Downtown Burlington partnerships thrive

NRU
Dec. 21, 2016
Andrew Cohrs

Burlington’s downtown is growing more vibrant than ever, with higher assessment and construction values, lower business turnover rate, more events and higher walkability scores. City staff and the local councillor say it is all about partnerships.

“It’s really the fruit of a lot of labour that’s gone in for many years... People are believing in downtowns again, they are believing and investing in them... People have decided they want walkable communities, they don’t want to go to Toronto for entertainment so we bring an art festival here, they don’t want to go to Toronto for comedy so we bring it here,” Ward 2 councillor Marianne Meed Ward told NRU.

A recently released staff report, considered by council on Monday, details a series of performance indicators that show significant change in the city’s downtown. The report noted that in 2016 393 events were hosted in downtown Burlington, almost 100 more than in 2015, construction value of downtown building permits almost doubled from $236.4-million to $525.4-million, the downtown business turnover rate was halved, reaching a 10-year low and the area’s average walkability score increased by about 1 per cent.

Planning director Mary Lou Tanner told NRU that the success of Burlington’s downtown is a result of the eff ort the city invests in its partnerships with cultural institutions, downtown businesses, residents and Halton Region.

“We are very fortunate to have alignment with council and senior staff , our institutions and the community,” Tanner said. “Th e most important factor is the people. We have a very engaged downtown business association. We have a position on our staff that works proactively with the downtown business association and a councillor who is a passionate advocate for downtown... and the strength of those relationships is incredible.”

Tanner says that the resulting investments being made in downtown have helped sustain businesses and attract more people.

“We can’t ever underestimate the importance of strong public institutions downtown... You can’t underestimate the importance of the investment the city has made in downtown, we’ve invested in people resources to support downtown, we’ve invested in festivals to support downtown and the waterfront, we’ve invested in buildings and institutions like the art gallery, like the performing arts centre. All of those are such critical ingredients for success, it also creates confidence.”

As result, Tanner says that over the past few years, the city has seen a shift in land values that has made intensification more palatable for developers.

“We have seen the land economics change and multiple residential, and even rental, [buildings are] now a favourable financial proposition for developers. We are seeing larger projects gaining traction and that there is the ability for those residential units to be absorbed.”

Downtown is identified as an urban growth centre in the Growth Plan, as well as a mobility hub in Metrolinx’s regional transportation plan. In order to guide further development and in advance of regional express rail arriving in Burlington, council has approved the creation of a secondary plan for the downtown. A preferred land use strategy is expected in December 2017 and staff anticipate the secondary plan being finalized in mid-2018.