GM16.17 STAFF REPORT ACTION REQUIRED

Feasibility Considerations of Creating a City Hall Store

Date: October 24, 2016 To: Government Management Committee Chief Corporate Officer From: and General Manager, Economic Development and Culture Wards: All Reference P:\2016\Internal Services\FAC\Gm16031fac (AFS 23861) Number:

SUMMARY

This report is further to the September 6, 2016 meeting of Government Management Committee ("GMC"), which directed the City Manager to instruct staff to report back to the November 14, 2016 meeting on the feasibility of creating a City of Store within City Hall which sells City of Toronto and TTC branded goods as well as the best locally produced and/or themed products.

In order to conduct a comprehensive feasibility study, and given the synergies with the downtown public square review currently underway, the findings from the feasibility of creating a City of Toronto Store will be included in the downtown public squares review that will be brought forward to Executive Committee in the first quarter of 2017.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The Chief Corporate Officer and the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture recommend that:

1. The Government Management Committee receive this report for information.

Financial Impact There is no financial impact resulting from the approval of this report.

Any financial impacts identified as part of the feasibility study will be included as part of the downtown public square review to be brought forward to Executive Committee in the first quarter of 2017.

Feasibility of a City Hall Store 1 The Deputy City Manager & Chief Financial Officer has reviewed this report and agrees with the financial impact information.

DECISION HISTORY At its meeting on September 6, 2016, Government Management Committee adopted item GM14.16, a motion titled "Feasibility of a City Hall Store" to explore the feasibility of creating a City of Toronto Store within City Hall which sells City of Toronto and TTC branded goods as well as the best locally produced and/or themed products: http://app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgendaItemHistory.do?item=2016.GM14.16

At its meeting on February 17, 2016 City Council requested the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture in conjunction with the Executive Director, Financial Planning to report to the Executive Committee in September 2016 on the use of the City’s downtown public squares and ways to improve the public's use of these venues, including financial and non-financial comparisons and a review of cost recovery relationships between the 3 squares, as part of the "2016 Capital and Operating Budgets" (EX12.2). The recommendation (number 125) can be found at: http://app.toronto.ca/tmmis/viewAgendaItemHistory.do?item=2016.EX12.2

ISSUE BACKGROUND City Hall iconic status made it into a very popular tourism attraction for the City of Toronto. The site is visited every year by numerous local and international tourists. In addition, the Toronto brand has gained popularity over the last few years, prompting private organizations to sell municipally themed merchandise.

Presently, a few City divisions, agencies boards and commissions (ABCDs) sell licensed City merchandise. A municipal retail store may be able consolidate all the merchandise into one centralized location for easy public access. The following ABCDs sell merchandise at a store location and/or online: Transportation Services, Toronto Archives, Toronto Transit Commission, Toronto Police Service, historical houses / City museums (, Colborne Lodge, Mackenzie House, , , Montgomery's Inn, Market Gallery, and ) and the .

The City needs to explore whether there is an opportunity to capitalize on tourists and visitors to City Hall as well as recent rising interest in City-related merchandise by offering locally-made products as well as souvenirs in a designated City of Toronto Store.

COMMENTS In order to conduct a comprehensive feasibility study, and given the synergies with the downtown public square review currently underway, the findings from the feasibility of creating a City of Toronto Store will be included in the downtown public squares review that will be brought forward to Executive Committee in the first quarter of 2017.

Feasibility of a City Hall Store 2 Staff will review current City resources and provide recommendations based on a best practice assessment of other municipal retail stores. The study will also include options on the business structure that is most suitable for a municipal retail store, should such a store be deemed feasible. The advantages and disadvantages of each option (owner/operator, partnership, independent operator, or hybrid) will be reviewed. The study will identify the most cost effective use of City resources and level of oversight needed to maintain quality merchandise.

The popularity of the "Toronto" brand has emerged from the work of governments, businesses, artists, designers and entrepreneurs. The feasibility report will review the opportunities a municipal retail store at City Hall, or potentially other location(s), may provide for supporting business development and entrepreneurship. The report will also outline options for a store, as well as delivery models for consideration – i.e. physical store or online, and explore opportunities to sell merchandise for the various tourism locations.

As directed by Government Management Committee, the study will cover the following topics: • Assessment on the viability of options to consider in creating a City Hall store (physical/virtual). • A transparent selection process to choose a store operator; • Potential for satellite locations across Toronto; • The feasibility of online retail of City of Toronto and TTC branded goods; • The feasibility of selling other City of Toronto documents or information that is normally sold to the public; • Appropriate space within City Hall or ; • If directed, next steps will be needed to create a City Hall store.

CONTACT Jill Bada, Project Director, City-Wide Strategic Initiatives, Tel: 416-397-5539 [email protected]

SIGNATURE

______Josie Scioli, Michael Williams Chief Corporate Officer General Manager Economic Development & Culture

Feasibility of a City Hall Store 3