Last week, Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli announced Callander will receive $180,000 to construct a washroom and changeroom facility near the municipal dock on Lansdowne Street. The facility will also have a shower for public use.
This past December, Callander learned that the Ontario Trillium Foundation declined the town’s request for funding the project. However, they took another crack at it, and the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation said yes to the project.
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Overall, the project is budgeted at $200,000, so the municipality will make up the rest. The building will be open in the summer of 2024.
Having a bathroom facility at the dock has been a municipal goal since 2012, as part of the Downtown and Waterfront Revitalization Strategy, a document that outlines ways to improve the downtown and waterfront and encourage more traffic in those areas.
The prime focal points have been the dock at Lansdowne and Centennial Park off Main Street.
“Callander, as most have noticed, has made fantastic progress in our Downtown and Waterfront Revitalization Strategy since its inception in 2012, and especially in the last couple of years,” said Mayor Robb Noon.
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Indeed, the last years have seen much development in these areas. Noon noted that the municipality has invested around $756,000 in Centennial Park, which includes a new playground, laying the concrete boardwalk, landscaping, and building the Hec Lavigne Pavilion.
The canteen in the park is also being put to use this summer, with Moose on the Loose setting up shop to sell food on weekends.
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About $995,500 has been invested in improvements to Lansdowne Street, “which has improved walkability and access to our municipal docking system,” Noon added.
“We are encouraged by the province’s continued support towards achieving council’s vision for our downtown and waterfront area,” Noon said, and the call for tenders to build the new facility will be sent out this fall.
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
