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th ei fp .c a Th e IF P -H al to n H ill s | T hu rs da y, M ay 24 ,2 01 8 | 4 rently we have a lot of cli- ents in Acton and the sur- rounding area." In the old Vinyland lo- cation a new vegan restau- rant is setting up shop. Two other spaces are currently vacant, includ- ing the old submarine shop, as well as the CIBC building. The bank closed their Acton location and moved their clients to the George- town branch on Guelph Street. "The decision to close any of our banking centres is not taken lightly and we carefully consider all op- tions before making this decision," said Jon Kasti- kainen, spokesperson for CIBC. He said that the compa- ny is having to make changes to their network, as 80 per cent of CIBC banking is now done out- side of banking centres. It's a turnover that Hal- ton Hills Coun. Mike Alba- no says is part of the cycli- cal nature of downtown Acton. "It's a cyclical thing," said Albano. "With the clo- sure of CIBC there's al- most five stores that are empty." He says the town and the BIA are working to de- velop the downtown, like rebranding Acton, and rolling out a strategic plan for the corridor. "The town is working closely with the BIA to ad- dress some of the vacancy concerns," said Albano. The councillor ex- plained that there's a num- ber of obstacles at play. "We have a number of landlords living outside of town," he said, adding that there are more local land- lords of the retail spaces than in previous years. With the inception of online shopping and the growth of big box stores on the other side of Acton, Al- bano says the role of the downtown is changing. "At one time downtown Acton was full of stores," he said. "We need to find some kind of niche." With organizations like Helson's coming in, and restaurants like the Clay Oven, Lily Thai and Viet- namese as well as Olympic Greek Souvlaki flourish- ing, Albano sees a poten- tial for a focus on services in the downtown. "I think we just need to find the angle," he said. Nancy Wilkes of Acton Optical sees the potential for the downtown. Eight years ago, she bought the old church at 80 Mill St. and made it into a studio for eyeglasses. "In all honesty, I haven't seen the change that I know is coming," she said. "There's such poten- tial." She says that there is a strength in the communi- ty, despite it being a bit of a bedroom community, where people commute outside of town for work. "Owning your own business always has been and will always be far harder than anyone un- derstands," she said. "We need the support of our community to be here." In her opinion, there are changes on the way for downtown Acton. "What we have appears to be empty storefronts," she said. "There's a lot hap- pening behind the scenes." NEWS l Continued from page 1 Is Acton seeing a retail resurgence? Five storefronts in a row are vacant in Acton's downtown, as businesses move and close. Alexandra Heck/Metroland FULL-SERVICE RETIREMENT HOME 905-877-1800 222 Mountainview Road North, Georgetown www.mountainviewresidence.com Mountainview Residence Of Georgetown Retirement living can be the best of times when you live in an atmosphere of comfort and family caring. Seniors enjoy an independent lifestyle with comfortable accommodations, personal care and other supportive services.