News Archives - Yaletown BIA

Building Lighting Projects

Yaletown BIA — Tue, 24 Oct 2023 23:33:21 +0000

One of the ways to build economic development in Yaletown is to invest in beautification projects on area infrastructures to welcome a safe space for locals, warmth for visitors, and sometimes special light shows for the public.

We partnered with various local light suppliers to work with our members (property owners) to light up our heritage building so that we can brand it as a visible landmark.

1160 Mainland building

If you wish to light up your building, please let us know so that we can help you with the project! All the light projects installed at the heritage buildings in our neighbourhood were funded by the Yaletown BIA.

1160 Hamilton

Opus Hotel

1152 Mainland

Connect With Us

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Borrowing Holiday Inflatables

Yaletown BIA — Tue, 24 Oct 2023 23:32:53 +0000

Need help getting ready for the holiday season? The YBIA has a number of festive décor options that can be lent to you, including Christmas lights and tons of fun inflatables!

Christmas lights add warmth to shorter days, and inflatables are a fun way to activate your storefront.

If you’re interested, please contact us.

*Limited inventory. Please return items clean & undamaged. Damaged items will be billed.

Some examples below

Mrs. Claus & Elves

Racoon Sleigh

Santa Hot-air Balloon

T-rexmas

Snowman

Teddy xmas

Workout Claus

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The NEXT 5 YEARS (2024-2028)

Yaletown BIA — Fri, 31 Mar 2023 19:20:33 +0000

Yaletown BIA needs you to participate in our Strategic Planning Member Survey and Open House. You have the opportunity to influence how the BIA funds are spent over the next 5 years to improve Yaletown as we begin the process of renewing our mandate and funding. We want to create the best possible conditions for business success in Yaletown and continue to advocate for our members.

Member Survey [CLOSED]

We invite you to participate in completing our survey so we can share what’s important to you. Before you complete the survey, please review what we have accomplished and what we’re up to. Thank you for participating in our questionnaire and submitting your input.

Survey CLOSED

Open House, Member Networking and AGM

Discuss how you want to shape Yaletown’s Next Five Years (2024-2028) where you will have the opportunity to influence how the BIA funds are spent over the next 5 years. Voice your thoughts, concerns and ideas to improve Yaletown so that we can help turn the neighbourhood into a more vibrant, safe and welcoming district for businesses, employees and visitors.

We are hosting two open houses and an opportunity to have coffee with the Executive Director and Board Members to get your perspective, and priorities and hear your concerns.

Open House 1	Open House 2	Member Networking	Annual General Meeting
May 9th at 9:30 AM	May 16th at 2:00 PM	TBA	September 20th at 9:00 AM
Ooma Enterprise 1250 Homer St	Ooma Enterprise 1250 Homer St	CAPO and The Spritz	Brix & Mortar
[CLOSED]	[CLOSED]	[CLOSED]	[CLOSED]

Attend the Open House that works best for your schedule

Looking Back 2019 – 2023

Yaletown BIA Strategic Plan from 2019 – 2023. Looking back over the last five years, the Yaletown BIA has endeavoured to support the community through various initiatives to keep the neighbourhood clean, safe, and welcoming for businesses, staff and customers alike. The YBIA team stepped up to meet the changing needs of the community during these unprecedented times with frequent patrols of the area checking in on businesses and offering support on various levels. Other pandemic responses are noted below along with some of our program accomplishments over the last few years.

Pandemic response to help our businesses withstand the downturn includes;

effective lobbying of the Provincial and Federal Governments in getting loan programs and recovery grants launched to help our members, successful in having many City fees (i.e. patio fees) waived during the pandemic and have continued to lobby the City for more efficient permit processes.

Property tax relief minimizing members’ tax bills with a 2% tax shift from businesses to residents.

