MEMBERS HANDBOOK TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Director’s Welcome ..................................................................................................................1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................2 District Boundary Map................................................................................................................................4 Member Programs .......................................................................................................................................7 Member Events .......................................................................................................................................... 11 District Programming .............................................................................................................................. 13 Advocacy .................................................................................................................................................... 17 District Events............................................................................................................................................. 19 Who to Contact .......................................................................................................................................... 21 Top left: Ocean Optometry | Middle left: Art Gallery of Nova Scotia | Bottom left: Bistro Le Coq | Bottom middle: McInnes Cooper | Bottom right: Murphy’s The Cable Wharf Page 1 Bottom left: The Old Triangle | Bottom middle: Freak Lunchbox | Middle right: Verano Food Purveyors Bottom right: The Prince George Hotel downtownhalifax.ca EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S WELCOME Welcome to Downtown Halifax! It is an exciting time to be here, where the Maritimes meets the world, and we are so glad you are a part of our family of 1,600 businesses. As a landlord, business owner, or employee in Downtown Halifax, you are automatically a member of your local Business Improvement District (BID), i.e. Downtown Halifax Business Commission. Your membership fee is included as a line item in your municipal commercial taxes, based as a percentage of your assessment. A BID is a simple but powerful concept, started in Toronto 40 years ago, which has now spread around the world. It is a collective group of businesses, sometimes as small as a single street and sometimes as large as a whole downtown, which is funded by the businesses themselves in order to create the conditions for their own prosperity. In Downtown Halifax, we have many programs and initiatives for our members that we implement through the following four areas: Advocacy, Beautifi cation, Marketing & Paul MacKinnon Communications, and Membership Engagement. Executive Director Please take some time to look through this Members Handbook. We would be happy to talk to you via phone, email, social media, or in person. Feel free to come see us in our storefront location at 1546 Barrington Street, Suite 104. downtownhalifax.ca 1 INTRODUCTION ABOUT DOWNTOWN HALIFAX Downtown Halifax is the heart of Atlantic Canada’s big city. It represents the true essence of a port city where a distinct history meets a new world. Downtown Halifax is a place where constant change lives hand-in-hand with a strong sense of history. It is a centre of activity from service and retail to industry and shipping, and everything in-between. Downtown Halifax is not only the heart of the East Coast, but it is also the economic, cultural, and tourism hub of the Maritimes. As an A-list choice for national and international conventions, conferences, and sporting events, attendees and visitors are never disappointed with the variety of events. Home to the Halifax Convention Centre, Scotiabank Centre, Halifax Seaport Market, Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, and many more key entities, Downtown Halifax is home to over 180 restaurants and bars and 250 retailers. Downtown Halifax is a go-to destination for tourists visiting Nova Scotia, and the pier attracts over 200,000 cruise ship passengers to our doorstep every year. Every bustling and booming city comes with a number of business improvements districts (BIDs). A BID is simply a process where a group of businesses, often bound together by little more than a common neighbourhood, agree to self-fund an organization that can speak for Top left: Urban Outfi tters | Middle left: Stillwell Beer Bar Bottom left: Argyle Fine Art | Bottom middle: The Harbour Hopper | Bottom right: Halifax City Hall Page 3: DHBC offi ce and storefront 2 downtownhalifax.ca them, market their area, beautify, and act in ways more fl exible and quality retailers, support eff orts to make Downtown business focused than their municipal government. a premier destination for events, and increase member satisfaction and participation in marketing programs. Downtown Halifax Business Commission (DHBC) is the largest business association on the East Coast. We represent over 1,600 • Beautifi cation – We aim to beautify Downtown businesses – with the largest membership, we can do the most for streetscapes, enhance public perception of cleanliness, our members and we are proud to be your BID. promote greater usability and accessibility of Downtown, improve opportunities for engagement with the Downtown community, and promote greater integration DOWNTOWN HALIFAX BUSINESS COMMISSION among Downtown maintenance stakeholders. (DHBC): WHAT WE DO Downtown Halifax Business Commission is the voice and resource • Advocacy – We aim to encourage positive policy of the businesses located in the central business district of outcomes for Downtown businesses, increase number Halifax, Nova Scotia. As a not-for-profi t organization, we run many of “feet on the street” and economic stability of the programs, events, and marketing initiatives to make Downtown Downtown core, stabilize and/or decrease vacancy rates, Halifax a better place to live, work, and play. and improve attitudes toward Downtown. We give members a voice in critical issues that aff ect the MISSION: At Downtown Halifax Business Commission, it is our Downtown. DHBC advocates to all who will listen and mission to improve business conditions, promote economic has particular interest at the municipal, provincial, and development, support the common business interests, and create a federal levels. positive image for Downtown Halifax. DHBC provides the membership with a collective voice at the table on all major issues concerning Downtown Halifax, including development, heritage preservation, all levels of government, the media, and other stakeholders. Our organization focuses on four pillars to better serve Downtown Halifax businesses and organizations: • Membership Engagement – We aim to make members feel like part of the Downtown family, increase membership knowledge of and participation in DHBC programs and initiatives, and identify and celebrate new Downtown businesses. • Marketing & Communications – We aim to encourage increased customer visitation and spending, attract downtownhalifax.ca 3 If your business is located in Downtown DOWNTOWN HALIFAX Halifax, you are automatically a member of DHBC. DHBC represents all organizations, including property owners and tenants, BUSINESS COMMISSION located in the area between the Halifax Waterfront and the waterside of Brunswick BOUNDARY MAP Street, and between the Cogswell Interchange and the south end of Barrington Street. 4 downtownhalifax.ca Please refer to our boundary map to see where you are within the Downtown Halifax district. This handbook lists the resources and support that Downtown Halifax Business Commission provides to help organizations and businesses make the best of being located in Downtown Halifax. If you have questions along the way, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us. For information, contact: [email protected] or (902) 423-6658, 1546 Barrington Street, Suite 104, www.downtownhalifax.ca. downtownhalifax.ca 5 MEET THE DHBC STAFF The DHBC team is a small, but mighty, bunch that works on behalf of the members and Board of Directors. Our staff is dedicated to growing and promoting the Downtown core. To meet the crew, please visit: downtownhalifax.ca/about/our-team. We encourage you to drop by for a chat at our offi ce, located at 1546 Barrington Street, Suite 104. Paul MacKinnon Kimberly Dossett Ivy Ho Executive Director Director of Operations Director of Communications BOARD OF DIRECTORS The DHBC Board of Directors is the elected governing body of the organization made up of 16 passionate and highly involved business representatives of the Downtown core. They oversee, manage, and make decisions on the Commission’s programs and initiatives. Each member is involved with one of four Action Teams responsible for Membership Engagement, Marketing & Communications, Beautifi cation, and Advocacy. To fi nd out who is currently sitting on our Board of Directors, please visit downtownhalifax.ca/about/our-team. If you are interested in Allana MacDonald Mills Kuda Ndadzungira Sacha Curran becoming a Board Member, contact us at: Director of Marketing Membership Engagement Navigator Street Outreach [email protected]. Manager Program Coordinator ACTION TEAMS & COMMITTEES DHBC’s action teams are made up of interested individuals from any business or organization within the Downtown Halifax district. These teams discuss various topics ranging from government policies, event sponsorship, welcoming