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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-09-28 DOWNTOWN ACTION & ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES September 28, 2017 City of Kitchener The Downtown Action & Advisory Committee met this date, commencing at 4:10pm Present: Chair, David Harmes; Melissa Bowman; Bryan Gracan; Ruben Grin; Geoffrey Guin; Linda Jutzi; Councillor Sarah Marsh; Andrea Santi; and Brian Santos Staff: Cory Bluhm, Executive Director Economic Development Sandy Curzon, Committee Coordinator 1. Information Items/Unfinished Business Developments: C. Bluhm provided an overview of various ongoing development projects located in the downtown, namely: 48 Ontario; Charlie West; 345 King St.W.; SIXO; 1 Victoria; 100 Victoria; 44 Gaukel St.; Google; and the Multi-Modal Transit Hub. Councillor Marsh provided an update on the RFP process for the new transit hub, she asked DAAC members to provide her with feedback on how they would like the new transit hub to look like sarah.marsh@kitchener.ca OWN IT: L. Jutzi advised that the next issue of OWN IT will highlight two national firms making their home in downtown Kitchener Deloitte & Gowling. 2. Discussion Items: DTK 2020 - Priority #2: Foster and support heartfelt urban experiences 1. How do we crate heartfelt experiences? 2. How do we engage/promote experiences to the community? How do we start the process? Downtown has a lot to offer, how do we connect the amenities to provide an experience that encourages people to come and stay downtown? fine grain experiences rather than massive ones Highly social experience Have less distance connecting venues, especially during the winter months Toronto Wine Expo connects with local hotels/restaurants which makes it an easy one- stop experience and the Aquarium and Zoo package is offered all year Put packages together ie dinner, movie, hotel stay BIA will be providing downtown dollars on the day of an event at the Centre in the Square. With a purchase of a ticket, you get $$ downtown dollars to spend prior to the event, hoping that this will encourage concert goers to experience restaurants Page 1 DOWNTOWN ACTION & ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES September 28, 2017 City of Kitchener Downtown businesses need a reason to stay open, especially after core business hours The current challenge for downtown businesses is foot traffic. The downtown is in a state of transition, residential is increasing but not enough to keep businesses open longer Retail moving towards on-line shopping makes it difficult for the small businesses. In shopping malls, businesses are fined if they are not open during mall hours. Develop monthly events such as pub crawls Downtown residents are passionate, however are not using social media. How do we use social media to engage people to come downtown? Next Steps: two-year plan looking forward Package deal dinner/show/hotel Create synergy between businesses Develop an on-line social media campaign Do not miss the chance to promote Kitchener while promoting the LRT we have one shot to get it right to get people downtown Kitchener downtown has to offer People want to hear from a trusted source about their experiences through Social Media Experiences that could be implemented downtown Pottery shop with café Independent art galleries Entertainment combined with a dining experience Like the City of Kitchener, the BIA cannot promote one business over another, however during an event staff are on social media Need more people tweeting about what they love about downtown Build on the success of closing Goudies Lane this summer and create more programming space experiences Action: Committee were asked to be mindful in the next few months of what they are going to; what inspired them to go; what was their experience. 3. Other Business: None 4. Adjournment Meeting adjourned at 5:40pm S. Curzon Committee Administrator Page 2