With a fire basically gutting an apartment building located at 29 Winnipeg St. this past spring and the northern economy in a constant state of flux and uncertainty, building owner Jody Blais had plenty of reasons to write off the building… but he didn’t.
Instead, Blais invested a hefty sum of cash to completely renovate the newly christened Buma Executive Suites, which is set to be ready for tenants soon.
“It wasn’t an easy decision, but it was the right one,” said Blais. “I could have taken the insurance money and invested it in stocks and bonds, but I thought re-investing in the community was more important.”
Blais, a former President of the Kapuskasing District Chamber of Commerce (KDCC) said he is one among a collection of local business and landowners, who believe that the only way for smaller, northern communities to not just survive, but thrive, is to take care of their own first.
“I don’t want my money working for some big, faceless company in Toronto,” he said. “I’m in Kapuskasing for life, and I want my investments to benefit my town. The money we spend here and make here stays here instead of lining the pockets of people we’ll never see.
“(Investing in your community’s future) is something I talked about a lot during my time as President of the KDCC . This was a good opportunity to put those words into practice.”
Article originally published by Kevin Anderson, The Northern Times
