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128 129 MIDDLESEX COUNTY, ONTARIO AT A GLANCE COUNTY OF MIDDLESEX, ONTARIO WHAT: Primarily rural county consisting of 8 municipalities WHERE: Southwestern Ontario near the City of London WEBSITE: www.investinmiddle sex.ca owners to ensure those lands are ready for immediate investment and can be promoted as such by the prov- ince. Four major economic drivers keep the County thriving. Key sectors are agricultural and agrifood; manufacturing; tourism; and small business and en- trepreneurship. Cara Finn, Director of Development for the County of Middlesex, explains, “With respect to manufacturing facilities, although we do have some corporate conglomerates that have invested here, we’ve also had a lot of local investment by entrepre- neurs that have grown their business in Middlesex County and are now on the global stage.We’re very proud of those companies and we like to encourage that entrepreneurship investment.We see a lot of our future growth coming from those small and medium-sized businesses.” Indeed, advantages for businesses are many. Taxes are lower in Middlesex County than in the urban centers, and housing prices on average are considerably less.With access to any and all services nearby in the larger cities, the cost of doing business in the County is lower by far and the municipalities are willing to work quickly and efficiently with investors to ensure they become operational as soon as possible. Owners of new facilities coming into the area say they appreciate how much faster things get moving in the County of Middlesex in comparison to larger centers. Strategic partnerships are also spawning resi- dential investments. Finn cites a good example, “A few years ago, one of our municipalities built an impressive multi-million-dollar recreation cen- ter.What’s unique is that it not only has a twin- pad arena, it is also a public/private partnership among the municipality, Middlesex County, and the YMCA. The municipality is the anchor tenant and landlord, the County has a comprehensive library housed within the facility, and the YMCA has a full-scale operation with a fitness center, classes, a gymnasium, and daycare in the build- ing. It ends up being a community hub for a lot of events. It just hosted 1500 athletes with 97 figure skating teams. These are large-scale, multi-day events.We also have some private investments in the facility, including a skate sharpening busi- ness.” The recreation complex was built to Green Globe Designation standards, which allows it to reclaim heat generated by the refrigeration plant to accommodate in-floor heating in areas like the main lobby. The building also has a large number of rooftop solar panels that cover both ice pads, and the municipality has a contract that allows