An expanding business park on Nipissing First Nation received $1 million in funding through the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation.
The funding is going towards Nipissing First Nation (NFN) to develop Bineshii Business Park located off Highway 17 West just outside North Bay.
The provincial funding announced Friday morning by Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli will be utilized for land clearing and building the industrial park.
“Our government is creating jobs and increasing economic development on Nipissing First Nation,” said MPP Fedeli in a release.
“By supporting the construction of the Bineshii Business Park, we are letting people know that Northern Ontario is open for business.”
Chief Scott McLeod believes the location is an ideal and practical location for this kind of expansion.
"Because we are so close to North Bay we want to capitalize on the population within North Bay, the amount of business, the airport and all those things that are close by within the city of North Bay to provide opportunities for businesses to expand into our territory," McLeod told the media shortly after the funding announcement.
"We are developing these lots so that they will have the infrastructure since it is such a prime location that is just off Highway 17 West."
McLeod says the area already has businesses in the area such as gas stations, cannabis stores as well as some other NFN businesses.
"We have had interest from other businesses such as car dealerships and other commercial ventures so we are getting a lot of interest already. We just have to build the infrastructure to house those different businesses," explained McLeod.
The Bineshii Business Park is a 76-acre (26 commercial and light industrial lots) commercial development project. The total cost of this project is $7 million. The NOHFC funding will be used for land clearing, new road construction, widening the existing road, street illumination, stormwater management, and installation of electricity, natural gas, telecommunications, and fire hydrants.
Chief McLeod is hoping the project will be complete by the spring of 2024.
