‘We watched our Downtown streets empty’: report highlights pandemic’s pinch on Downtown Winnipeg
As COVID-19 outbreaks became a full-blown pandemic, Downtown office buildings became ghost towns when thousands of workers were told to stay home.
Now, a new report by several business groups with a stake in the future of Downtown Winnipeg details exactly what the loss of that daily infusion of workers, diners, coffee-drinkers and salon-goers did to local businesses.
“We watched our downtown streets empty and the density and vibrancy we’re used to still hasn’t returned,” said Downtown BIZ CEO Kate Fenske in a news release accompanying the report’s release on Wednesday.
“This report confirms the struggles business owners have been experiencing and now we have the data that shows us how devastating the revenue and job losses really are.”
Downtown Winnipeg BIZ was one of five groups involved in preparing the report, along with the Exchange District BIZ, West End BIZ, Tourism Winnipeg, and CentreVenture Development Corp. The City of Winnipeg provided support and guidance as well.
The report paints a striking picture of the pandemic’s impact, and adds context to a Downtown landscape dotted with many more empty storefronts than would have been seen just 18 months ago.
The report shows that Downtown storefront businesses (including restaurants and personal services) lost an average of $2 million a week in gross revenue since the pandemic began, an estimated $139 million in total revenue loss over a 15-month period.
However, it’s not just businesses that were severely impacted, key industries downtown that drive the province’s economy will be slow to recover.
“Tourism, arts, entertainment and hospitality came to a grinding halt and that meant the dollars stopped coming,” said Natalie Thiesen, who is the vice president of tourism for Economic Development Winnipeg.
“The cancellation of planned in-person conferences that Tourism Winnipeg generated resulted in the loss of at least 56,000 people coming downtown and more than $59 million in direct expenditures in our city.”
The report makes a point of contrasting Downtown’s small geographic footprint with its out-sized impact on the regional economy. It states that Downtown Winnipeg is less than one per cent of the city’s total land area, but comprises of approximately 17 per cent of the commercial property tax base and about 14 per cent of the city’s business tax base.
The report’s creation is an early step toward developing a recovery strategy for Downtown. The goal is to have that strategy prepared for release this fall. In the meantime, the partnering groups are seeking input by having anyone interested in the future viability of Downtown Winnipeg to take its Downtown recovery survey.
The report also includes a section of actions citizens, businesses and governments may take to help speed the recovery along until the more comprehensive strategy is unveiled.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
LIVE AT 2:30 2-hour wildfire evacuation notice issued for some Fort McMurray neighbourhoods
A wildfire evacuation alert for some Fort McMurray residents has been updated to a two-hour evacuation notice.
Maximum payout for LifeLabs class-action drops from $150 estimate to $7.86
Canadian LifeLabs customers who filed an application for a class-action settlement began receiving their payments this week, though at a much lower amount than initially expected.
Alice Munro, Nobel literature winner revered as short story master, dead at 92
Nobel laureate Alice Munro, the Canadian literary giant who became one of the world's most esteemed contemporary authors and one of history's most honoured short story writers, has died at age 92.
Latest updates on air quality alerts, and when the smoke may reach Ontario and Quebec
Wildfires have led Environment Canada to issue air quality advisories for parts of B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, as forecasters warn the smoke could drift farther east.
American sought after 'So I raped you' Facebook message detained in France on 2021 warrant
An American accused of sexually assaulting a Pennsylvania college student in 2013 and later sending her a Facebook message that said, 'So I raped you,' has been detained in France after a three-year search.
Are these Canada's best restaurants? Annual top 100 list revealed
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
1 killed, 3 injured in head-on crash on Hwy. 417 in Ottawa
Ontario Provincial Police are responding to a fatal collision involving two vehicles on Highway 417 in Ottawa's west end on Tuesday morning.
Protesters gather at Ottawa City Hall after Israeli flag raised to mark country's national day
The Israeli flag is flying at Ottawa City Hall today to mark the country's national day, with plans to hold a private ceremony to mark Israel's Independence Day. There is a significant police presence at City Hall, including security barriers outside the main doors.
8 dead, at least 40 injured as farmworkers' bus overturns in central Florida
A bus carrying farmworkers in central Florida overturned on Tuesday, killing eight people and injuring about 40 other passengers, authorities said.