{"id":20454,"date":"2018-04-25T21:12:10","date_gmt":"2018-04-26T01:12:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=20454"},"modified":"2018-05-02T15:35:43","modified_gmt":"2018-05-02T19:35:43","slug":"downtown-owners-band-together-to-revive-bia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/downtown-owners-band-together-to-revive-bia\/","title":{"rendered":"Downtown owners band together to revive BIA"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Brock Weir<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Brock Weir <\/p>\n

Local business owners have long expressed concerns with the state of Aurora\u2019s downtown core, but now traction appears to be on their side to do something about it.
\nYears after Downtown Aurora\u2019s last Business Improvement Area (BIA) fizzled out, momentum is backing the business owners of today as they pitch a revitalized BIA to Council, one they argue will, in turn, help revitalize Aurora\u2019s struggling traditional commercial corridor.
\nThe pitch was made to Council last week by financial consultant Joanne Russo, whose Russo Corp. operates out of a heritage house on Wellington Street East.
\nAppearing at the podium before local lawmakers last Tuesday, she requested the Town\u2019s approval in once again establishing a BIA which would be volunteer-run and dedicated to \u201cimproving and promoting\u201d the historic core \u201cthrough investment and advocacy to build and maintain its position as Aurora\u2019s premiere shopping, business and entertainment destination.\u201d
\n\u201cWe want to bring our historic Downtown back to what it used to be: the jewel of Aurora,\u201d said Ms. Russo.
\nThe initial proposed BIA would encompass Wellington Street East from Berczy Street to Yonge Street, and continue southward on Yonge Street to Church Street.
\n\u201cIn conjunction with the Town, we have surveyed 91 businesses and the results were overwhelmingly in favour of a BIA,\u201d said Ms. Russo. \u201cWe hope to join together with the Town to organize and carry out physical improvements and promote economic development in the historical district. Our plan is to enhance our business area to create an inviting atmosphere for local businesses and neighbouring residential areas and mostly to encourage pedestrian traffic in the Downtown Core. The time is right for a BIA as the Town\u2019s Library Square project begins to take shape and the renewed emphasis on expanded neighbourhoods comes to fruition.
\n\u201cWhy do we do this? We do this for several reasons: we want to revitalize and beautify [Aurora\u2019s] historical centre and make it a destination for local residents to work, shop and play. We want to provide opportunities for area businesses to thrive through community events and focused advertising. Our three year plan will revitalize and beautify the Aurora Downtown Core and this will happen through the placement of benches, historic signage, lampposts, banners, murals, etc. Most importantly, we will create an entertainment hub anchored by several pedestrian-focused events that will spotlight our local businesses.\u201d
\nCurrently, she added, they\u2019re eying five seasonal events throughout the year.
\nFollowing this initial pitch, the legislative details need to be hammered out.
\nAccording to Mike de Rond, Aurora\u2019s Town Clerk, the first step from Town Hall\u2019s perspective will be sending notices to businesses in the impacted area. The comments received at the Committee last week, if ratified by Council this Tuesday, will then be sent back to staff for a report and the wheels can officially start to turn.
\nThat might be a formality, however, as the BIA proposal got the clear backing of Councillors.
\n\u201cI am really excited,\u201d said Councillor Sandra Humfryes. \u201cWhat is really important is your BIA is working closely with the Town and staff so we can put [downtown] priorities together and work towards that in the budgeting process. About four years ago, we came back to beautifying the downtown and improving some buildings, sidewalk areas and benches, and it was costly, about $200,000, but we have to make it look beautiful, we have to make it look inviting.
\n\u201cPeople want to come back Downtown, they want to enjoy our Downtown, and it is our obligation as Council and future Councils to work towards that. Having a BIA that helps prioritize\u2026will help Council know what is really important to businesses in our community.\u201d
\nSpeaking in favour of the proposal, Councillor Michael Thompson noted the hard work it has taken to get to this point, but questioned how the BIA would be structured financially.
\nProponents of the idea said the BIA would be financed through membership fees and sponsorship opportunities.
\n\u201cWe have looked at previous BIAs\u2026and they have tacked on a levy onto property owners,\u201d said Ms. Russo. \u201cWe surveyed 101 properties and, so far, the votes we have received to date have been very successful. The levy we\u2019re looking at is about $400 per business owner and we\u2019re looking to the Town for support. We have completed a three-year projection that will be presented to Council.\u201d
\nRevitalization, said Councillor Tom Mrakas, is a \u201cbuzzword\u201d that has been used for \u201cquite a long time\u201d in Aurora, and he said he was encouraged to see \u201cmovement\u201d towards realizing that goal. Having asked Ms. Russo about the excitement level she has seen from business owners as they take their idea door-to-door, she said there is \u201ctons of excitement\u201d in the air.
\n\u201cWe all wanted to see change and we all wanted to be a part of that change and we know change is happening,\u201d she said. \u201cRevitalizing the downtown and making it feel more historic is something we have all been waiting for. We just want to see it happen. We are all positive attitudes, all positive responses we\u2019ve been receiving from local business owners.\u201d
\nAdding there is still a lot of work to be done before the BIA is brought to fruition, Councillor Paul Pirri encouraged organizers to \u201ckeep the faith\u201d along the way.
\n\u201cI think this is a fantastic opportunity to help revitalize the Downtown Core, get business buy-in, and support events and market the Downtown Core,\u201d he said. \u201cThere is a lot of work that is going to be involved in the next phase, which includes going out to get a formal petition through the Town, creating consultations, so good look and I look forward to supporting you along the way.\u201d
\nAdded Councillor John Abel: \u201cYou must be extremely encouraged by the reception you\u2019ve got. Keep going, and I know it is important to know how Council feels and if you\u2019re going to be supported. It looks very promising. Keep up the great work and we look forward to the next stage.\u201d<\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Local business owners have long expressed concerns with the state of Aurora\u2019s downtown core, but now traction appears to be on their side to do something about it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-5jU","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-25 06:56:02","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20454","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20454"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20454\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}