By providing tools to leasing agents and property owners vacancy rates have dropped from 5% to 1% making Yaletown an attractive destination to have a business. Most recently after years of lobbying and planning with BC Hydro successful removal of BC Hydro poles. Our power supply is no longer vulnerable to weather events, helium balloons and other debris.

the BIA doubled the clean team days on the street (litter patrol & pick up), increased the number of murals on buildings, and added decorative lighting on buildings to improve Yaletown’s curb appeal and highlight the look and feel of the heritage district. In response to the pandemic public art was created and installed in public spaces creating an attractive space for employees and customers and two public plazas were activated to host programs for businesses and invite the public to lounge.

Yaletown doubled private security during the pandemic to patrol the area and reduce street disorder, added grants for security improvements to aid members in developing safe and secure workplaces for staff and enhanced area lighting to improve safety for all of us.

Events and marketing inherently attract new customers, and generate new business and revenue which helps our businesses thrive. To attract more visitors and customers to the area Yaletown hosts the following events; CandyTown, Pet-A-Palooza, Let’s Hear it for Yaletown, Cherry Blossom Festival, Illuminate Yaletown and Lumiere Festival. Marketing Campaigns include Taste of Yaletown, Yaletown Loves Runners and KISSMAS. The BIA also engages in Trade Show marketing and an enhanced YBIA mobile site showcasing daily offers and special deals delivered by Yaletownfree WiFi.

Looking Forward to The Next 5 Years

Programs in the works

Developing a strategy to reduce waste and costs.

Zero Waste means working towards producing less waste in the first place through prioritizing waste reduction, as well as reuse, resource efficiency, and recycling with the ultimate goal of closing that loop. YBIA is in the process of hiring a Waste Management Consultant to prepare a report on the best methods to achieve zero waste and reduce costs to members.

The YBIA is looking to work with Commercial Building Owners and Managers to reduce its carbon footprint to become a net zero carbon building. An increase in overall building efficiencies will reduce costs to operate and maintain the building. Commercial buildings that are certified will also have a distinct advantage when it comes to attracting and retaining tenants.

Our ‘Illuminate Yaletown’ program to showcase Yaletown as an attractive destination to visit, work and play is moving forward with additional building façade lighting. This is a cost-sharing initiative between the Yaletown BIA and the Property Owner to install permanent light fixtures on our heritage buildings that bring a vibrant and sophisticated look to the district.

The YBIA is offering substantial grants of up to $5,000 for businesses to enhance ground-level storefronts & patios or for security improvements such as security cameras, steel gates & blinds. This is a great opportunity for businesses to create a new look for their business and make a lasting impression or make security improvements to protect their establishment and ensure it is a safe and secure workplace.

This is your opportunity to share ideas and comments and help shape your neighbourhood over the next 5 years. We appreciate your time and your feedback.

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Graffiti Removal Assistance for Property Owners

Yaletown BIA — Thu, 07 Jul 2022 17:21:27 +0000

Are you a property owner who needs to freshen up your area with remnants or shadows of graffiti, or need to paint over graffiti? Check out this free paint program from the City of Vancouver.

STOP GRAFFITI FROM SPREADING—The best way to stop is to paint over it as soon as it appears. That’s why Vancouver’s graffiti by-law requires property owners to have graffiti removed within 10 days after receiving a notice from the City.

Do not wait for graffiti to accumulate or to receive a notice from the City. Everyone is responsible for managing graffiti by maintaining their property as best as possible.

Graffiti that remains after being reported on a building by a City Property Use Inspector will be removed at the property owner’s expense.

Please check with the City of Vancouver to manage graffiti and vandalism for a directory of professional graffiti removal businesses.

Graffiti is a criminal offence. Those who apply graffiti can receive a fine between $500 – $2,000 per tag

If you see vandalism in the act, call 9-1-1

If the suspects are no longer on the scene or if the damage was caused previously, call 3-1-1 or 604.873.7000

If you are the property owner, report the incident at VPD Crime Reporting or call the non-emergency police number at 604.717.3321

The Graffiti Management Mural Program currently responds to graffiti damage on community murals. Please call 604.673.8076 if you have questions regarding a damaged mural on your property or in your community.

