Article content
INGERSOLL – Officials here are launching a plan to revitalize this Oxford County community’s downtown district as they aim to draw in more businesses and visitors.
Ingersoll has announced the launch of its downtown enhancement plan, designed to “strengthen the future of the downtown core,” officials say. Set to be done by April, the “ambitious plan” aims to transform the town’s core into what officials hope will be a “vibrant, inclusive and economically resilient district.”
Article content
“Over the next few months, we’re going to be engaging all the stakeholders and general public and businesses downtown and different partners in the downtown core to sort of come up with a plan on how we can make our downtown even better,” said Curtis Tighe, Ingersoll’s economic and tourism director.
Ingersoll has partnered with urban planning and economic development firms that will consult on the plan’s development, but residents will also have an opportunity to weigh in, with public consultation starting in late January.
“We’re looking for the building owners, the business owners, other stakeholders (and) the general public to provide input so that we can make sure that any dollars we do put in the downtown core are used effectively,” Tighe said.
Tighe said he hopes the enhancement of downtown will include private investment into facades, the construction of more homes and encourage redevelopment.
Ingersoll is also looking to build more homes with its population, now at about 14,000, expected to jump to nearly 23,000 by 2061.
Ingersoll Mayor Brian Petrie says the goal is to grow sustainably but keep downtown thriving.
“That’s always part of the strategies . . . what’s going to come next and how we can accommodate that (growth)?” Petrie said. “(It’s) about just having a successful downtown core, and what that takes in the changing environment.”
The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada
Recommended from Editorial
Share this article in your social network
