The town of St. Stephen is experiencing a Renaissance thanks to a multitude of ambitious projects currently underway.

Construction crews officially broke ground in St. Stephen on a $20 million new hotel development. Spur Line Properties Inc. is the developer for a Best Western Plus, located near the Garcelon Civic Centre on Budd Avenue. The project has been in the works since 2013, but Spur Line President Tom McFarlane says convincing lenders to provide funding for a major project in a more rural community was a challenge, further complicated by construction hurtles during the COVID-19 pandemic.

McFarlane and Mayor Allan MacEachern are excited to see how the introduction of a hotel which also features long-term rental suites, a spa, restaurant, coffee shop, banquet hall and board rooms will reinvent St. Stephen.

It often takes a local to rise to the needs of a rural community. Charlotte County-based developer Greg Hooper recently bought the St. Stephen Inn has already turned half of the former motel into modern apartments with bachelor, one and two bedroom suites along with the help of project manager David Armstrong.

All 14 of currently available units are already rented with plans to renovate the upper half of the old inn currently underway. Hooper is also developing affordable housing projects in Milltown and in Blacks Harbour and has a blueprint prepared for an ambitious modern apartment complex called the Winston that will be located beside his current apartments on King Street.

St. Stephen is also receiving $253,900 in provincial funding for upgrades to the downtown square to support outdoor spaces.

Finally, Jackson Leavitt of Saint Andrews has been named Canada's official ambassador for Red Shirt Day, a day when Canadians show their support for people living with disabilities by wearing red. As the national spokesperson for Red Shirt Day, Jackson presented Saint Andrews Mayor Brad Henderson with a red shirt at town council on Monday night after June 1 was declared Red Shirt Day in St. Andrews-by-the-Sea.