User commercial products that make cleaning graffiti easier

Apply a protective coating on your walls, which facilitates graffiti removal (but will not repel it)

Install motion detector lights to discourage vandalism

Keep your area tidy and clean up ASAP to deter additional vandalism

Eliminate opportunities for vandals to climb onto roofs

Do you have any ideas for something we can add or improve?

The Yaletown BIA is always open to projects that will improve our “curb appeal”, and make our neighbourhood welcoming for your clientele, family, friends and tourists.

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Why Shop Local?

Yaletown BIA — Mon, 03 Jan 2022 20:26:00 +0000

Keeping dollars local on family-run businesses and goods/services stimulates the community, creates more jobs and strengthens the local economy.

Every $1 spent on LOCAL SMALL BIZ	Amount re-circulated back into the local economy	VS. amount from MULTINATIONAL
Boutique	63¢	versus 14¢
Restaurant	68¢	versus 30¢
Supplier	33¢	versus 19¢

Studies conducted by LOCO BC (2019)

Every $1 spent on LOCAL BIZ	Amount re-circulated back into the local economy	VS. amount from MULTINATIONAL
Small Businesses	66¢	versus 11¢

Studies conducted by LOCO BC (2023)

Visit LOCO BC to learn more about why Shopping Local benefits you and the community.

How can I participate in campaigns to promote local?

You can be involved in several ways:

#BCBuyLocal. Be a part of the BC Buy Local Week campaign – download campaign materials.
#ShopLocalOften. Utilize the campaign toolbox of marketing assets to promote your business – download campaign materials.
Connect with the Community. Promote your local business and connect with people. Let them know who you are and what you stand for. Consumers come back to your business because of the values your business showcases.

* No cost for you.

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“Suspend” at Bill Curtis Square

Yaletown BIA — Tue, 01 Jun 2021 18:27:00 +0000

We would love for you to meet our newest installation hosted in Yaletown’s Bill Curtis Square! Suspend is the YBIA’s collaborative way to brighten the square year-round.

What did you think? Did our bright colours in the sky spark your creative eye? Would you love to see your dream suspended above Bill Curtis Square? Great news — this is your moment! We’ll be rotating displays throughout the year and would love to hear from you.

What would you like to see floating in the sky? If you’re interested and you’d like to know more, here’s the low-down: Our suspension structure is a rectangular grid of aircraft cable; 12 cables suspended from 6 harnessed trees, with a perimeter and center cable for stability, hanging 15 feet above the ground as shown in this diagram:

For your concept to join Suspend it must meet the following requirements:

Save Yaletown Rally: Parking Spaces

Yaletown BIA — Mon, 19 Feb 2018 23:14:58 +0000

video: Antisocial Media Solutions

City of Vancouver to Remove Parking Spots in Yaletown. The Yaletown BIA was contacted by the City of Vancouver who showed us their swift and aggressive plans to eliminate parking through the major hub of Hamilton and Mainland Streets by early 2018. Their plans will reduce 250 parking spaces in those blocks, to less than 100. The city has explained that this change is necessary to create a 6-meter clearance for Vancouver Fire and Rescue trucks.

Their decision was made without consultation of residents, the YBIA and/or Yaletown businesses. The Yaletown BIA immediately put forward many practical solutions to meet the clearance needs and reduce the impact to parking, all of which have been dismissed by the city with no reason given.

Multi-model transportation is what makes Yaletown unique and it’s cultural and economic vibrancy depends on ALL forms of transportation. We urge you to come out and support the well-being of the neighbourhood and its local businesses.

For more details regarding the City of Vancouver – Yaletown Parking Information Session click here.

In the news:

CBC News: Yaletown businesses outraged over plans to remove up to 80 parking spots for fire-truck access
CTV Vancouver: City of Vancouver to remove dozens of parking spots in Yaletown
Georgia Straight: Yaletown could lose several dozen street-parking spots
Global BC: Vancouver’s Yaletown neighbourhood losing nearly 100 parking spaces to make room for emergency vehicles
The Province: Yaletown parking stalls to be removed to make room for fire trucks

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