The latest additions to our fibre optic network were completed in 2015/16. Large fibre optic cables designed for urban populations were installed in the industrial park, through the village of Foresters Falls and along the Ottawa River. This infrastructure is built for the future but it is available today. WWR now has several villages and large rural areas where exceptional broadband speeds are available. Cogeco supports our fibre optic installations through its main transmission line entering Ontario through Whitewater Region. WWR is fortunate to be in a prime location where this new broadband capability is available. We are happy to share it with any business that can benefit.

If there were 2 identical businesses in competition selling similar products or services, and 1 found a way to drop their overhead costs by 50 or 60%, this would give them a substantial advantage. They could choose to lower the costs for their products or services to corner the market, or they could keep prices the same as the competition and take extra profits. That is a great choice for any business to have. Whitewater Region is able to provide this advantage. The rationales for how this is achieved follows.

The core reason why Whitewater Region can offer low operating expenses is our low land prices. Land prices in WWR are similar to land prices in remote areas of Ontario, although we are close to Ottawa. Whitewater Region has been able to avoid the increasing land costs that have occurred to the South and East of Ottawa.

 

Compare 2 actual properties currently up for sale in October 2015: 

Both Properties are 2 acres and visible from Highway 17. 
Both Properties have access to natural gas, bell and hydro.
Property A: located 30 minutes east of Canadian Tire Centre:    $385 500
Whitewater Region Property: located 50 minutes east of Canadian Tire Centre:       $  25 000

 

Affordable Cost of Living:

Low land prices makes it inexpensive to build or buy a home. Local food is affordable to grow and buy. The cost of living is then lower and families can live better with less income. The average income in WWR is under $43 000.

Affordable Building Costs:

Local builders are able to build for less. If you can have local builders build your home and business facilities on low priced land, the result are properties with a lower purchase price.

Reasonable Assessed Property Values:

MPAC base their assessed values on the sale price of comparable houses. Lower purchase prices keep the assessed values in WWR low.

Property Tax Rates:

WWR tax rates are much lower than many municipalities.

Combine a low tax rate with low property evaluation to result in low property taxes.

Highway 17 runs like a backbone through WWR straight through Kanata to Ottawa. The 4-laning of highway 17 has been accelerated and the drive from WWR to Ottawa has never been easier or quicker. Most residents can get to a Sens game in 60 minutes. We have all the advantages of having quick access to our nation’s capital, but without the high tax rate.

Council: The recent 2014 municipal election had economic development as the major platform issue and residents support this direction. Every Councillor has business experience. They represent a wide range of business sectors and they understand how many challenges a business can face.

 

Staff: Our township is managed efficiently with our small experienced staff. We are a dedicated staff that work closely with each other to assist businesses.

 

The WWR strategic plan includes objectives that promote economic development and our CAO ensures that we stay focused on these objectives.
WWR has a full time entrepreneurship development coordinator hired straight from the private business sector. He offers personalized attention to businesses to identify their business goals and then assists in reaching them. Many municipalities with twice the population as WWR do not have full time professional dedicated to assist business development. Our by-law officer, environmental services manager and public works manager are all known to provide extra attention to our business community. Businesses receive friendly personalized service from our administrative team.

WWR remains the only municipality along the highway 17 corridor that does not have development fees. This is another WWR advantage

• Typical development fees for a new house can reach almost $5000.
• Typical development fees for a commercial building can be $16 000- $30 000 for a 10 000 square foot structure.

In Whitewater Region development fees are $0

No other municipality stays in touch with their business community like WWR. We seek out the important information that businesses want. The business services we can provide may surprise you.

Demographics: Access current data on Whitewater Region, other municipalities, or all of Renfrew County. Link: http://www.ottawavalleyeconomicdevelopment.com/ec-dev-data/

INFO STATION: Research detailed information about WWR with our searchable database.
INFO STATION is a unique online searchable database

Whitewater businesses can list all their services and products on INFO STATION for free.

The following is one specific example of how the service works.

A list of specific businesses is generated. All businesses that include “roofing” as a service are included on this list. All businesses on this list would receive an email notifying them of an upcoming roofing project being planned.

The public can also use INFO STATION to find any product and service provided in Whitewater Region by doing a search. www.wwrinfostation.ca

We wanted to create an efficient way to make sure the businesses in Whitewater Region know about these opportunities as early as possible. The goal is to give them an advantage, so that more projects will go to Whitewater Region businesses. Other municipalities simply don’t have the ability to provide this service.

