New businesses have opened up along what might be considered a hidden treasure in Okotoks.

Recently businesses have moved in on Elma Street in the Heritage Mixed Use District which is seeing the street transition from a business office area to more of a retail setting.

In the past year the street has welcomed women's boutiques Mint and Maple and Twenty Two Collective, children's consignment store Kinder Cottage, and Prairies Past which works with re-purposing barn wood.

Prairies Past and Kinder Cottage located on Elma Street.

Shane Olson, Manager of Economic Development for the Town of Okotoks, says there's numerous things that set Elma Street apart from rest of downtown.

"It's more of the area that's preserved some of our historical buildings and it creates some of that small town charm where people can go down there and not only experience the businesses on our main street but perhaps go for lunch then do some retail shopping down Elma Street," he says. "It's a little quieter and has less traffic than our main street."

Olson says he hopes to see more stores call Elma Street home in the future.

"If there's any entrepreneurs that are considering opening up or buying property along Elma Street they can always contact Economic Development and we will guide them through the processes with planning services to obtain the necessary development permit approvals to open up. We're proactively encouraging businesses on Elma Street and we'd like to see more of them over time to create more of that pedestrian oriented retail environment."

For information about getting in contact with Economic Development click here.

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