Aug. 24, 2011 - Issue #827: Building revitalization

More than a facade

Edmonton's local businesses should have a place in revitalization efforts

It isn't a mall until you've got an Orange Julius. With this as a guiding sentiment Whyte Avenue will soon achieve the status of the city's largest outdoor mall. The presence of the newest Orange Julius franchise on the venerable avenue has brought mixed reactions: while many visitors to Whyte can be heard exclaiming their excitement as they pass under the glowing sign for ice cream, many are concerned about the lack of commitment to the unique character of the area.
"It'd be nice if there were some way to keep the character of the mom and pop operations and keep out corporations," says Tom Monto, owner of Alhambra Books. “People like the old buildings and like hanging out there, so that's made it more profitable but has attracted redevelopment that maybe isn't historical, and chain stores which will take away from the character.”
Alhambra was once located right on Whyte, but moved east of the railroad tracks when the shop needed a larger space. 
It's a curse of Old Strathcona's success as a revitalization zone. As one of the first spots in the city to undergo the process, the Old Strathcona Business Association worked hard to improve the area's image as a place to develop business. Building on the efforts of the Old Strathcona Foundation in the early '70s to save the historical buildings on the avenue from destruction by a proposed freeway, the Old Strathcona Business Association worked to improve streetscape development and create a welcoming environment for new business and customers. The groups have been so successful that Old Strathcona is one of the only urban outdoor heritage areas listed by the province. But the area may now be facing a problem of its own success.
"You're going to find a lot of local business having to move because the rent on the main street is just not affordable,” says David Gawdunyk, one of the co-owners of Permanent Records, an independent record shop just off Whyte Avenue. “In 10 years I think you'll be hard pressed to find local business on the Ave.”

As the operating arm of the Business Revitalization Zone, the business association has the ability to recruit new ventures and connect them with potential property owners and developers, but if a good relationship doesn't exist between the three groups there is not a lot the association can do to prevent a certain business from entering the area and potentially disrupting its unique character.
"We have a hard time accessing contact information for property owners—sometimes we're the last to know that something is coming," says Shirley Lowe, executive director of the Old Strathcona Business Association. "We do have a good relationship with long-term property owners, but during the boom there was a lot of property flipping and so some of the property owners are new property owners."
On 124 Street, there is an attempt to be selective about the businesses setting up. “We're not looking for pawn shops or cash stores or chains. What we're fostering for our area is to be unique and independent as opposed to so many areas that are full of chains,” says Jeff McLaren, executive director of the 124 Street and Area Business Association. "We'd consider looking at a chain depending on the design and what they're looking for. We're not actively going out of the way to pursue them."
Ultimately, the decision lies with property owners who accept the rent. "Technically, if a business wants to come in and the property owner wants that business there, we have no ability to say no," says Mclaren. "If they meet all the requirements there's nothing we can do about it."

A lot of effort goes into defining the character and community atmosphere in business revitalization zones like Whyte Avenue, 124 Street and Alberta Avenue. Alberta Ave, as one of the newest revitalization zones, has received over $15 million as part of the city's storefront facade program which is used to encourage business and property owners to redevelop storefronts to be more welcoming. It parallels historical efforts such as 1979's renovation of the Tipton Block, the new home of Orange Julius. Over $400 000 was spent retaining the historical character and improving the integrity of the building.
But ensuring historical preservation and attractiveness of an area is about more than a improved facade: once you've built it, who will come? There is increasing economic evidence that the city may have an inherent interest in ensuring that local, independent businesses are a key part of revitalization efforts.
"Local business buys locally, local business keeps the money in the community," says Lowe. "We did a study five years ago and estimated conservatively that this area keeps $100 million in our local economy and that includes a lot of stuff so that means these businesses are supporting a lot of local businesses in the area."
A 2003 study by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance found that local businesses, in purchasing inventory, hiring employees and spending money in the area, contribute $45 to the local economy for every $100 spent at a local independent as compared to chains which spend $14 for every $100.
And supporting local independents may be the key to economic diversification and income growth. A recent study by economists Stephan Goetz and David Fleming found that supporting local small businesses, as well as limiting the growth of corporate and market consolidation by large corporations, helped increase per-capita income growth. Studying 2953 US counties, they found that those with a higher density of locally owned small businesses had greater income growth between 2000 and 2007 than those with high levels of chains and big box stores. 
"Technically [the city] can't support one business  over another," says McLaren. "One way the city can support local business is by supporting the  BRZs in terms of supporting the  infrastructure, public space, the streetscapes, and creating the mainstreets that are unique areas. In creating the public space where these areas are different than just a generic strip mall, there's a role for the city to play."
Still, Clint Anderson, co-owner at Permanent Records, wonders about the future of his own business and if potential expansion would force them further off the Ave.
"Our capabilities are limited right now," says Anderson, and he wonders if it will be possible to look at other spaces on Whyte Avenue in the future if the current trend continues.
Gawdunyk echoes his concern: “I'm not sure what power [the association] has except to preserve the look of it, but it's all going to go to commercial big money stores in the next 10 years. Who else can afford the rents?"

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