Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com

GRAVENHURST — Public pressure is finally paying off.

Complaints about a business section that looked to be rotting at its core have led to a new municipal vacant properties bylaw that has met with instant results.

Ron Berlet, owner of a corner property at Muskoka Road South and Hotchkiss Street, was seen cutting grass and generally tidying up the land on the main street where a small parkette has appeared since White Pines business was levelled by fire in 2005. And has sat vacant since.

Meanwhile in more encouraging news, two more businesses are opening in the downtown.

DAM opening Friday at Albion

On Friday “the band is getting back together” — sort of —with a new leader, as Discover Arts Muskoka (DAM) Gallery & Gifts takes over the former Arts in the Albion location at Muskoka Road and Bay Street.

Artist Barb Stofast, of Washago, has recruited more than a dozen former artists and craftspeople — including five new members of the recently closed arts co-operative — bringing them back under the same roof of her main street venue for the soft re-opening she is undertaking in her new and the returning venture.

Stofast said last night a number of them have been lending a hand this week painting and freshening up the two central rooms. And “their works are starting to trickle in already.”

Stofast will have her studio in the front corner room overlooking the intersection.

The others artists will lease space from her and will also commit to staffing the DAM a couple days a week.

Quilt Store.ca ‘coming soon’

Just down two blocks along Muskoka Road, where three other businesses have recently opened and relocated, the Quilt Store.ca is “coming soon.”

It is next in line as part of this summer’s turnaround and revitalization takes place and is located next to the Service Ontario office and Opera House.

Owners Marty and Clodagh Coker expect their soft opening by mid-May, they said this afternoon.

The new owners of the “100-year-old-plus building”  (with two apartments back and upstairs) have been renovating since the New Year — in part with a Community Improvement grant — and are “very excited.”

Said Clodagh, “the new store is going to be a bit of a high-bred between what we do here in our other two stores” in Newmarket and Burlington.

“Everything we do here we’re going to do in Gravenhurst, which includes selling fabric, threads, notions, sewing machines, accessories. Everything you need to be able to construct a quilt. Or other sewing projects. That’s the Quilt Store part of it.”

“It’s a soup to nuts supply line for building and assembling in the creative aspect of developing a quilt,” said her husband Marty.

Who added the sewing machine business is a $6.5 billion industry.

“We’re also going take advantage of the pedestrian traffic along the downtown,” she said. “We recognize that not everybody is a sewer. So we’re also going to offer a little bit of a flavour of a gift store, with some ready-made items. And over time we will probably have some small quilts for sale, tote bags and cottagey-type things.

“More quilts with a gift aspect on the side,” she said, at the front of the store to “grab and go,” he said.

“The foundational element of the store is the sewing and quilting that we do in the other stores,” said Marty.

The two Kilworthy cottagers, too, say that “as being new to the downtown and seeing the vacancy bylaw has been quite exciting for us,” Clodagh said.

“Because the town really needs some rejuvenation and getting active live businesses into those stores I think this is one step towards doing that.”

She has been invited to be part of the revival of the BIA steering committee, which she said expects to begin meetings in May.

Across the street from them the Currie Brothers’ property owners received a $7,500 Community Improvement Grant to remove asbestos from at the old Muskoka Theatre site.

Vacancy and standards bylaw

‘Look and feel’ of vacant properties

Meanwhile the bylaw passed last week by Gravenhurst’s town council has residents — who have taken notice of the downtown deterioration — excited about its prospects.

The town said outside of the registration process, concerns around the “look and feel” of vacant properties would be addressed on a complaint basis.

According to the bylaw (run through town legal channels) the municipality is contacting vacant property owners to create a registry of derelict sites asking them for an initial registration fee of $1,000 per unit in a building not occupied or vacant land parcel. A renewal fee after one year would be $3,000 per year of non-compliance, and $5,000 after two years.

Sections 7 and 8 of the bylaw outline the owner’s responsibilities for maintaining their vacant building/property.

Notably, Section 7.1(e) requires the installation and maintenance of specific window coverings on vacant buildings as well as a host of other aesthetic requirements to help maintain the character of the area.

Failure to comply with owner responsibilities would lead to $1,500 fine per infraction for window coverings, exterior wall issues, etc.

The economic development department will contact existing property owners within the CIP to inform them of the program and the relevant dates.

An online form will be created for registry and fees can be collected through this platform. After initial contact, a follow-up appointment would be scheduled before the compliance date and registered formal written communication would be completed where needed.

Once the compliance date has elapsed, notices of non-compliance would be sent to those who have not registered their properties outlining registration process, penalties for non-compliance and key contacts regarding the program.

After initial contact, a follow-up appointment would be scheduled before the compliance date and registered formal written communication would be completed where needed.

Deputation regarding concerns

A staff report at council last week said it is response to a deputation regarding concerns about the state of Gravenhurst’s downtown that was received at Committee of the Whole in June 2025, Administration brought forward a Report on October 21, 2025, for Committee to review and provide direction to Administration.

And led to the Vacant Building and Land Registry Bylaw to address specific regulations for maintenance of these undeveloped properties that includes a proactive inspection and review schedule, penalties for specific non-compliance and a more standardized approach for the look and feel of vacant properties in key commercial areas of Gravenhurst.

Once a complaint is received, administration will triage the complaint and respond in accordance with existing policies and procedures.

Where properties are repeat recipients of complaints, administration will identify those locations and bring forward an update to Committee as to the steps taken to bring the property into compliance.

CIP returns in June

The report adds that for more than a decade, a Community Improvement Program (CIP) has been in place offering significant financial incentives to identified areas of Gravenhurst. Over that time, increases to the CIP budget, expansion of identified areas and ongoing program review and improvements have been implemented.

The latest CIP program will take place in June, with the program moving to continuous intake of funding applications.

The bylaw will also see a 90-day introduction period of compliance and education for vacant commercial buildings and landowners within the CIP area before the penalties would be implemented. After that buildings and parcels that are vacant and left unregistered would be subject to increased penalties.

Additionally any properties that remain vacant for a period of two years would be subject to review by committee and direction given for administration to implement. If committee wished, this could include charges through court order, expropriation efforts, or implementation of different tax programs.

Additionally, Part 3 of the Provincial Offences Act, 2001, allows for Municipal Enforcement Officers to place orders of compliance or lay charges where a by-law infraction has been determined to have occurred. These actions could include orders to be completed, activities to cease, or in certain circumstances charges may be laid where a court will determine the appropriate course of action and penalty for the infraction.

Part of the appeal process allows for the property owner to request a screening hearing for situations such as Financial Hardship in extenuating situations.

See the full bylaw here.

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