A northern Ontario town that offered generous incentives to potential newcomers in a bid to revitalize the community says its efforts were successful enough to merit a second round.
Officials in Smooth Rock Falls, Ont., recently launched a campaign to woo newcomers to the area and help rebuild a town that had been in a financial tailspin since the closure of a local pulp and paper mill.
As part of the campaign, the municipal government put 15 parcels of town land up for sale and offered prospective buyers rebates of up to 90 per cent, resulting in some lots being available for as little as $500.
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Officials say hundreds of calls flooded in, some from as far afield as China and Australia, while a steady trickle of visitors also came to the community to see what it had to offer.
The town land got snapped up by a single developer within the first week, and government officials say private real estate sales are starting to increase thanks to newcomers who are taken with the area.
Officials say they’re so pleased with the success of the campaign that they’re putting another dozen parcels of town property up for sale by the end of the month.