Sidney, BC A Profile of the Sidney Business Improvement Area District: Business Activities, Business Premises and Vacancies

Transcription

1 A Profile of the Sidney Business Improvement Area District: Business Activities, Business Premises and Vacancies Sidney, BC 2016 Copyright Sidney Business Improvement Area Society February 2016 All rights reserved. 1

2 Background and Introduction 1 In January 2016, the Sidney Business Improvement Area Society (SBIA) set out a plan to collect information about all service- sector businesses within the SBIA boundary in order to produce a Guide to the Service Sector in Sidney, a complement to the Sidney Guide and Fold- out Map produced in The plan called for surveying all service sector businesses and collecting contact information for each business. The SBIA Executive Director recruited Graham Debling, a member of the business community and a retired research scientist, to carry out the detailed survey of all properties in Sidney. Mr. Debling agreed to do the work over a two- week period for a small honorarium. He created a detailed plan to visit each building, noting in particular the service sector businesses. However, as he began his door- to- door investigation, he quickly realized that he had a unique opportunity to map all businesses and business premises in the SBIA area, including those not occupied (vacancies). In consultation with the Executive Director, he gathered detailed information about all businesses and premises in the BIA area and provided this information to the Executive Director with an accompanying analysis of his findings. This brief report provides a summary of that work. As stated by Mr. Debling in his report to the Executive Director, the numbers presented must be treated as fluid because businesses come and go. Also, with respect to the capacity for Sidney to accommodate more businesses, he pointed out that a single premise might currently accommodate multiple businesses and potentially, multiple premises might only accommodate one business. Similarly, a single premise currently unoccupied could be subdivided to accommodate multiple new businesses etc. With these caveats, the following provides the best up- to- date information currently available about Sidney s downtown business area. Business premises and unoccupied spaces As shown in Table 1, there are approximately 437 business premises in Sidney. Of these, 61 (14%) were not occupied when the investigation was conducted. Of the 437, 350 are at street level, of which 39 (11%) were not occupied (ground floor vacancy rate). The additional 87 premises are on the second or third floors with 25% deemed unoccupied at the time of the survey. 1 NOTE TO READERS: The data presented in this document are intended for discussion purposes only. They cannot and should not be used for formal planning or development purposes 2

3 In addition, 10 businesses currently operate out of Sidney Marina but only the Marina itself has business premises Appendix A lists all unoccupied premises as of January Table 1: Sidney Building Premises and Unoccupied 2 Premises (vacancies) Premises Number Percent Total number 437 Total number of premises unoccupied 61 14% Number of street level premises 350 Number unoccupied at street level 39 11% Number of 2 nd or 3 rd floor premises 87 Number unoccupied on 2 nd or 3 rd floor premises 22 25% Business Activities As shown in Table 2, retail activities account for about 30% of Sidney businesses; food and beverage 11%, personal services such as hairdressing 7%, and health and well- being 5%. In total, these businesses represent 53% of all Sidney businesses. 3 Professional services represent 27% of all Sidney businesses. These include accountancy, law, medical- related services, real estate, insurance, wealth management, professional planning, design and architectural firms, etc. About 10% of all premises are occupied by businesses or organizations that do not rely on local customers. Rather, their customer base is primarily provincial, national or international. About 4% of Sidney business premises are occupied by public services and organizations within the not- for- profit sector. A full listing of Sidney businesses by categories is shown below. 2 We have chosen to use the word unoccupied rather than vacancies because we do not know if landlords are trying to rent the spaces, using some spaces for storage or already have a commitment to develop the space. While in actuality the spaces are vacant, we have no further empirical information other than to say that at the time of the survey they appeared unoccupied. 3 It is worth noting that several other business categories such as insurance and banks frequently act as retail operations. 3

4 Table 2: Summary of Business Activity by Category 4 Category Number Percent Retail (goods) % Food and beverage 43 11% Personal services (Hairdressing/nails/tattoo/spa) 27 7% Health and well being 21 5% Eye and hearing 8 2% Repair/cleaning % Rental 5 1% Real Estate 17 4% Wealth management/bank/mortgage broker 27 7% Accountancy 12 3% Animal welfare 5 1% Accommodation 7 2% Medical services % Law 11 3% Research/consultancy 17 4% Marine/sailing related % Modern production 6 1.5% Entertainment/learning 5 1% Property rental 5 1% Public sector/not- for- profit 15 4% Total % Implications Although the SBIA did not set out to do this study, the information provides important insights into the SBIA s overall constituency as the organization continues to explore new ways to promote, market and support all members. This information also provides a strong foundation for the Town of Sidney and/or the Economic Development Commission and commercial property owners to tackle critically important key issues: namely, how to fill vacancies, attract new and complementary businesses to Sidney and develop multiple strategies to sustain and regenerate the town. 4 Please note that the number of business by category reflects the fact that some businesses fall into more than one category. For example Save on Foods is primarily a retail store but it also contains a café (food and beverage) and a service business (carpet cleaner rental). In addition, it is important to note that these categories do not reflect square footage. 4

