Downtown New Glasgow certainly has a lot of new faces: Angela’s Attic, Cakes and Things, The Commune, Chelsea Laine, Perfect Diversity Clay Art Studio, The Office, Naturally Bare, The Black Pearl, Fly By Knight Comics, Cards & Collectables, Mamatsu, to name a few. How has Town Council facilitated this natural tran- sition from old to new? ND: Having lived here most of my life, I can say that the downtown here in NewGlasgow has gone through the same ups and downs as most small towns experience anywhere you go in North America. “It’s about helping every business within the community grow – and this is a shift. More and more businesses are seeing what they have in the communities they call home and helping those communities grow in every way possible is a good business model.” But through all the change it’s always remained a commu- nity gathering place- the heart of the community. It’s where so many people go after work, on the weekends, but we definitely recognize that times have changed. It has more of a mixed commercial with residential feel to it now which means it has to be looked at in a different way moving forward. It has become diversified in such a modern way by local and respected developers such as Jamie McGilli- vray who has created outstanding architectural and interior design that has an urban style yet pays homage to our region’s industrial roots. It makes me so optimistic about what we’re doing here. The way small businesses have taken over downtown where some of the bigger, old anchor busi- nesses have left off is incredible. It’s going and it’s growing! Downtown now has its own anchors of today – restaurants, cafes, pubs and retail such as The Dock, The Bistro, Ekim Fashions, Marshall’s Antiques, Inglis, Zelda’s, Soley Shoes, White Lotus, Leslie’s Finery, and Inspirations. These busi- nesses are destination-draws for customers from across the province and even PEI and New Brunswick. Also, we are blessed with anchors such as regional library and the many financial, real estate and professional services. FM: Jamie is at the forefront of development. He’s ren- ovating space that allows people to both live and work downtown. It’s a healthy mixed-use environment for a downtown, I think. The typical setup is the bottom floor is commercial while the second and third floors are resi- dential. That’s what Jamie has provided in a number of his buildings downtown. GM: On June 1 st , there was an announcement of another
new business downtown: a dance studio owned by a young entrepreneur. This revival downtown goes back to a decade ago with investments by the business community, the town, province, and federal government. It was and is a catalyst for business growth. There were façade improvements, new heritage sidewalks, heritage paintings, a new way finding signage, a pedway under the bridge that connect- ed the trails and downtown and more. The New Glasgow Business Advisory Committee over the years has played a leadership role. Since 2009, several million has been invested downtown on a variety of projects. We also looked at Wi-Fi. When people are downtown, they want free Wi-Fi. It’s convenient to be able to check your email or look up an item when you’re in a store. We were able to accommo- date this at a very low cost – only $1,200 – and the routers setup throughout downtown are great. It’s 20 minutes of free Wi-Fi and people love it. We’re always looking for technological advantages like this to draw people into New Glasgow. We’re even looking at ways now to branch-out with the Wi-Fi at sites such as the Farmers Market and the Marina. ND: Something that’s important to note is that most people in New Glasgow, myself included, think of our downtown as our front street and our backstreet but also everything in between. Our downtown includes our riverfront and the areas around it.
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JUNE 2017 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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