A few years from now, downtown Elora might be downright unrecognizable. In a good way.

“It’s going to be a destination across Ontario,” Centre Wellington Mayor Kelly Linton said in an interview.

“We’re going to extend downtown Elora right across the river.”

Some parts of the downtown facelift are already underway, with work having started on a new power station – one of the less glamourous parts of the project.

Perhaps the biggest catalyst of the upcoming changes is Pearle Hospitality, which oversaw the renovations of old mills in Cambridge and Ancaster.

It’s now doing the same in Elora, looking to turn that community’s dormant mill into a 23-room boutique hotel, featuring a restaurant and a spa.

Next year, construction will include the building of a second hotel – this one with 60 rooms and a convention centre.

“It’s huge from an economic development standpoint,” Linton said.

Downtown streets will also be reconstructed, with hydro lines buried underneath.

Additionally, two new bridges will be built across the river – one for pedestrians, and one to take people straight to the redeveloped mill.

The mayor foresees the development bringing 250 jobs to Elora, with spin-off benefits for existing retailers and restaurants.

“Everything they do, they do with a lot of attention to detail. To have a partner like that investing in Centre Wellington is huge,” Linton said.

Laura Demers owns Epiphany, a retail boutique in Elora.

She says she likes the sound of the redevelopment proposal, but has seen so many operators come and go from the mill over the years that she’s taking more of a “wait and see” approach.

Still, she concedes the plans in place are “exciting” – particularly as they’ll fit in with the aesthetics of the village.

“It’s not like someone’s coming in and building an ultra-modern conference centre, which wouldn’t fit in Elora,” she said.