A group tasked with breathing new life into Mitton Village says the revitalization of the Sarnia community is off to a good start.
The Mitton Village Community Development Advisory Committee, consisting of about a dozen members, was established in February 2018.
City councillor and committee member Brian White said the group is taking steps in the right direction.
"We've made some significant progress. Of course, committee work often starts slow or it feels slow, but we've built enough of a foundation to really get a sense of where we are going. The work that we're doing in terms of revisioning this space, it's reaching out to the community and creating a sense of opportunity for this space, has been very, very positive," said White. "Moving forward in the next year we're really going to see a lot more focus on reaching out to potential investors as well as redesigning the space to create a more walkable and pedestrian-friendly community that can grow economically as well as for residential needs."
The revitalization of Mitton Village has been an issue in recent years with the closure of SCITS and small businesses in the area, including the Bargain Shop and the 7-Eleven convenience store.
White said they've tried sparking public engagement through community events, such as last month's Mitton Village Block Party at 135 Mitton St. S.
"The goal from our perspective was to instill life in that space and to showcase the municipal parking lot as a potential future public space that can be used for various events and economic activity," said White. "We're certainly talking about the options of hosting similar events or maybe building off the success of this event to try and make sure that people are aware that Mitton Village is going through a revitalization process, and that there are many opportunities there, not only to live but to work and have some fun."
Members of the Mitton Village Block Party Community Group, including Mitton resident Dane Hansen, helped organize the event.
"We estimate we had over 500 people throughout the day. It was busy, most of the booths reported that they made a profit with what they were selling, and overall I think it was a great success," said Hansen. "Everybody that was on the Mitton Village Block Party Community Group lives in the area and we love living here, and we just wanted to bring some positive attention to the area because we want to show what this area has to offer -- it's a nice neighbourhood and we love it here."
White said while they don't yet have dollar figures from the event, he's confident it did not cost the city any money and he believes there will be money left over for more events in Mitton Village.
