Downtown businesses that took a financial hit during the 53-day transit strike may still get some help from the city.
At Monday’s corporate services and economic development committee meeting, Gloucester-Southgate Coun. Diane Deans moved that the committee ask city staff to explore the potential of a promotional campaign to support downtown business improvement areas.
The committee was set to consider a variety of tax deferral measures, but that discussion was replaced by Deans’ motion, which she introduced on behalf of Somerset Coun. Diane Holmes.
The tax deferral measures would have cost the city between $390,000 and $750,000, depending on which of the four models was selected. The cost of the promotional campaign is estimated at $211,000.
Holmes, who does not sit on the committee, said the BIAs prefer the promotional campaign because tax deferral measures benefit property owners, but there is no guaranteeing those owners will pass on the benefits to their tenants.
“It’s a cheaper solution and they think they’ll get a much better benefit from it,” she said in the meeting.
The tax relief measures were targeted at four downtown BIAs: Sparks Street, Bank Street Promenade, ByWard Market and Downtown Rideau. But the promotional campaign would target those four BIAs, as well as the Somerset-Chinatown, Preston Street, West Wellington and Glebe associations.
Grace Xin, the executive director of the Somerset-Chinatown BIA, said either measure would be welcome. “Whatever the city is going to do, it will help the BIAs,” she said.
Loss of business due to the transit strike is partly to blame for the closure of at least two businesses in her area, she added.
After the meeting, Holmes said the success of downtown businesses depends heavily on public transit.
“All of the downtown businesses rely on the transit system to bring them many of their customers,” she said.
The committee will discuss the promotional campaign at its April 7 meeting.