With its proximity to Parliament Hill and the Byward Market, Elgin Street is a gem for tourism and business opportunities.
What’s refreshing is that aside from a few chain restaurants and cafes, the street’s businesses are small and independently owned.
Baked goods? Fresh out of the oven.Frosty pints? Take your pick of pubs.Gourmet cuisine? There’s a bistro for you.
On a micro business level, the street has a bit of everything to serve the general public, but one area the street’s businesses can perk up is its collective improvement, in the form of a business improvement area or BIA.
Elgin Street’s businesses should catch up with the city’s other commercial areas that have come together for collective growth – and soon.
A few weeks ago, water main breaks shut down the street for two days, leaving patrons to access businesses by foot.
Only the timing of the water main breaks forced the City of Ottawa to make Elgin’s pipe repairs a priority.
With a BIA, businesses unite to advance, promote and adopt projects to improve a commercial main street or business district.
The areas get help from the city to organize and finance improvements.
Furthermore, representatives voice their opinions on matters related to marketing, recruitment and streetscape improvement.
Having lived in the area for the past two years and knowing Elgin Street is a vibrant Ottawa small business hub, I assumed the street was a pioneer in Ottawa small business evolution.
But looking down the list of Ottawa’s 17 BIAs, it was surprising to not see Lord Elgin’s namesake.
Elgin Street is a prototype for small business prosperity – but apparently one without an official group devoted to business improvement.
This is going to involve an evisceration of the street, with sidewalk repairs to follow shortly after.
Business will certainly be affected. In all likelihood, customers will want to stray from the general area, opting for less chaotic shopping atmospheres. Just look at the monstrosity that was Bank Street last year.
Before the Caterpillars move in, business owners would be wise to band together with each other and the city to form a business improvement area.
An Elgin Street BIA would be in the business owners’ best interest since they could have a communal voice when it comes to construction projects.
BIA reps would sit on the design committee and provide input on how areas can be improved to drive business.
Right now, the district has the Elgin Area Business Association, a casual network of the street’s business owners.
But an official BIA would allow the city to assist with the formalities and collect a special zone levy that goes back to the BIA for various administrative, budgetary and programming needs.
Someone familiar with the area’s commercial needs must be the link between the business community and the city in order to maximize commerce, promote the area as a destination and foster development.
In addition, Elgin businesses would be on the same page with the city on future projects involving seasonal decorations, parking rules and the “Sens Mile” – the nickname the Elgin strip adopts during Senators playoff runs.
And businesses need to do so before the city starts tearing up the street so that they don’t lose more money than they already will with construction looming.
It can’t hurt to be on the same page as the city when it comes to these types of discussions.
With nearly every Ottawa business hub having embraced the notion of an official group devoted to commercial improvement, it’s surprising that a major commercial area such as Elgin Street has thrived this long without one compared to its neighbouring communities in the national capital.
Perhaps this perseverance demonstrates that the street and its businesses can handle themselves.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right?
But Elgin Street is about to be broken in a big way, and its businesses would be best served to stick together – with each other and the city.