Code’s Mill Inn & Spa rejuvenates Ontario’s prettiest town
Perth is a charming colonial town on the Tay River in Ontario East. Rich in history and old-world architecture, it draws thousands of tourists a year.
Much of its popularity stems from an ambitious downtown revitalization that began ten years ago when a felt factory, housed in a limestone building known as Code’s Mill, went out of business. That’s when John Stewart, a developer with expertise in breathing new life into small towns, stepped in.
He converted Code’s Mill into a retail, office and conference centre.
But that was just the first step. Since then, Stewart has added a 51-room boutique inn with 11 more rooms to come, a seven-room Ontario cottage, the Holtz Spa, and nearby nautilus club/bowling alley and two restaurants.
“This is a community initiative with most of the support coming from local people,” says Stewart who notes there are hundreds of lovely Ontario towns that could benefit from a similar revitalization. “And that includes financial support, by way of shares we sold in the project. We couldn’t have done it without that.”
For more information on tourism investment opportunities throughout Ontario, please visit: www.investinontario.com/tourism/regionalinvest.asp.