 

Exclusive Promotion Opportunities:

Construction Businesses that create a listing for their business can also receive a small space on a billboard at the Whitewater Industrial Park to put an ad for their business. There is no cost for the space, so the only expense is the physical sign itself. There will be room for approximately 30 ads.

The asking price for industrial zoned land in the industrial park has been set at $8000 per acre. Anyone surveying the property will be able to read the ads for local construction businesses able to construct their facilities.

Our staff constantly seeks out locations and facilities suitable for commercial development. We are prepared with a list of Commercial Properties. Each property has detailed info about the services and attributes for that location/facility. An inventory of commercial property is continually updated on a searchable online database called INFO STATION.
Search results for “Commercial Property”

Over 40 acres are available for sale from the township at a reasonable cost and up to 30 more acres are available for sale from private businesses. All land is zoned GM (general industrial) and is suitable for most industrial or commercial use. In 2014 fibre optic broadband was installed and the natural gas pipeline was extended. Link to Industrial Park page. We continue to add to our list of properties that are suitable for commercial enterprises.

 

Whitewater Industrial Park:

Located on Greenwood Road (Pembroke’s first interchange from Highway 17) 7km from Tim Horton’s and Home Depot. Over 40 acres are available for sale from the township. The price is $8000 per acre; this compares to industrial parks that cost $175 000 to $380 000 per acre located closer to Ottawa. Up to 30 more acres are available for sale from private businesses. All land is zoned GM (general industrial)and is suitable for most industrial or commercial uses. In 2014 fibre optic broadband was installed and the natural gas pipeline was extended. 3 Phase 660 volt power is available. Roads are built with NO load restrictions.

 

In 2016, the following businesses will join us in the Whitewater Industrial Park:
Snyder’s Equipment Services
Kastle Keepings- commercial units for rent
Kartopia Go Cart Track

 

Current businesses include:
Lads Auto Recycling
Calver Lumber
RMI; Ryan’s Maintenance Inc.
Lafrance Construction
Fitzgerald Roofing
Pembroke MDF

 

Private Industrial Land: We continue to add to our list of properties that are suitable for commercial enterprises.
Search “Industrial Land” at www.wwrinfostation.ca .

 

Most business in WWR have completed a free listing in our database. This is how we find the businesses that have possible business opportunities. We offer a discrete service that helps a business find suitable partners when they have an opportunity. The following types of business opportunities are currently available.

Businesses up for immediate sale.
Businesses for sale in the near future
Businesses open to partnership offers
Business seeking partners
Businesses seeking Investors

Contact info@whitewaterregion.ca if you are interested in learning more

We seek out investors with the willingness and ability to invest in new business projects. We are growing a list of potential investors. Businesses looking for investors can present their new projects or business ideas to these investors to find private funding or even a business partnership.

We have relationships with many organizations that specialize in funding programs. We can assist you in finding the best opportunities for your project and even assist with the application.

Programs are designed when there are opportunities for WWR businesses or organizations to work together to achieve common goals that cannot be achieved individually. WWR businesses can create a listing to receive offers when these programs are available. The following are examples of initiatives.
Tourism Promotion:
Distribution Efficiency:
Event Promotion:

The township works closely with utility companies to ensure that the services your business needs are available and affordable. We give you background information that will help you make your plans.

Fibre optic Broadband:

We cooperate with the Eastern Ontario Regional Network to bring superior broadband service to much of WWR.

Fibre optic Broadband:

We cooperate with the Eastern Ontario Regional Network to bring superior broadband service to much of WWR.

Natural Gas

Enbridge gas is available in many locations.
Electrical Power: Power is available from either Hydro One or Ottawa River Power. Many areas have 3 phase power and a large distribution line crosses WWR from the Chenaux hydro generation dam.

Municipal water:

We have three villages in Whitewater Region with municipal water systems.

Municipal Sewer

Municipal Sewer is available in Cobden.

WWR is centred within Renfrew County’s agricultural community. 1/3 of Renfrew County’s farms are located within WWR. We are home to many agricultural support businesses. WWR hosts 2 of the 4 Agricultural Fairs in Renfrew County. The Beachburg Fair is on the last weekend in July and the Cobden Fair is on the last weekend in August. Numerous farm operations have won the Premiers Award for Innovative Excellence.

Highway 17 runs straight through WWR like a backbone. People and products travel from coast to coast on our Trans-Canada Highway.

Whitewater Region is blessed with over 160 km of waterfront. Waterfront is popular and we have lots of it on the Ottawa River and more than 40 lakes. Most waterfront property is undeveloped. Many beautiful waterfront lots are available.