Manitouwadge targets southerners.

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 community."

Charron says they have applied to the government to find funding to beautify the corner of Highway 614 and Highway 17, which the community feels is a bit of an eyesore. Other then that, the community is ready to have people come see what they have to offer.

He says Manitouwadge hosts a different style of life. The town is a planned community, so everything is conveniently located, and there is a pleasant feel to the town.

"People have to visit it to believe it," Charron says. "Once you've come here, you'll change your view of a single-industry town."

Having Select Property Group purchase and, market the homes helps alleviate some fears the community has had about the mine's closure. Charron says they feared if the houses remained vacant for extended periods of time, they may have had to demolish them so as not to have to continue to pay taxes on them. Now, he says, they can be filled with new families and keep the community alive.

Galbraith says for single-industry communities, the closure of that industry can be devastating to the town.

This is the first time the company has taken on the purchase of homes in Ontario, but they have seen many successes with single-industry towns in the past.

The company has successfully completed 130 real estate marketing programs involving homes on two decommissioned Canadian military bases and in resource-dependent communities in both Canada and the United States.

Select Property Group is currently marketing 1,000 homes in the northeastern British Columbia coal mining town of Tumbler Ridge and has already sold 700 of the homes. As well, they are marketing approximately 330 homes on a former strategic air command base in Plattsburgh, N.Y.

Galbraith's company attracts international buyers through the use of their Web site www.selectpropertygroup.com, which allows visitors to download brochures and video presentations featuring the sales the company conducts.