The Value of Investing in Canadian Downtowns - International ...

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PROSPERITY: Is the downtown’s economy robust and innovative? London has long been the regional centre of Southwestern Ontario, an economic engine for the Province with a strong agricultural base and a well established manufacturing sector. Yet a changing global economy has created a range of economic challenges for the region, such as growing unemployment, that have extended to the City of London. The City is overcoming these challenges by attracting new foreign direct investments in advanced manufacturing, food processing, IT, health and education 2 , other knowledge-based industries and the growth of many existing businesses. 3 Residential Development Attracting residential development has been a key aim of planning efforts in downtown London, and the City has enjoyed success. Since 1997, approximately 1,440 apartment units have been built in the downtown with a total construction value of $120.2M. Moreover significant new developments such as The Renaissance (71 King Street) that overlook downtown landmarks such as the Covent Garden Market are being absorbed, with a second tower currently under construction, ahead of schedule 4 . Notably, the first stage of this development provided downtown London with rental housing and the second stage is providing new condominiums. View from Renaissance Tower during construction Office Development A remarkable 80% of London’s office space is located in the downtown. A key reason for this is that policies contained in the Official Plan direct large office spaces (over 5,000sqm) to locate in downtown London. This policy has been strongly enforced and highly effective at concentrating office space and jobs downtown. Downtown office growth in London has been slow in recent years, yet there has been a gradual downward trend in office vacancy rates. Since 2006 when Bell Canada left their offices at 100 Dundas Street, downtown has seen a consistent annual decline in vacancy rates. Currently (2010) there is an overall 14.9% vacancy, 9% for Class ‘A’ space. Overall, London’s downtown office market appears stable despite the slightly elevated vacancy rates. Retail Development In the past, retailing in downtown London has been challenged by the emergence of the suburban mall. For example, in the 1960s downtown had a 70% share of retailing, yet today it is around 10%. While this trend is not unique to London, the downtown faced particularly negative experiences due to the creation of a downtown mall (Galleria Mall) that was intended to rival the suburban malls. This downtown mall attracted many of the retailers from the downtown’s main streets (Dundas, Richmond and King Streets) The no. of dwellings grew 39% from 1996-2006, compared to 12% more dwellings citywide. $120.2M on residential development downtown Downtown has 81% of the city’s office floor space (4,394,017sf) 2 Good Move London (2010). Working in London. Retrieved from: http://www.goodmovelondon.com/index.php/gml/menu_link/working. Accessed 2012 January 17. 3 City of London. (2011). Our Economy - Progress Report 2007-2011. Retrieved from: http://www.london.ca/Newsroom/PDFs/economic_report_Aug1710.pdf . Accessed 2012 January 17. 4 London Ontario Real-Estate News (2011). Local Real Estate Record: Second Renaissance Tower will offer $1-million Pent-house. Retrieved from: http://brendaclark.clientcontactblog.com/?p=293. Accessed 2012 January 17. 104
and left some significant street level vacancies. When the mall folded, the vacancies outside the mall continued to be a problem. The downtown is slowly overcoming this challenge and storefront vacancy rates have been consistently declining over time. Available space on King and Richmond Streets is now largely absorbed, which could be attributed to public investments such as the John Labatt Centre and Covent Garden Market. Yet there remain some vacancies on Dundas Street. The types of retailers that now occupy downtown differ from those that lined the main streets in the 1970s. The downtown has been successful at attracting independent retailers, such as Kingsmills and Novacks & Nash Jewellers. 5 Downtown London is not trying to recreate itself as it used to be, but rather establish itself as a vibrant downtown with unique retailing opportunities. Educational & Institutional Development The main campuses of London’s two major postsecondary institutions—The University of Western Ontario and Fanshawe College—are located outside downtown. These are key assets for the City, that have helped strengthen the City as a whole. Additionally, downtown London will soon receive increased benefits from these institutions with Fanshawe College securing a site for a new Applied School of Performing Arts. The College has purchased an 80,000 sqf building as a first phase of the project that will eventually host 1,000 new students and 75 staff. The College plans to expand this campus in the future by purchasing and renovating some of London’s downtown heritage buildings. The City of London was a major supporter of this expansion, providing $20M in funding. This new campus will strengthen Downtown London’s local 5 Daniszewski, Hank. (2011). “Keeping Covent Garden Market ‘mom and pop,’” in London Free Press. Retrieved from: http://www.lfpress.com/money/businessmonday/2011/05/06/18115681.ht ml. Accessed 2012 January 17. 105 art scene and leverage existing arts and cultural facilities such as the Grand Theatre. 6 Municipal Tax Base Citing the major declines that occurred in the 1990s, a major goal of the Downtown Millennium Plan was to increase tax assessment in the downtown. Since 2002, the total current value assessment in the downtown has risen by 3.8% annually, combining for a total increase of 59% from $567.6 million to $902.0 million. 7 Additionally, for 2009-2011, downtown’s rate of assessment growth was 15%, exceeding the Citywide rate of 6%. Jobs There are approx 30,000 office workers in downtown London. These office workers are primarily employed in banks, trust companies and the national and regional head offices. 8 Downtown London also has some large local companies, such as London Life Insurance Company. Currently, downtown household income is generally lower than citywide, although the downtown population generally has attained higher levels of education. This can be explained by the increasing number of students living in the downtown, recent graduates, young professionals and retirees. Downtown has 30,000+ 6 Fanshawe College. (2011). Fanshawe to Launch First Phase of Downtown Campus. Retrieved from: http://www.londoncommunitynews.com/2011/02/new-downtown-campusfor-Fanshawee-college/. Accessed 2012 January 17. 7 City of London. (2011). State of the Downtown Report 2011. Retrieved from: http://www.london.ca/Planning/PDFs/SOTD_AnnualReport_09.pdf. Accessed 2011 October 20. 8 City of London. (2010). Downtown Master Plan Background Study. Retrieved from: http://www.london.ca/Planning/PDFs/40TheImportanceoftheDowntown.pdf . Accessed 2011 October 14. jobs
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project would
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CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .........
