West Nipissing hopes 'exciting' development heals 'scar' left behind by paper mill

Walking around on the sprawling vacant lot right in the middle of her northern Ontario town,Kathleen Thorne Rochonpoints to where things used to be.

But the West Nipissing mayor is much more interested in what could be built on the land where the town's paper mill once stood.

"I always saw it as a bit of a scar," said Thorne Rochon, "and a reminder of the loss the community suffered when the mill closed down and the economic hardship and the worry people were going through at that time."

When Weyerhaeuser decided to close the mill in 2002 and lay off hundreds of workers, there were fears Sturgeon Falls could become a ghost town.

But the opposite has happened in the years since. West Nipissing is one of the few communities in northeastern Ontario to see steady population growth, as it has emerged as a bedroom community sandwiched between Sudbury and North Bay.

After years of negotiations, the town bought the 11-hectare site from the paper company in 2020 and is now working on plans to redevelop it.

West Nipissing council received a plan last year calling for a business strip along Highway 17, a new neighbourhood with arange of different housing options, plus parkland and trails along the Sturgeon River.

An initial environmental assessment has been completed and a Phase 2 assessment, helped along by $50,000 in Fednor funding, is expected to be finished by the spring.

"What you see on paper might not be exactly what turns out in the end, but it is a vision for us to follow," said Thorne Rochon.

"I think it's really important that we do get it right it, because this is a generational opportunity for development. It will change the way West Nipissing, the way Sturgeon Falls looks. It will have a huge impact."

She says the town already has"investors and businesses in the communityapproaching us" about building on the property.

And while she expects the full development might not be complete for 15 years, she's hoping to see the first shovels in the ground within five years.