Laura McKenna is always excited to see new ventures open their doors in Galt’s core.
But the co-owner of The Art of Home recognizes she's probably seen far more go than come in recent months.
"I think COVID has been harder on small towns,” she says. "And the pandemic has been particularly challenging."
“It’s not easy, but it’s not easy anywhere," says Galt business owner Anna Krajewski who has spent 10 years on Main Street and seen businesses come and go, often leaving gaps in the retail landscape that can remain vacant for months.
While the sight of empty storefronts in Galt’s core is nothing new, in the aftermath of a worldwide pandemic, it’s to be expected.
The manager of business development with INVEST Cambridge is optimistic that a slate of residential developments and a $20 million transformation fund means a bright future lies ahead for the city’s largest commercial core.
“Getting out of the pandemic and going forward with that, I think, is certainly the cure at least for the economics of downtown Cambridge,” says Trevor McWilliams.
Starting next month, as part of its Community Improvement Plan (CIP), Cambridge will begin offering a series of grants that encourage property owners to renovate commercial spaces in the city’s cores.
The CIP was adopted by council on July 8 and comes into effect July 30 following a 20-day appeal period.
One of the components of the CIP is the commercial property improvement grant program (CPIG), which aims to improve the appearance of the city’s core retail buildings, and support business owners who want to create a more accessible environment.
Under the program, buildings with street frontage greater than 25 feet are eligible for grants paid on a matching basis up to a maximum of $25,000.
The city’s commercial building restoration, renovation and improvement grant (CBRRIG) is aimed at property owners who want to convert vacant, residential or underutilized space for a “restaurant, market or arts or culture related space.”
It provides matching grants of up to 50 per cent of eligible costs, up to $100,000 per property, if the building has two or more floors for commercial use.
The maximum grant increases by $5,000 for the inclusion of enhanced accessibility elements.
Cambridge has had similar incentives since the 1990s, but McWilliams says these are “more modern incentives that will help out a little more.”
“And we’ve already had interest,” he says.
The new grants are being offered as part of the city’s $20-million Core Areas Transformation Fund (CATF), approved in 2019 to stimulate economic and residential growth and promote urban vitality in the core areas of Galt, Hespeler and Preston.
Post-pandemic economic recovery may not have been the intent of the fund when it was created two years ago, but McWilliams says it, along with a pending slate of residential developments, will help revitalize downtown Cambridge.
“It’s not that we lost a lot of businesses, the unfortunate part is we lost businesses,” adds McWilliams, who’s lived in the city his entire life and has seen the ebb and flow of retail in Galt that entire time.
“This is no different. The only unfortunate part about it is that every other municipality is being affected like this too.”
“It wasn’t catastrophic. But I know some of these people personally. And that’s their livelihood. That’s why we’ve tried our best to keep those businesses open and react as well to COVID-19 to see what we can do to assist.
“That’s why we’re doing the community improvement plan, that’s why we’re doing the street closures. That’s why we expedited patio permits with no fee. And we just didn’t help the core areas.”
Another bright light at the end of the pandemic tunnel is the amount of investment that’s poured into the city over the past two years in the wake of the city’s approval for the Gaslight District condo towers.
The main attraction for developers coming to Cambridge continues to be its relatively affordable real-estate prices coupled with waived development charges at the region and the city, McWilliams says.
He calls Pearle Hospitality’s $400 million plan to build a hotel and condo tower beside the Cambridge Mill and Burlington developer LJM’s proposal to build five-15 storey apartment buildings on Water Street “incredible.”
“These are not small developments. These are multi-million dollar developments so when we have HIP Developments and Pearle Hospitality investing in the Galt core, that shows me that (Cambridge) is a good investment,” he says.
“And it’s cumulative development. So, when one comes, others start to come and we have seen that. Gaslight was a huge catalyst.”
Other investments in the Galt’s core include renovations underway at 37-39 Main St., the recent purchase of 15 Main St., 60 Main St., and 52 Main St.
“All those buildings were vacant and now we have those investments going forward,” he says. “I think we will certainly see the benefits of those investments very soon.”
But not everyone's in favour of large developments threatening what they believe makes Galt special.
The owner of Krajewski Gallery & Picture Framing understands the tradeoff in welcoming more foot traffic in the core from new residents, and says there has to be a better balance in preserving the city's heritage.
“It’s good for business, it’s good for me, but at the same time, we’re sacrificing how the town looks,” Anna Krajewski says.
She wonders if federal support might be available for places like Galt, which is the focus of a heritage conservation district designation for the core.
“We can’t expect the city to maintain national treasures. And to me this is a national treasure, and if we look at it from such a short perspective, we’re always going to have a hard time.”
Krajewski hadn’t heard of the CIP programs before this week, but thinks it’s a promising move to encourage building owners to renovate Galt’s heritage buildings.But one thing she thinks is lacking in the city's plan is a more coordinated effort, particularly around promotion.
The fact that she hadn't heard of the CIP before this week is an example of where the city could improve, she says.
Another example is the lack of promotion around events like the Main Street patio program, she says.
Krajewski likes the idea behind closing lower Main to vehicular traffic to support restaurants, but says more advertising for it could help retailers like her too.
She misses the customers who walked through the door after looking in her shop window while stopped at the light at Ainslie. And some customers have expressed confusion about what the road closure is for, assuming it has something to do with construction.
“All we have is a no-entry sign and a little tiny sandwich board. No banners, no festive decorations that would actually make it feel friendly.
“That’s just telling you we need more promotion,” she says.
Laura McKenna agrees beautification should be part of Galt’s revitalization plan and would like to see more planters and flowers brought in to add to the ambience.
Knowing that a developer bought a bunch of properties on Main Street and "sat on them for years," the co-owner of The Art of Home says she's happy to see new owners working with the heritage committee, working with the city, renovating and making investments to attract new tenants.
“It’s a big undertaking so I’m glad there are people here who are actually motivated to do it,” she says. “I think we’re going to see major change on lower Main.
But residential development is key to the revitalization, she adds.
“I’d like to see the city green light these projects,” McKenna says, referring to proposals for residential high-rises at either end of Galt's core.
"I love the history, I love the heritage and the feel down here but we’re not going to get anywhere if we don’t balance that. We need to focus on development while preserving what’s special."
