Business View Civil and Municipal l January 2023

190 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 12 municipality also utilizes valuable partnerships within other aspects of the community. “We’ve built a very strong relationship with our colleagues at Invest Ontario and the Ministry of Economic Development,” McFadden says. He adds that partnerships with the various Chambers of Commerce and BIAs in the municipality are also important, as well as a relationship with the Community Futures Development Corporation, “They provide funding for some of our smaller businesses. We also have the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC). So, if we have someone that’s exploring a significant multi-million dollars investment, we have BDC to help move that forward. I believe everything we do is about partnerships and working together to make our community better.” From an economic development standpoint, Chatham-Kent is seeing continued growth, with 9 of the 10 available lots in the municipally- owned Bloomfield Business Park having been sold in the past year. “We have a requirement with municipal-owned land, construction must start within one year of closing. Given those sales we are anticipating 2023 to be very strong from a development point of view,” says McFadden. “It’s businesses in multiple sectors, which is great because it gives us some sustainability and some flexibility inside of our workforce and inside the municipality.” Investment in privately owned industrial land has also been significant, which McFadden believes shows the community’s faith in the future of Chatham-Kent. One example is the former Navistar truck manufacturing facility, a lot spanning 86 acres. “That building was taken down and a private, local ownership has acquired that property,” says McFadden. “They’re remediating the property, and we have seen significant interest in that just because of the WWW.VITESCO-TECHNOLOGIES.COM Our drive technologies are powering clean mobility. Whether electric car or hybrid, Vitesco Technologies delivers modern powertrain solutions for clean and efficient vehicles. A driving force for generations to come – Vitesco Technologies. With our vision ELECTRIFIED. EMOTION. EVERYWHERE. in mind, we shape the future of mobility by being a strong and trusted partner in the field of electrification. We don’t just talk about transformation - we are the transformation. ELECTRIFYING YOUR FUTURE. CLEAN, SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY.