retail

A new committee focusing on downtown Fort Frances has been formed.

The Business Recruitment and Downtown Revitalization Committee is looking at ways to attract new businesses, support existing ones, and make the downtown more vibrant.

One of its first steps is gathering public comment through an online survey.

Angela Halvorsen-Smith of the Rainy River Future Development Corporation says that input will determine their next steps.

“I think it’s going to give us a really good idea of the types of businesses that we would then go out and try to recruit or try to entice to come to the area,” says Halvorsen-Smith.

“We’re going to summarize that in a way that whatever seems to come out as the most prominent, then maybe that’s where we’ll start as far as any kind of recruitment or marketing towards businesses of those types and then sort of go from there.”

Halvorsen-Smith says it will also give them some information to use on the development of potential incentives that could be developed to encourage investments in the downtown core.

“The town of Fort Frances is going through a community improvement plan exercise right now, and part of that community improvement plan may be to be able to give some incentives,” says Halvorsen-Smith.

“So that’s sort of what also is part of this, is coming up with what do we want to see as a committee? What do we want to bring to the town and say this is what we would like the town to be able to do?”

Halvorson-Smith notes that RRFDC already offers support to those interested in starting a business, including loan programs and help with business plans.

There have been previous studies done.

Halvorsen-Smith says they may look back at those to review the recommendations to see if they are still applicable today.

“You know, things that may have worked 20 years ago may not work now or vice versa. Maybe things that didn’t work or wouldn’t work 20 years ago would work now because things have changed.”

“Through COVID, people got very used to shopping online and being able to access things from outside of the area. So, if there are things that we can bring here to give that opportunity for people to shop locally, then obviously that would be our goal.”

The survey can be found on the Rainy River Future Development Corporation’s Facebook page.

Click here.