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Additionally this project aims to b
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with the selected downtown study ar
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KEY FINDINGS The project team devel
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Downtowns are iconic and powerful s
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Victoria have very sensitive downto
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PROSPERITY Does the downtown have a
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These are very promising signs, yet
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Downtowns are making a major contri
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The densest downtown is Vancouver a
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Downtowns are important places for
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Winnipeg Fredericton Edmonton Halif
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Downtown Toronto and downtown Vanco
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Municipal Investments (mapped inves
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DOWNTOWN CASE STUDIES 32
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Downtown Halifax Timeline 1749 - 20
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VISIBILITY Does the downtown have a
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VISIONARY Does the downtown have st
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LIVEABILITY Is the downtown vibrant
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sites for redevelopment that are cu
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Summary of Municipal Investments Pr
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Key Patterns of Investment: 1. Cent
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Future Investments The proposed Con
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Downtown Fredericton Timeline 1749
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Page 56 and 57: PROSPERITY: Is the downtown’s eco
Page 58 and 59: Municipal Tax Base Since 1995, the
Page 60 and 61: Public Realm Downtown Fredericton h
Page 62 and 63: 60 Municipal Investments in Downtow
Page 64 and 65: 2. Enhancing the waterfront Committ
Page 66 and 67: Downtown Ottawa Timeline 1792 - 201
Page 68 and 69: VISIBILITY Does the downtown have a
Page 70 and 71: charges have recently been reinstat
Page 72 and 73: Many of the federally occupied buil
Page 74 and 75: Safety Downtown Ottawa is seen as a
Page 76 and 77: transit service downtown and across
Page 78 and 79: Summary of Public Investments Publi
Page 80 and 81: Key Patterns of Investment: Convent
Page 82 and 83: Downtown Toronto Timeline 1793 - 20
Page 84 and 85: Context Map: Key Assets and Feature
Page 86 and 87: The downtown study area differs sli
Page 88 and 89: http://www.architravel.com/architra
Page 90 and 91: Office Development Downtown Toronto
Page 92 and 93: Municipal Tax Base The downtown mak
Page 94 and 95: Safety Crime indicators for the Cit
Page 96 and 97: STRATEGY Is the City Strategically
Page 98 and 99: Public Investments in Downtown Toro
Page 100 and 101: 5. Strengthening Communities Invest
Page 102 and 103: Downtown London Timeline 1840 - 201
Page 104 and 105: VISIBILITY Does the Downtown have a
Page 108 and 109: LIVABILITY Is the downtown vibrant,
Page 110 and 111: picnic tables, cafe tables with umb
Page 112 and 113: Summary of Capital Projects: 1998-2
Page 114 and 115: Key Patterns of Investment: The Cit
Page 116 and 117: WINNIPEG Growing in strength and co
Page 120 and 121: VISIONARY Does the downtown have st
Page 122 and 123: PROSPERITY: Is the downtown’s eco
Page 128 and 129: 126 Major Public Investments in Dow
Page 130 and 131: Ship Street, Sky, and The Strand. T
Page 132 and 133: Downtown Saskatoon Timeline 1903 -
Page 134 and 135: VISIBILITY Does the downtown have a
Page 136 and 137: Leadership and Collaboration The Ci
Page 138 and 139: Office Development Private office s
Page 140 and 141: LIVEABILITY Is the downtown vibrant
Page 144 and 145: Key Patterns of Investment: 1. Conn
Page 146 and 147: EDMONTON a downtown filled with mom
Page 150 and 151: UNITY Does the downtown have strong
Page 152 and 153: Retail Development It has been obse
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STRATEGY Is the City Strategically
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156 Municipal Investments in Downto
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downtown zoning bylaws ensure that
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Downtown Vancouver Timeline 1859 -
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PROSPERITY Is the downtown’s econ
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The downtown also generates a fifth
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Eastside community, which could pot
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uild freeways into downtown Vancouv
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172 Downtown Vancouver Capital Proj
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2. Building complete communities In
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Context Map: Key Assets and Feature
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The City has also taken strong lead
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downtown is striving to offer a uni
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Safety Downtown Victoria has faced
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STRATEGY Is the City Strategically
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Pattern of Investment: Investing in
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QUICK WINS FOR CANADIAN DOWNTOWNS O
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Connecting the Downtown with Natura
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comprehensive planning processes to
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uilding and reconnect it with surro
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198 APPENDICES
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Yet, where the municipality had not
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Data Gaps From the outset of this p
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The foundation of the five principl
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was also collected that examines pr
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APPENDIX 2 - PHOTO CREDITS Front Co
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Context Map The Harbour: http://www
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Toronto 212 Confederation Square: h
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214 Rebuilt Covent Garden Market: h
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Parking lots: The Alberta Legislatu
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Victoria Cover Page Red Second post
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APPENDIX 3 - REFERENCE LIST City of
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City of Edmonton. (2010). Capital C
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City of Vancouver. (2007). Downtown
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Condos Victoria BC. (2011). The Atr
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Harris Consulting (2007). City of V
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The Star Phoenix Website. (2011). S
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