As winter grinds on, there are some beacons of hope shining through the cold and gloom. False starts and disappointments are nothing new to residents of northern Chautauqua, but a few hints of the good life are twinkling on the horizon. Could these small developments presage bigger and better ones to come?

Any place that fancies itself “Chadwick Bay” should offer something a little cozier than what passes for good enough around here. Too many businesses have packed up and left. Family restaurants and stores have closed their doors for good, creating a conspicuous series of losses over the past two decades. Department stores, one after another, have shaken the Chadwick sand off their heels.

Chadwick Bay has a lovely ring to it, evoking images of boutique harbor front stores, restaurants and seaside coffee shops. The reality of the local landscape is more squalid, as would be expected in an area that has seen this much financial devastation. It will take some imagination and investment by those with the money and drive to invest.

Places like the ideal Chadwick Bay really exist. Our lakefront assets shadow the colorful landscape of television’s fictional Cedar Cove. It’s a lovely seaside town with woodland scenery and the commercial assets I named. Granted, the characters are living out soap opera story lines, which we certainly don’t want to emulate. But there is nothing unreal about the landscape or the setting.

I’ve seen these villages all over New York — Williamsville, Pittsford, and a dozen or more communities nestled along the shores of Long Island. The Cedar Cove potential is alive in our neck of the woods — Bemus Point, Westfield, Dunkirk.

What does it take to be an attractive community that does something other than commerce in cars, auto parts, and medical supplies and services?

The communities I named are wealthy villages — money attracts big business and the moneyed spend there, while entrepreneurs invest in small businesses, which attract more money. Ever notice that all the good stuff clings to well-heeled Main Street like gold to a tumbling river bed? Just drive through Williamsville some time if you’re ever in doubt.

But there are stirrings of development here in our corner of the lake. News about the cleanup of the Roberts Road brownfield is a huge positive, especially for residents who have been looking at the current mess for decades. Cleaning up and repurposing a mess into a useful business may not generate everyday excitement, but it will generate fresh hope that Dunkirk could become Chadwick Bay. Getting Athenex going will be another magnet for the perception that this is a good place to live and work.

On the small-business level, a hub of Latino stores and delis has filled a niche for local comforts. Call me crazy, but when I discovered that a deli-slash-store is opening soon on Doughty Street, I felt an excitement that is probably out of proportion to the scope of the business. In the glory days, these neighborhood delis created a cozy sense of well-being. A new deli offering the Fourth Ward everything from pizza to milk via a short walk is exactly what the Fourth Ward needs. So goes it for the city.

A momentum of small-scale development attracting disposable spending could be the start of a cycle of money creating an appealing sense of home and recycling as investment in this community. There are hopeful signs of a fiscal spring, a move in the direction of becoming Chadwick Bay.

Contrast the imminent startup of businesses of varying scopes with the ambiguous fate of the roundabout. Much has been said about this innovation as a cure for accidents, but its advocates haven’t yet shown how it will create a more comfortable traffic flow or boost business life at this crucial hub. That’s not a sturdy basket for our Chadwick eggs.

No, this isn’t Cedar Cove with its endless supply of scenic beaches and delightful inns and comfortable restaurants that serve dramatic needs. This is real life, a community striving to become less depressed and more like prosperous New York communities. In small ways, we are becoming Chadwick Bay. And that’s a goal to keep in our sights.

Renee Gravelle is a Dunkirk resident. Send comments to editorial@observertoday.com