july2017

130 131 tial neighbourhood look, inside that traditional looking home.We see this as a great opportuni- ty to incubate new business in town and, again, focus on creating that walkable neighbourhood and supporting our businesses with more pop- ulation living close to where their shops and services are. “It’s only in designated areas; we didn’t want to put any risk, for example, to the heart of our Main Street – it is important to us that those storefronts operate as store fronts. But on the fringes of our commercial/residential transition zones we wanted to allow more of a market demand as to whether those operate as com- mercial or residential.We see a wide range of opportunity– for example a clothing retailer or a café could open up in designated residential spaces, as long as the aesthetic of the property continues to look like our traditional neigh- bourhood homes.” Tourism is also one of Antigonish’s main economic drivers, along with the university and the hospital, and Boucher says that a lot of the town’s small businesses rely on the tourism season to supplement their annual income. “We’re investigating the possibility of a Busi- ANTIGONISH, NOVA SCOTIA ness Improvement District,” she says. “So, we’re looking at other municipalities that have already accomplished this to see the pros and cons, and we’re looking at ways we can bolster our tourist season and make sure that people stop in Anti- gonish on their way either to Cape Breton or the Halifax region.We want to bring people in from other areas and we’re looking at the BID as a way to accomplish that.” Even though it’s important for Antigonish’s leaders to preserve the best of the town’s past, they certainly are also looking toward its future. And part of that future revolves around green energy. “We are a little bit different than other municipalities,” says Boucher. “There are five municipalities within Nova Scotia that own their own electric utility, and we are one of those. So, we formed AREA– the Alternative Resource Energy Authority.”AREA is a consortium of three towns –Antigonish, Berwick, and Mahone Bay. Together, they own a windmill farm in Ellers- house, Nova Scotia and, today, Antigonish pro- duces 30 percent of its electricity through wind power from that facility. “We’re owners of seven windmills and some construction has now started on the third phase Even though it’s important for Antigo- nish’s leaders to preserve the best of the town’s past, they certainly are also looking toward its future. And part of that future revolves around green energy.