Positioning Windsor and Essex County as a retirement haven, largely bordered by 100 miles of lakes and rivers, will get an added boost Saturday with the distribution of about 100,000 editions of a glossy publication throughout the Greater Toronto Area as well as in the nation's capital.

 

Produced by The Windsor Star and Harris Marketing in collaboration with the Greater Windsor Homebuilders Association, the Windsor Essex County Real Estate Board and the Windsor Essex Region Chamber of Commerce, the magazine extols the virtues of living in Essex County featuring articles about retirees and others who have moved here, the area's climate, real estate prices, location, lifestyle options and investment opportunities.

 

Established two years ago, the Windsor-Essex Active Retirement Community Initiative is a not-for-profit co-operative marketing partnership designed to attract active retirees and retirement-related investment and development.

 

Krista Del Gatto, executive officer of the area real estate board and a committee member, said the intent of the magazine is to generate interest in the region across the province and to gather local support for the initiative.

 

"I think the magazine speaks for itself in the number of examples it presents of people who have moved here and love it," said Del Gatto. "I think it's doing what we anticipated and hoped it would do two years ago."

 

Fellow committee member Mike Dinchik, executive director of the homebuilders association, said that one of his association's members has sold his last five townhouses to out-of-town buyers and another has sold the majority of townhouses in a small county development to people relocating to the area.

 

"It's hard to find a builder or real estate agent who hasn't fielded calls from people wishing to move here," said Dinchik. "Obviously, we'd like to see a convoy of moving vans but we've made progress and we all understand this is a long-term initiative."

 

Billing the area as the 100-Mile Peninsula is designed to attract retirees with active lifestyles to an area replete with lakes, rivers, golf courses, wineries, low real estate prices, a summer-long series of festivals and a moderate climate.

 

Information on the initiative and what this region has to offer can be found at www.retirehere.ca.

 

"The volume of calls, hits on the website and requests for packages keeps going up," said Del Gatto. "And local support is a key factor because there's nothing like word-of-mouth endorsements indicating that this region is a hidden gem."

 

"I think sometimes we take what we have here for granted and this initiative is designed to share our advantages with the rest of Canada."

 

The magazine will be distributed by the National Post and the Ottawa Citizen.

 

Article Credit:

Dave Hall

The Windsor Star