Larry the Liquidator may be gone from Alcona, but the building it occupied won’t be empty for long.
The property manager for 873 Innisfil Beach Rd. has told the municipality a new tenant will be moving into the space, which over the years has also served as a Shoppers Drug Mart location, and the temporary home for the Innisfil library’s Lakeshore branch.
“Innisfil has a very low commercial vacancy rate, so vacancies tend to fill very quickly,” town economic development manager Laura Thompson told Village Media. “We’re happy to report that we’ve received confirmation ... that a national tenant has plans to occupy this commercial space.”
But what happened to Larry? The liquidation store closed up more than a month ago — its exterior sign was removed and crews have been seen packing up inventory within the building.
A notice of distress was recently posted on the front window by Associated Bailiffs and Co., alleging the liquidator owed the landlord, Vescio Properties, nearly $40,500.
The notice also indicated the landlord took distress against the company’s “goods and chattels” for “arrears of rent owing,” and it outlined several next steps for the liquidator.
Representatives from Vescio and Associated Bailiffs could not be reached for comment.
Village Media also attempted to contact Larry the Liquidator management multiple times, only receiving a short reply via email indicating the company — which once operated four stores in the area — was just down to one site in Bradford.
Follow-up questions did not get a response and calls to the Bradford store also went unanswered.
As well, the company’s website couldn’t be accessed on March 26 and its Facebook and Instagram accounts haven’t been updated since early December.
The liquidation store’s hiccup aside, businesses like Wing'n It, Fernhill Tax and Advisory Services and Paré Barbershop have opened along Alcona’s main road in recent months.
And overall interest in Innisfil from entrepreneurs, developers and investors “continues to be strong,” Thompson said.
“Many entrepreneurs and business owners are interested in communities like Alcona because it’s so well-situated close to Lake Simcoe, with proximity to Highway 400 and located only an hour north of Toronto,” she said. “Innisfil is growing quickly and the impending nearby development of Orbit makes Alcona an ideal location to raise a family, start a business and serve a growing market.”
In 2022, there were 4,173 businesses registered in town across a range of industries, and the number of jobs climbed to 10,343 in 2022. Innisfil's employment is forecasted to double from 9,980 jobs in 2021 to more than 20,000 in 2051.
On the jobs front, the town is almost back to its 2019, pre-COVID-19 pandemic number of 10,594.
Council recently approved a new Economic Development Strategic Plan, with key pillars focused on the support of existing and growing businesses, as well as the attraction of fresh investment. And the DMZ Innisfil accelerator program supports entrepreneurs who are looking to start or scale their business, Thompson said.
Over the next five years alone, employment within the municipality is expected to grow by three per cent.
“The creation of new, attainable and investment-ready commercial space and properties will be important in capturing investment in the coming years,” Thompson said. “Fortunately, we currently have a number of commercial, mixed-use and industrial development applications moving through the development approval process which will increase our inventory of available space.”
