.
“That’s been the history with subdivisions in Fort Frances,” he said.
