Untitled - Waterfront BIA

THE BIA STORY
In 1970, when business was fading on a west Toronto main street, the business people in the community
decided to take action. They formed an association, and used their own money to improve the street and
promote the area. Their work helped the street become - and remain - a popular shopping destination.
That was the start of the first Business Improvement Area, Bloor West Village.
The story begins in 1967 when the Bloor-Danforth subway line was completed and many shoppers who
formerly traveled along the surface on Bloor Street in streetcars disappeared underground.
To add to the problems facing neighbourhood retailers, a proliferation of shopping malls had sprung up
on the outskirts of the city around the same time. These merchandising meccas offered enticing shops
with a wondrous array of products and services all under the same roof, year-round climate-control and
acres of free parking. This led thousands of shoppers to forsake their traditional shopping habits, pile
into their cars and motor out to the malls.
As a result, some merchants were forced to close their shops and, in some instances, follow the crowds
to the malls. Vacancies resulted and many local shopping areas began to look run down and seemed
doomed to oblivion.
Many business people who remained in their business strips reacted by attempting to form business
associations - and spent a great deal of their time and effort going door-to-door soliciting voluntary
donations for local improvements and area promotions. One problem they often encountered was that
only a few businesses in each block were willing to contribute. These associations frequently found
themselves with insufficient funds and support to make any difference.
Out of sheer frustration, a group of businessmen in the west end of Toronto, along Bloor Street West,
went to City Hall and the Province seeking legislation that would compel all businesses within a
designated area to pay a levy for the purpose of revitalizing their business strip through physical
improvements and promotional activities. The levy would be collected by the City and turned over to the
elected Board of Management to be used as budgeted. After some persuasion, the idea was finally
adopted and the Business Improvement Area (BIA) legislation was enacted. It became Section 217 of
the Municipal Act and Bloor West Village became the pioneer of the BIA concept when it was designated
as the first BIA in 1970!
For the first year, the Bloor West Village BIA members voted themselves a budget of $47,500 and the
money was spent mostly on physical improvements. The transformation was dramatic. The lighted trees
sparkled, there were colourful flower boxes and the benches made shopping inviting. With the
continuation of the beautification program and the added area promotions over the years, shoppers
began to flock back to Bloor West Village. A used car lot and gasoline stations were redeveloped into
retail stores with residential and office units above. A medical complex was built on the site of an
abandoned streetcar turn-around at Bloor and Jane. A number of other building developments and
restorations followed, making Bloor West Village a vibrant and safe environment to live, work, shop and
raise a family.
The success of Bloor West Village encouraged other communities. Now Toronto has 60 BIAs
encompassing approximately 25,000 businesses & property owners.
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