Manitouwadge targets southerners.

• Author: TOMLINSON, MARIA

With the pending closure of Newmont Golden Giant mine, Manitouwadge is getting ready for a change.

A Vancouver-based realtor is calling it the best housing deal in Ontario, and possibly the best in the country. Al Galbraith, with Select Property Group, has taken ownership of approximately 150 houses in the northwestern Ontario mining town.

Select Property Group is a real estate marketing firm specializing in selling surplus housing in communities with resource-based economies.

The homes the company is purchasing in Manitouwadge were owned by the Golden Giant gold mine, which is being phased out over the next three years. The homes are being vacated as the mine prepares for its eventual closure in 2005. The company has agreed to buy back houses from their employees as they leave the town. They have contracted with Select Property Group to market the houses as they become available.

"All the homes are in good shape, and we offer them at unbelievable prices," Galbraith says.

The sale of the first 22 houses began this summer and is seeing success, Galbraith says. Three bedroom single-family houses with full basements and large lots start at $29,900, with some executive houses available at slightly higher prices, up to $40,000.

"You can buy a home and still have money in your pocket," Galbraith says. "So far, we've had about 450 calls about the homes, mostly from Toronto."

Galbraith says they are marketing mostly to retirees and people looking for summer homes.

Manitouwadge, a town of approximately 3,000 residents, hosts a complete array of amenities including a ski hill, lake and golf course on the edge of town, new hospital and high school, recreation centre, swimming pools and 500 kilometres of groomed snowmobile trails.

Manitouwadge, located just off the Trans-Canada Highway, a 45-minute drive from Marathon, attracts both summer and winter tourists, as well as those involved in outdoor pursuits including hunting, fishing, hiking, canoeing and wildlife photography, he says.

"This community offers clean air, clean water, no crime...It's a lovely little town and a great place to be."

Rob Charron, chair of the economic development corporation in Manitouwadge, says this project is exciting not only because it will fill homes which would otherwise go empty, but it is also creating a major housing market for the community.

"With this project, we're able to reach markets we normally wouldn't reach," Charron says. "We have a lot to offer as a...