It takes a town to support our businesses: Aurora Mayor Geoffrey Dawe

Yorkregion.com
By Amanda Persico
Feb 19, 2017

Aurora Mayor Geoffrey Dawe stressed the importance of business during the annual Aurora Chamber of Commerce mayor’s luncheon.

“When one business closes it impacts the whole town,” he said. “They say it takes a village to raise our kids. It takes a town to support our businesses.”

Usually, the annual luncheon is reserved for a big announcement, Dawe said.

But MasterBUILT Hotels, the company behind the proposed four-storey hotel off Goulding Avenue, was excited to get started, he said.

“It’s a bit anti-climactic, but we have a hotel,” he joked in front of a room full of business executives, government officials and community leaders.

Following his speech, Dawe sat down with chamber chair Javed Khan to answer questions from the business community.

Here’s what he had to say:

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Q: What is the town doing to support the long-term, economic vitality of the business community?

A: Our job is to create an environment where businesses can succeed. Not "will" succeed, but "can" succeed.

The town does reach out to the business community to find how the town can help or what the town can do better. Is the process too slow or too bureaucratic?

Q: How can the town reduce commercial vacancies along Yonge Street?

A: Yonge Street is destination shopping. Shoppers are going there for a specific reason. What doesn’t do well, is something like a karate shop.

The town should be working with the business community, looking at their business plan and suggesting this might not fit here, try this area instead.

Landlords don’t want empty buildings. They don’t want turnover.

The focus should be destination businesses.

Q: What is the town doing to mitigate the eyesore that is the old Howard Johnson hotel?

A: It’s on the town’s radar.

The owner came into the office last year telling us he wants to fix up the property himself and sell it. But he has an unrealistic sell figure of about $12 million.

The town’s bylaw officers are in there on a regular basis. Recently, bylaw officers were there to deal with squatters.

Q: What is the current status of the cultural precinct? What are the next steps?

A: Council had a robust discussion about finishing off conceptual plans for the project. We expect the plans to come back in the spring, then we will go out to the public again.

Council recently made the decision to tear down the old library and old fire hall.

The town is working on finding new homes for the current tenants.

It’s the old Jane Jacobs concept where you don’t bring people to downtown. People are downtown.

Q: What can be done with the bottleneck that happens on Wellington Street?

A: Grade separation at the tracks is on the horizon for Metrolinx. It will be horrible when it’s happening, but really great when it’s done.

There are discussions about the town using GO parking lots on weekends to help support the farmers market and other special events.