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Dear Downtown Winnipeg BIZ Member,
It’s been a year
One year has passed since the first case of COVID-19 was identified in our province.
One year since the world changed. One year since businesses had to shut down. One year of staying home. One year of physical distancing and zoom meetings. We could go on and on.
We know it has been a challenging year, especially for businesses who rely on events, tourism and downtown office workers to generate income. We’re so proud of the innovative ways you’ve adapted and come together as a community.
While none of us could have predicted March 2021 would look like this, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. Our downtown can come back stronger. Let’s hang on a little longer for the return of the Roaring Twenties in the heart of our city. From helping bring downtown workers back to the office safely to making sure our downtown looks its best, our team is preparing for it.
Our downtown will be vibrant again and we’re working to help make this happen safely, now and into the future. Here’s a few of the ways the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ worked to promote, advocate and care for our downtown this past year:
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Grants: we created two grants to help support downtown businesses through the pandemic.
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Parking: we advocated for ways to improve parking downtown resulting in both the lowering of the hourly rate and the implementation of one-hour complimentary on-street parking.
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Curbside pick-up: we created and maintained designated curbside pick-up locations for contactless shopping and food pick-up options.
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Safety: our Watch and CHAT programs successfully transitioned to our new partner organization, the Downtown Community Safety Partnership (DCSP). You can still call the Downtown Ambassador team at 204-958-7233 for a courtesy walk.
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Temporary patio permits: we advocated for a way for more businesses to expand outdoors through the warmer months.
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Signature events: when it was safe to do so, we continued to attract visitors and engage residents through events like Fitness in the Park and the Downtown Winnipeg Farmers’ Market.
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Marketing : we added a Member Spotlight feature to our weekly e-newsletter, the Mingle. To add your business to the Member Spotlights, email saz@downtownwinnipegbiz.com
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Member communications: We sent out 62 MEMO e-newsletters last year to keep you up-to-date on changing public health orders. For comparison, we sent out 19 MEMOs in 2019. We know it’s a lot but we wanted to make sure you have all the latest information on what’s happening downtown and the supports available to you.
As always, we’re here to help. From grant programs to bringing events back safely, we’re focused on supporting downtown and the businesses here. Please reach out to us if you have any questions.
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