Revitalization funds more than half gone

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This article was published 14/07/2023 (801 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

More than half of the funds allocated to a downtown revitalization program have been distributed, according to the head of the Brandon Downtown Development Corporation.

Last October, Spruce Woods Progressive Conservative MLA and then-minister of economic development Cliff Cullen announced $400,000 in funding to help businesses in downtown Brandon recover economically from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The program was eventually launched this February under two funding streams — one that helped businesses pay to improve their buildings and another that helps businesses pay for services like marketing, IT support, human resources, legal issues and strategy development.

Another part of the program provides rent support for eligible businesses.

So far, 26 businesses have been provided with funding representing more than $200,000 of the allocated funds said Emeka Egeson, the BDDC’s executive director.

Though applications for funding through the program are theoretically open until February next year, Egeson said it’s likely everything will be distributed before that point.

“We have been able to fill vacant spaces for sure,” Egeson said about the program’s results. “We have also given businesses the opportunity to look inwards and identify what they need to do to create that long-term sustainability (plan) for them.”

Because the program is structured in a way that provides more funding if the service provider of downtown business contracts is local, Egeson said each project has the potential to assist two local businesses at once.

If the BDDC was able to continue the project, Egeson said he would appreciate having more funding available to be able to facilitate larger projects and to remove some of the restrictions placed on the money.

Participants have to contribute a certain percentage of the cost for the projects they propose and he said that some aren’t able to meet that threshold.

He’s hopeful the provincial government will see the utility of the program and be open to renewing funding or creating a similar program in Brandon in the future. Talks are also being carried out with the federal government to see if something can be arranged with them.

In an emailed statement, a provincial spokesperson said the program was created through one-time funding.

“While the province is always open to discussions about programming that supports local businesses, this program was part of one-time funding provided through the COVID 19 Long Term Recovery Fund that was managed by the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce (MCC),” the statement read.

“The province is open to discussing future partnerships/opportunities built on collaboration among stakeholders in the region and looks forward to hearing about the results and outcomes resulting from the project when MCC reports back on the project.”

Among the businesses benefitting from the program is Komfort Kitchen, located at the corner of Princess Avenue on Ninth Street.

Owner-operator Derek Woychyshyn said Thursday that it has been a goal for a while to renovate the restaurant’s exterior.

Since it opened, the business has expanded into adjacent buildings all built around the same time more than a century ago. While the inside looks like a single, cohesive space, the outside appearance varies between what were originally separate structures.

About two weeks ago, work started to create a more unified look. Though work is ongoing, a barrier has been built so that customers can still patronize the restaurant.

“With the façade being changed, we’re demolishing the whole south wall and rebuilding it,” Woychyshyn said. “It’ll be more energy efficient. It’ll have new triple-pane windows, a new entrance and after that’s done, there will be a new façade that’s brand new.”

Though the renovations would have been done without the incentive program, Woychyshyn said the money it provides is a nice bonus. He said he was glad to have an organization working to promote downtown businesses.

In May, downtown café Chez Angela opened an expanded dining room taking over a vacant space on the first floor of the Bass Building on 10th Street.

On Thursday, co-owner James Chambers said though the restaurant paid for its contracting itself, it is working with the BDDC to apply for retroactive funding for the work.

In the meantime, Chez Angela is taking advantage of the rent abatement part of the program, which Chambers said is helping pay for the increased rent brought on by expanding their square footage.

“With the increase in labour costs and with inflationary pressure against the business, in order to remain viable we just quite frankly needed to sell more food,” Chambers said. “For a restaurant our size, the impact is in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

The ability to expand was bittersweet because it was due to the closure of the formerly adjacent business, but Chamber said the opportunity made sense for Chez Angela because of the rent assistance and the potential to recoup some of the renovation costs.

He said the business is passionate about having a presence in downtown Brandon and it makes sense to take advantage of financial incentives promoting entities like his.

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