Local Economic Development in Wellington West Backing Business Final Report December 2014 Room 400 MacDonald-Harrington Building 815 rue Sherbrooke Ouest Montréal (Québec) Canada H3A 0C2 December 2014 Contents Project background Project deliverables Executive Summary 4 6 Recommendations 56 1 Introduction 6 6.1 Promotional bags 56 6.2 Social events 58 1.1 Background 6 6.3 Member seminars 60 1.2 Mandate 6 6.4 Community event kit 62 1.3 Approach 7 6.5 First Thursdays expansion 64 2 Context 8 6.6 Development updates 66 2.1 Legal framework 8 6.7 Member outreach 68 2.2 Relevant planning documents 12 6.8 Summary 70 2.3 Current Developments 16 7 Closing remarks 72 3 Analysis 18 3.1 Community character 18 Appendix 74 3.2 Commercial character 30 BIA census distribution 74 3.2.1 Distribution 30 Arts sector distribution 75 3.2.2 Clusters 32 Community services distribution 76 3.2.3 Social Media 36 Food and dining sector distribution 77 3.2.4 Vacancy 42 Professional service sector distribution 78 3.3 Visitor Patterns 44 Retail and fashion sector distribution 79 3.4 SWOT analysis 46 Vacant property distribution 80 4 Current BIA Programming 48 Social media outreach in Ottawa BIAs 81 5 Consultation Results 50 5.1 Best Practices 50 5.2 Discussion Themes 54 Urbanworks consulting 3 Backing Business Final Report Executive summary This document is the final product of the “Backing Business” project business mix; and by Urbanworks that took place from September to December of 2014. • Accelerated development interest due to transportation invest- The aim of the project is to promote local economic development in ment in the area. the Wellington West Business Improvement Area (WWBIA) through The spatial analysis process showed that the WWBIA includes three programming initiatives. The report is intended to provide strategies distinct areas. These are Wellington Village (Western portion of Wel- for the WWBIA to strengthening its relationship with the business lington Street West), the central portion of the neighbourhood near community, thereby fostering the neighbourhood as a premier shop- the intersection at Hinton Ave and Parkdale Market (a transition area ping, food and arts destination in Ottawa’s west end. that is officially part of Hintonburg), and Hintonburg (eastern portion The study began with an overview of the legal framework that governs of Wellington Street West). These areas were used to present a clearer the political organization of the BIA, namely city zoning bylaws, rele- and more defined depiction of the WWBIA. vant provincial acts and municipal plans. Following this, Urbanworks Following the situational analysis, Urbanworks researched program- undertook research and analysis on a variety of demographic factors ming best practices in business organizations throughout Canada, the concerning the WWBIA and its surrounding catchment area. Using a United States, and England. The overarching themes of successful case comprehensive approach to studying the neighbourhood provided Ur- studies include: banworks the foundation to better align the proposed recommenda- tions to the Wellington West locale. • Leveraging the strengths of the existing business community; • Communication tools within the business community; In preparation for delivering the set of recommendations to the WW- • Opportunities for collaboration and networking among busi- BIA, Urbanworks also analyzed the commercial character of the area. ness owners; and To gain an understanding of the Wellington West business community, • A strong relationship with the City. the client provided an extensive census database of all existing com- Using these themes to base the preliminary selection of recommenda- mercial enterprises within the BIA. The census was mapped according tions, Urbanworks presented a series of programming best practices to to various factors. Using this analysis, Urbanworks identified some key BIA members in a consultation sessions in Ottawa to further refine its features of the area, namely: recommendations based on feedback from participants. • High active transit rates among neighbourhood residents; • Large retail, restaurant, and professional service sectors; • A noticeable emphasis on the arts community; • A concentration of businesses requiring a storefront along Wel- lington Street West; • A “village feel,” characterized by small storefronts and eclectic 4 Urbanworks consulting December 2014 The final output is a set of seven recommendations for programming that are designed to respond to the issues and interests expressed by Acknowledgements the business owners and the BIA. These recommendations are: • Promotional bags Urbanworks would like to thank the leadership of the • Social events • Seminars for members Wellington West BIA, Zachary