Tillsonburg BIA ‘a leader in post-pandemic recovery’

Downtown Tillsonburg has bounced back from the pandemic, says Mark Renaud, executive director with the Tillsonburg Business Improvement Area (BIA).

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Renaud shared that detail when presenting Tillsonburg town council with his year in review and audited financial statements for the year at the Sept. 9 meeting.

He shared the results of an Environics Analytics survey done for the BIA on downtown usage and how it has bounced back post-pandemic. In an average week, there are 21,100 unique visitors to the Tillsonburg BIA for a total of 138,400 visits. These visits are split 75/25 between weekdays and weekends, respectively.

Renaud said Tim Hortons, Starbucks, the banks and restaurants are driving a lot of the traffic, but he emphasized this is something of which to be proud.

“Our downtown is very strong,” Renaud said. “We don’t have these office towers that have a lot of workers where people are still working at home. We continue to be, anywhere in North America, a leader in post-pandemic recovery.”

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Renaud explained Tillsonburg’s recovery to pre-pandemic activity is better than many other cities, such as Mississauga.

Environics estimated there were 30,425 people in the downtown for Turtlefest.

“Turtlefest was huge,” Renaud said “It’s such an exciting thing to have that many people in our downtown.”

Tillsonburg’s downtown is immaculately clean, and has been recognized for that by various agencies. Renaud gave credit for the many partners who contribute to that.

In terms of finances, the BIA had a net loss in 2023 due to unexpected factors such as unbudgeted legal fees, debt repayment for the purchase of new street lights a decade ago and labor costs associated with the ongoing maintenance of the downtown.

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“We have a bunch of unhinged, unhomed people who in a few minutes who can make a mess of things,” Renaud said.

He expected the $11,000 shortfall in 2023 will be dealt with by the 2024 surplus. The BIA is now self-funding all projects and is committed to not borrowing for projects. A finance sub-committee has also been formed with leading local financial experts to assist with the group’s finance.

Tillsonburg BIA received an award of merit from its provincial association for operations and creativity with the budget.

Tillsonburg Mayor Deb Gilvesy congratulated the team for doing a good job and asked Renaud about the extra levy that was added to downtown businesses, saying she heard from many business owners about it.

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Renaud explained one thing driving the levy increase was not borrowing money anymore, and having to pay all costs upfront while still paying off past debt. He said an increase in the budget is not planned in 2025.

Coun. Kelly Spencer heard from some BIA businesses with concerns of the social impact issues and that it had been dealt with positively.

“We dealt with it very positively,” Renaud agreed. “There are a downtowns that are falling apart everywhere. I’m so appreciative this council believes in the downtown and provides the supports that are necessary. If you lose your downtown, that is the heart of the community and you won’t recover from that. You don’t have to travel too far to see what a disaster they are.”

Jeff Helsdon is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter with the Woodstock Ingersoll Echo. The initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.

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