The Downtown Timmins Business Improvement Area (BIA) is embarking on a campaign to reduce building vacancies and fill storefronts by actively recruiting new businesses and entrepreneurs to the downtown.
This past spring, the association went door to door to find out more about its members. The resulting survey data will give the BIA the information it needs to make a case to prospective business owners for setting up shop in Timmins, said Noella Rinaldo, the BIA’s executive director.
“We’re going to be more proactive in filling our empty buildings with what we’re hoping is what people are really looking for,” Rinaldo said.
“We’d love to fill them with anybody, but there are certain things that people are always looking for.”
Preliminary survey results show there are 3,200 people already operating in the downtown, and, once analyzed, the data could break down the demographics further: who’s driving and who’s walking, what visitors are looking for when they come downtown, whether they eat out, and more.
This past spring, a newly designed BIA logo began appearing on downtown signage and billboards. The ‘Your Own Downtown’ motto puts forward an image that’s professional and consistent with the city’s branding, Rinaldo said.
The next stage of the project is to pair up with the area’s landlords to create a database of available properties, along with their locations, square footage, amenities, and leasing costs. That information will give the BIA a ready-made sales package they can use to pitch downtown Timmins to prospective business owners.
The BIA’s target market comprises existing business owners, either in Timmins or other Northern communities, who are considering an expansion.
“Really, where we’re seeing growth is in small businesses in town where they may look at perhaps going to another nearby town,” Rinaldo said.
“So, it’s an opportunity where I would go to, say, Sudbury or North Bay or Kapuskasing or Iroquois Falls and say, ‘Have you ever thought of having a second location in Timmins?’”
But Rinaldo hasn’t ruled out heavyweight companies that would typically operate in a big box environment or under a franchise model.
The city’s downtown currently has a high vacancy rate, but it’s largely because of the number of unusual spaces there are to fill, Rinaldo said. After the long-operating department store Tweed & Hickory closed in February 2015, for example, it left a gaping 10,000-square-foot hole in the downtown, which has yet to be filled.
Startups typically look for space averaging 700 to 1,000 square feet in size, and when those spaces become available, they’re snapped up right away, Rinaldo said.
“I’m trying to advocate to my landlords to break down the spaces and make them smaller,” she said.
She’s had some success on that front. Three years ago, businessman Dan Ayotte sectioned off his building at 97 Pine Street into five smaller offices, which come with a shared entrance and common area, Internet and phone hookup, amenities, office furniture, and private key access to the building.
With the new branding initiative, Rinaldo hopes to initiate better communication with the landlords, so they can work together to fill vacancies.
“We’re looking at an initiative of branding our empty buildings the same and trying to get people to think of, will their business fit in there?” she said.
A new BIA website is under development, and, populated with the association’s survey data, it will become a valuable resource for potential business owners considering downtown Timmins, she said.
This approach comes after the BIA completed its updated strategic plan in 2014, which aims to rebrand the downtown with a more contemporary and cohesive look and improve its functionality.
Last year, the big project involved upgrading the power grid and installing power outlets in the street lights. The downtown has also added more parking spaces and accessible parking meters, and implemented a pay-by-phone parking smartphone app.
The urban park, now in its fourth year, continues to grow, drawing people downtown for music, a farmers market, and activities throughout the week, and the association is now looking for local artists to contribute artwork to decorate the downtown’s laneways.
A full-time communications position has been created to help get the message out.
