This optimism is shared by Mark Kolt, municipal administrator in the town of 5,250. He said the more mining companies, both big and small, that commit to drilling more exploration holes, the better off Flin Flon will be.
"We haven't grown as quickly as we would have liked. We do see the world beginning to take small steps out of the economic doldrums," Kolt said. "On the whole, communities like Flin Flon remain relatively well positioned going into the future."
HudBay Minerals Inc. is still the major employer in the area, and mining is at the heart of Flin Flon's employment. Some steps have been taken to diversify Flin Flon's economy over the years. The arrival of a few big-box stores a decade ago - Wal-Mart arrived in 2002 and was followed a year later by Canadian Tire - helped the town become a shopping destination for a trading area of about 25,000.
"Retail is the biggest thing that could be pointed to over the past 10 years [for growth in the town]. The big change is, instead of having to leave the region to shop, a lot more shopping is done in town now," he said.
There is one negative development on the retail side: the recent closing of the Loblaw's Extra Foods store. A "for sale" sign has not been erected and the company continues to pay taxes on the property, leading many to wonder what's in store for the former store.
If the mining industry takes off as hoped, an already tight housing market will get even tighter. Cheryl Hordal, a broker at Nordmark Realty, said there aren't enough homes to go around in Flin Flon to begin with.
"When times are good, people come here and everybody wants a home. There doesn't seem to be enough of the $200,000-plus homes."
There are three categories of housing in Flin Flon, Hordal said - starter, mid-range and upper end. A typical starter home costs less than $100,000. A mid-range property will fetch between $100,000 and $150,000 for 1,200 square feet while the top-end homes will run between $200,000 and $235,000 for about 1,300 square feet that includes three bedrooms.
Prices have remained relatively static over the past year, but that could change fast if Ventures' readings prove accurate, local realtors suggest.
from Western Investor April 2012
