{"id":23626,"date":"2019-04-25T17:15:01","date_gmt":"2019-04-25T21:15:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=23626"},"modified":"2019-05-02T12:15:48","modified_gmt":"2019-05-02T16:15:48","slug":"business-improvement-area-budget-to-be-funded-with-downtown-tax-levy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/business-improvement-area-budget-to-be-funded-with-downtown-tax-levy\/","title":{"rendered":"Business Improvement Area budget to be funded with downtown tax levy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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

Aurora\u2019s new Business Improvement Area is readying its\nbudget for Council approval.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Business Improvement Area\u2019s (BIA) budget was\npresented to Council at the Committee level by Board member Jack Laurion last\nweek and it outlines a series of initiatives that will be spearheaded by the\nBIA in the years ahead to restore the Town\u2019s historic Downtown Core as a\ndestination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have had several meetings to try and determine what\nwould make sense to increase the livability and business atmosphere of the\nDowntown Area,\u201d Mr. Laurion told Council. \u201cThe mission of the Downtown Aurora\nBusiness Improvement Association is to support members through promotion and\neducation, to attract new businesses that add value to the Downtown Core, and\nsupport their integration within the community, and participate in the\nmarketing and beautification efforts for Downtown Aurora.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith so many new changes to Aurora \u2013 being Library\nSquare and the remodelling of the Aurora Cultural Centre \u2013 we will see positive\nchange through marketing initiatives, running events to spotlight the Downtown\nCore, supporting existing businesses, building a long-range plan with the Economic\nDevelopment Board to help attract new businesses that will further enrich the\nDowntown experience and contribute to the beautification efforts undertaken by\nthe Town through the streetscape plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur vision is to lead the revitalization of Downtown\nAurora as a Town focal point where businesses thrive, residents live, work and\nplay, and visitors feel welcomed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All this, however, comes at a cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A final report on the BIA\u2019s budget will come forward for\nCouncil approval and enactment in the first half of May.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The budget is contingent on a new tax levy that will be\nhanded down to businesses that lie within the geographic limits of the BIA,\nbeing the blocks radiating out from Yonge and Wellington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BIA Board members estimate this tax levy will come out to\nan average of $400 per property annually, with the 101 subject properties\ncontributing an estimated $40,400 to fund the initiatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe levy structure is being requested as we are here to\nadvocate on behalf of the interests of the Business Improvement Area,\u201d said the\nBIA in their business plan. \u201cWe wish to maintain and improve the downtown core\narea and provide a more pleasant atmosphere for local businesses and\nneighbouring residential areas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The BIA\u2019s business plan sets out three years of\nobjectives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the first year, the BIA will focus $15,000 on\nadvertising, including the creation of websites, newspaper and social media\nads, flyers and marketing materials. $10,000 is allocated to hire entertainment\nfor a planned series of three events which will include road closures in the\nhistoric core. More will be spent on metal buildings and lawn signs intended to\ndesignate historically significant properties to illustrate Aurora\u2019s heritage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second year will look at similar advertising efforts,\n$7,000 for entertainment, the creation of more signage as well as a new mural\non a prominent Downtown building which will illustrate the history of the core.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The third year will continue spreading the word, but\nfocusing on the creation of a metal archway over Wellington Street to signify\nthe entrance to Downtown Aurora. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The proposed archway, similar to the arch that indicates\nNewmarket\u2019s Historic Main Street when coming from the north received a boost\nfrom Mayor Tom Mrakas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI like [the idea] of the historic metal archway at\nWellington,\u201d said the Mayor, noting he and Stephanie Mackenzie Smith,\nCommunications Manager for the Town, had been brainstorming ideas earlier in\nthe day. \u201cWe thought [about] not only one, but possibly a second one at the\nother end.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe BIA has sure hit the ground running,\u201d said\nCouncillor Sandra Humfryes, who chaired last Tuesday\u2019s General Committee\nmeeting. \u201cYou have been here a few times already since your inception and I am\nreally proud of that. Thank you for relaying the need to beautify and work on\nthe downtown core. For me, it is critical to the success of our businesses\nalong with the great initiatives of our Library Square.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThank you for continuing to push forward.\u201d<\/p>\n\r\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Aurora\u2019s new Business Improvement Area is readying its budget for Council approval with an eye to Downtown Revitalization.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_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}},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23626","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\/p3D2k4-694","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-15 11:16:23","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\/23626","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=23626"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23626\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23626"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23626"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23626"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}