The mayor of Goderich says the sod-turning on Tuesday on Bethune Crescent, along the shoreline at the south end of Goderich, ushers in what will be the biggest development in the history of the town.
John Grace said the Coast Development is a multi-phased development that will offer a family-focused community environment along the Lake Huron shoreline. Grace said the development will eventually consist of close to 300 homes.
"They should have their first house up in January, as a spec house, and then start full construction next summer, 2021. So this is really, really exciting for Goderich. We haven't this size of development in this community ever before."
Grace added he believes this is just the beginning of development in the town.
"Goderich is a very attractable community and we see people every day, every month, coming to Goderich, checking it out, waiting for opportunities. And if you look at the real estate market in Goderich, it is not flourishing, it is exploding."
Grace said he believes the movement out of large urban centres started before COVID-19 arrived but the pandemic has encouraged even more people to work from their homes now and that will only increase the movement away from urban centres to communities like Goderich.
The homes are being built by Goderich area builder, Haykoop Construction.