5 Commercial property owners, also members of the SBIA, are not shown in this study because many do not have offices in Sidney. Where they do, they are included in the Rental category. They too have a vested interest in this information and we hope they find it helpful. It is important to note that some business owners are also commercial property owners but exactly how many fall into this category remain unknown at the present time. It is, however, worth noting that the Town of Sidney estimates that there are approximately 160 commercial property owners in Sidney, some of whom own multiple properties under different trading names. This study offers a snapshot of Sidney s downtown in the winter of It also raises a number of questions: About the premises: 1. Where are the unoccupied spaces and can they be mapped in the context of the businesses that surround them? 2. What is the square footage of each unoccupied space? 3. What is the age of each unoccupied space? 4. What is the condition of each unoccupied space? 5. What is the asking rent of each space? 6. What strategies are landlords currently using to fill these spaces and/or attract new tenants? 7. Can we, as a community, build on this this information so the Town can offer a vacancy registry with additional details of each space provided? About business development: 1. Given the current mix of businesses, what sort of new, complementary businesses would best be suited to fill the street- level vacancies and those on the 2 nd and 3 rd floors? 2. Can the Town via the Economic Development Commission use this information to work with commercial property owners and others to determine effective strategies for attracting and sustaining businesses in the downtown core? The list of questions is no doubt limitless but the SBIA Board is hopeful that in sharing this information with the Town of Sidney, the Economic Development Commission and commercial property owners, we can, as a community, develop strategies to support and enhance the revitalization of downtown Sidney. 5

6 6 Appendix A: Sidney BIA District Unoccupied Premises January 2016 Contact Information 5 Not in operation/unoccupied 1 A Bevan Avenue Phone Not in operation/unoccupied Bevan Avenue Firm Not in operation/unoccupied st Street Newport Realty Not in operation/unoccupied 2526 Bevan Avenue Not in operation/unoccupied 2387 Beacon Avenue Pemberton Homes Not in operation/unoccupied th Street Not in operation/unoccupied th Street Not in operation/unoccupied th Street Not in operation/unoccupied th Street Not in operation/unoccupied 9769A1 5th Street Colliers Not in operation/unoccupied Beacon Avenue Not in operation/unoccupied Beacon Avenue Not in operation/unoccupied Beacon Avenue Not in operation/unoccupied Beacon Avenue Not in operation/unoccupied Beacon Avenue Not in operation/unoccupied Beacon Avenue Firm Not in operation/unoccupied Beacon Avenue Equitex Realty Not in operation/unoccupied th Street Not in operation/unoccupied 302B th Street Not in operation/unoccupied th Street Not in operation/unoccupied th Street Not in operation/unoccupied Beacon Avenue Not in operation/unoccupied 204A Beacon Avenue Not in operation/unoccupied 204B Beacon Avenue Not in operation/unoccupied Beacon Avenue Not in operation/unoccupied B 3rd Street Not in operation/unoccupied nd Street Not in operation/unoccupied nd Street Not in operation/unoccupied B 2nd Street Jason Middleton, Not in operation/unoccupied Beacon Avenue Jason Middleton Not in operation/unoccupied 2505 Beacon Avenue Not in operation/unoccupied 2A Seaport Place Not in operation/unoccupied 2C Seaport Place Not in operation/unoccupied 9808 Seaport Place Not in operation/unoccupied 9806 Seaport Place 5 Contact information was visible for only some of the unoccupied premises.

7 Not in operation/unoccupied nd Street Not in operation/unoccupied nd Street Not in operation/unoccupied nd Street Not in operation/unoccupied rd Street Pemberton Holmes Not in operation/unoccupied 3rd Street new Not in operation/unoccupied 3rd Street new Not in operation/unoccupied th Street Not in operation/unoccupied C 2412 Beacon Avenue Not in operation/unoccupied th Street Not in operation/unoccupied th Street Not in operation/unoccupied F 2412 Beacon Avenue Not in operation/unoccupied Beacon Avenue Not in operation/unoccupied 104? Beacon Avenue Cap. Iron summer store) Not in operation/unoccupied Beacon Avenue Pemberton Holmes Not in operation/unoccupied Beacon Avenue Colliers Not in operation/unoccupied Beacon Avenue Colliers Not in operation/unoccupied Beacon Avenue Colliers Not in operation/unoccupied Beacon Avenue Colliers Not in operation/unoccupied Beacon Avenue Colliers Not in operation/unoccupied th Street Not in operation/unoccupied th Street Colliers Not in operation/unoccupied th Street Colliers Not in operation/unoccupied th Street Colliers Not in operation/unoccupied 2210 Beacon Avenue Ph Not in operation/unoccupied 2355 James White Blvd. Colliers Not in operation/unoccupied 2361 James White Blvd. 7