Dayler, for his support, • Community event kit enthusiasm, and comments throughout the project • First Thursdays expansion period. The same thanks are extended to Michel • Development updates Frojmovic of Creative Neighbourhoods for his guid- • Member outreach ance, expertise, and sharing of data. Outside advice These recommendations provide practical strategies that the WWBIA was sought from David Brown and Paul LeCavalier can apply to guide the neighbourhood’s growing local economy, and to of McGill University, who acted as independent con- amend salient issues within the community. Namely, there is extensive sultants. Finally, the recommendations contained in and pronounced concern regarding the emotional and physical discon- nect between Hintonburg and Wellington Village, the lack of business this report would not have been possible without the owner outreach and engagement from the BIA, and adapting to the feedback of the business owners and stakeholders in rapidly developing neighbourhood. Wellington West. Throughout the project, Urbanworks has identified key recommenda- The Urbanworks team is composed of Nour El-Saheb, tions and issues that reflect the current state of the Wellington West Angie Ning, Jordan Rockerbie, and Eleni Taye. business community. With diligence, the WWBIA ought to incorporate the recommendations into their mandate and address outstanding is- sues voiced by stakeholders. In guiding the economic development of Wellington West, the WWBIA must exercise equal consideration and support to all business owners, thereby fostering the WWBIA as an or- ganization that businesses community are proud to identify with. Urbanworks consulting 5 Backing Business Final Report 1 Introduction 1.1 Background 1.2 Mandate Business Improvement Areas (BIAs) were created by the Province of It is important for the WWBIA to be proactive in engaging all of its mem- Ontario as a means for business and commercial property owners to bers in the promotion of the neighbourhood. To develop a more com- promote economic development in their neighbourhood or district. plete understanding of its members, the WWBIA contracted Creative BIAs are able to engage in beautification efforts, revitalize and main- Neighbourhoods to complete a survey of all non-residential locations tain infrastructure, engage in marketing and promotion, co-ordinate within its geographic boundaries. Using this information, the WWBIA events, and act as a singular voice for the business community. requested thematic maps of business clusters in order to gauge the spatial structures and relationships found within the local economy. The Wellington West Business Improvement Area (WWBIA) was formed in 2008 to provide a voice for the business community during streets- WWBIA also requested a set of recommendations, to be proposed to cape reconstruction. As one of eighteen Business Improvement Areas business owners, to improve the effectiveness of the association, the in the city of Ottawa, the WWBIA now engages in the promotion of bottom-line of individual businesses, and the shopping environment for Wellington West as a destination for shopping, eating, and the arts. residents and visitors. The WWBIA would like to know where it stands among other BIAs: does the WWBIA do enough to create a vibrant The WWBIA consistently identifies itself as including the neighbour- business community? What can it learn from other BIAs in Ottawa, the hoods of Wellington Village and Hintonburg. The differences be- province of Ontario, and beyond? Research of best practices will form tween these two neighbourhoods can be clearly seen along the an integral portion of this project. This knowledge and understanding main commercial artery, Wellington Street West. The progression of the WWBIA’s membership will influence future programming and along Wellington Street West also shows a distinctive commercial events in the neighbourhood. cluster in each neighbourhood. Several other BIAs operate adjacent to the WWBIA: and Preston Street (Little Italy) BIA and Somerset-China Town Urbanworks developed a set of recommendations that would enhance BIA to the east, and the Westboro Village BIA to the west. the BIAs role within the business owner community. Development recommendations required analyzing the survey prepared by Creative An emerging neighbourhoud is the Bayview Station District, a mixed- Neighbourhoods over the summer of 2014, to show the business mix use development that will form “the western gateway to Ottawa’s in Wellington West as well as significant clusters of commercial activity. downtown.” As such, strengthening and defining the role of the Wel- Data from outside sources has been used to complement this survey lington West BIA is important in maintaining the prominence