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
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 2015. 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
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 2016. 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
Table 2: Summary of Business Activity by Category 4 Category Number Percent Retail (goods) 120 30% 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 10 2.5% 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 34 8.5% Law 11 3% Research/consultancy 17 4% Marine/sailing related 10 2.5% Modern production 6 1.5% Entertainment/learning 5 1% Property rental 5 1% Public sector/not- for- profit 15 4% Total 404 100% 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
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 2016. 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 Appendix A: Sidney BIA District Unoccupied Premises January 2016 Contact Information 5 Not in operation/unoccupied 1 A- 2353 Bevan Avenue Phone 250-920- 9004 Not in operation/unoccupied 2-2379 Bevan Avenue Firm 250-544- 2300 Not in operation/unoccupied 9715 1st Street Newport Realty 250-656- 4626 Not in operation/unoccupied 2526 Bevan Avenue Not in operation/unoccupied 2387 Beacon Avenue Pemberton Homes 250-384- 8124 Not in operation/unoccupied 101-9764 5th Street Not in operation/unoccupied 213-9764 5th Street Not in operation/unoccupied 216-9764 5th Street Not in operation/unoccupied 217-9764 5th Street Not in operation/unoccupied 9769A1 5th Street Colliers 250-388- 6454 Not in operation/unoccupied 2-2405 Beacon Avenue Not in operation/unoccupied 4-2405 Beacon Avenue Not in operation/unoccupied 5-2405 Beacon Avenue Not in operation/unoccupied 6-2405 Beacon Avenue Not in operation/unoccupied 7-2405 Beacon Avenue Not in operation/unoccupied 101-2417 Beacon Avenue Firm 250-544- 2300 Not in operation/unoccupied 105-2423 Beacon Avenue Equitex Realty 386-6071 Not in operation/unoccupied 301-9775 4th Street Not in operation/unoccupied 302B- 9775 4th Street Not in operation/unoccupied 303-9775 4th Street Not in operation/unoccupied 304-9775 4th Street Not in operation/unoccupied 2449-2 Beacon Avenue Not in operation/unoccupied 204A- 2453 Beacon Avenue Not in operation/unoccupied 204B- 2453 Beacon Avenue Not in operation/unoccupied 209-2453 Beacon Avenue Not in operation/unoccupied 9768- B 3rd Street Not in operation/unoccupied 102-9790 2nd Street Not in operation/unoccupied 104-9790 2nd Street Not in operation/unoccupied 9788-223B 2nd Street Jason Middleton, 250-475- 2005 Not in operation/unoccupied 2527-204 Beacon Avenue Jason Middleton 250-475- 2105 Not in operation/unoccupied 2505 Beacon Avenue Not in operation/unoccupied 2A- 9851 Seaport Place Not in operation/unoccupied 2C- 9851 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.
Not in operation/unoccupied 9843 2nd Street Not in operation/unoccupied 9843 2nd Street Not in operation/unoccupied 9843 2nd Street Not in operation/unoccupied 9832 3rd Street Pemberton Holmes 250-384- 8124 Not in operation/unoccupied 3rd Street new Not in operation/unoccupied 3rd Street new Not in operation/unoccupied 9818 4th Street Not in operation/unoccupied C 2412 Beacon Avenue Not in operation/unoccupied 104-9840 5th Street Not in operation/unoccupied 9824 5th Street Not in operation/unoccupied F 2412 Beacon Avenue Not in operation/unoccupied 102-2360 Beacon Avenue Not in operation/unoccupied 104?- 2360 Beacon Avenue Cap. Iron summer store) Not in operation/unoccupied 107-2360 Beacon Avenue Pemberton Holmes 250-384- 8524 Not in operation/unoccupied 101-2310 Beacon Avenue Colliers 250-388- 6454 Not in operation/unoccupied 102-2310 Beacon Avenue Colliers 250-388- 6454 Not in operation/unoccupied 103-2310 Beacon Avenue Colliers 250-388- 6454 Not in operation/unoccupied 104-2310 Beacon Avenue Colliers 250-388- 6454 Not in operation/unoccupied 105-2310 Beacon Avenue Colliers 250-388- 6454 Not in operation/unoccupied 9837 7th Street 250-650- 3776 Not in operation/unoccupied 203-9810 7th Street Colliers 250-388- 6454 Not in operation/unoccupied 305-9810 7th Street Colliers 250-388- 6454 Not in operation/unoccupied 304-9810 7th Street Colliers 250-388- 6454 Not in operation/unoccupied 2210 Beacon Avenue Ph. 778-433- 8885 Not in operation/unoccupied 2355 James White Blvd. Colliers 250-388- 6454 Not in operation/unoccupied 2361 James White Blvd. 7