The Sparks Street Business Improvement Area appears to be undergoing a leadership shakeup after it emerged Friday that Les Gagne, the high-profile executive director of the BIA, has left the downtown merchants’ association.
Gagne “has moved on” from his position as of Monday, Nov. 3, a Sparks Street employee told Centretown News on Friday. She redirected all further questions to Sam Elsaadi, chair of Sparks Street’s executive committee and board of directors. Elsaadi, owner of La Mode Hair Studio on Sparks Street, did not immediately return several requests for comment on Gagne’s departure.
Gagne, who had held the position since June 2012, has been the public face of a much-publicized effort to transform Sparks Street into a major festival zone for residents and tourists, all aimed at boosting the area’s commercial fortunes.
Gagne spearheaded the organization of a number of events and initiatives aimed at revitalizing the Centretown shopping and dining district. He founded the city’s outdoor New Year’s Eve celebration, proposed a “Zip Line Adventure” project and promoted the popular RibFest barbecue event on Sparks Street, the largest rib festival in Canada.
In December 2012, just after a few months into his Sparks Street position, Gagne said he wanted to bring the community together in the once-moribund retail area and attract people who were looking for a great place to socialize.
Since then, he helped launch the new brand and identity of the Sparks Street Village, marketed the area’s Poutine Fest and Busker Fest and also helped bring Ottawa’s first public piano to Sparks Street.
He also launched an initiative to begin engraving concrete tiles along the street with the names of great Canadian humanitarians as the city’s own version of Canada’s Walk of Fame.