There is a push to make downtown St. Albert cool.
How cool? As cool as some revitalized areas in Edmonton, such as 124 Street or 104 Street, says Dawn Fedorvich, economic development officer in St. Albert. That’s where people go to shop and dine now, and “have their business.”
To create a similar feel in downtown St. Albert, the economic development department plans to hold a few events this summer, starting with a free seminar on creative leasing options on June 11. The half-day event includes a tour of the Perron District, and hopes to sell empty storefronts to potential business owners.
“We will show them some of the options that are available in the downtown and help people imagine what businesses could go there,” said Fedorvich. “Just to start making the downtown of St. Albert top of mind for them.”
The seminar takes off Thursday morning with the unveiling of posters intended to market the downtown to entrepreneurs. Presentations will focus on investment opportunities in St. Albert, the Downtown Area Redevelopment Plan (DARP), and how beautification can help increase interest in city centres.
But the main event is a workshop with leasing coach Jeff Grandfield. Grandfield will talk about tailoring leases creatively to increase the competitiveness of a property, and how to bring new ideas to negotiations with a landlord.
“There are different options nowadays in how you can write up your leases, so we are hoping that both our landlords and our tenants can learn something new and find a new way to move forward and grow in the future,” said Fedorvich.
Other projects this summer include the Gen Y CEO program. The program helps students create a business for the summer, starting in July. This year, students were encouraged to create jobs that will bring people downtown in the evening. More details on the program will become available in the coming weeks.
Another one-day conference, Retail Revitalized, was cancelled and moved to later in the year due to low attendance rates, said Fedorvich. The conference aims to help retailers and restaurant owners thrive in the downtown.
“This is our first foray into reimagining the downtown,” she said. “We made downtown our focus at economic development in 2015 so we’ve got a few initiatives that are being organized.”
For more information or to register for the June 11 seminar go to stalbert.ca/business/economic-development and search for “Downtown St. Albert – The New Cool.”
