BRACEBRIDGE ARENA PROPOSAL

Downtown Bracebridge needs affordable housing that stays within the community, enhances its sustainability and walkability, and contributes to local economic development

Led by our Bracebridge Steering Committee, we are preparing a submission to the Town of Bracebridge’s January 2025 RFP for redevelopment of the former Memorial Arena site and adjacent lands.

Guided by the 2021 Downtown Bracebridge Master Plan, we envision a mixed market/affordable housing development with commercial space on the ground floor suitable for organizations serving the community to lease.

Core to this vision is the concept of community wealth building, where assets are permanently owned and governed by the community though the land trust model, ensuring that local needs are prioritized in decision making and management.

We need your support to build community wealth in Bracebridge

Help decision makers see the enduring value in community-led, non-profit housing that is forever Muskoka, forever affordable.

Click the button below to download a template letter of support that you can modify and send for inclusion in RFP submission

  • September 2021: Town of Bracebridge Releases its Downtown Master Plan

  • May 2023: MCLT Delegation to the Town of Bracebridge proposing transfer of the Arena to community ownership

  • November 2023: MCLT’s Bracebridge Steering Committee is formed

  • July 2024: Town of Bracebridge initiates an RFP process

  • November 2024: MCLT Delegation to the Town of Bracebridge advocating that RFP submissions be evaluated through the lens of building community-owned wealth

  • January 2025: Town of Bracebridge releases RFP with March 3, 2025 submission deadline

Timeline

Meet the Steering Committee

  • Ben Jardine

    BOARD DIRECTOR

  • Jaden Hollingshead

    BOARD DIRECTOR

  • Krista Haiduk-Collier

    COMMUNITY LIVING SOUTH MUSKOKA

  • Karen Martin

    VOLUNTEER

  • Patrick Chouinard

    VOLUNTEER