Norfolk County has launched the “Win This Space” competition, where entrepreneurs have the chance to pitch their business ideas and receive free rent for one year in a high-traffic downtown Simcoe location.
Participants in the competition must be 18 years of age or older, be a resident of Ontario, and the winning business must be open to the public a minimum of 35 hours per week.
Applications must be received by Monday, September 10, 2018 at 4:30pm.
The winning business will be selected by a judging committee that will be looking for creativity, visibility and relevance to the downtown core. The winning business will also be required to enter into a minimum one-year lease. The expectation is that the new business will be up and running by October 2018.
Funding for the overall project was made possible by Council’s 2018 capital budget allocation of approximately $85,000 which was further supplemented by a grant of over $85,000 from the Province of Ontario. Community consultation regarding the Downtown Secondary Plan was first held in December 2017 with two follow-up imagination walks this summer.
Norfolk County has embarked on a multi-pronged approach to the development of a Downtown Secondary Plan which will entail streetscaping, Community Improvement Plan (CIP) grant funding for building upgrades as well as a Win This Space contest.
- More information at norfolkbusiness.ca/winthisspace