Strathcona BIA Tag

Perspectives from our Executive Director

The Strathcona BIA is embarking on a strategic planning process centered on the future vision for economic development in the district. We caught up with our Executive Director, Vincent Kwan, to gain his perspectives on the exciting work ahead.

“Among the different conversations I have been having with SBIA members, the best description I have come across about Strathcona is that it is an imperfect yet resilient district that never stops evolving in order to adapt. It is a place where we can find points of tension between people who come with their own ideals, often looking towards the same goal but sometimes may diverge on the path to take. Ultimately, Strathcona is a district that can accommodate diversity.

The diversity of people and businesses within Strathcona is one of our key assets as an urban industrial district and an aspiring complete community.  This diversity is rooted in Strathcona’s unique history and continues to be shaped by entrepreneurs, investors, residents, planners, artists, community activists, political officials and, of course, the people who fuel the local economy as part of the workforce. This diversity of businesses and workforce is the economic driver of not only Strathcona but the local economy of the city and larger region of metro Vancouver. This diversity is what differentiates the Strathcona district and what anchors its competitive position for employee retention and market access. However, one must not lose sight of the fact that diversity, on its own, does not guarantee health and prosperity. Diversity is not the end goal but, instead, an essential condition for a resilient local economy that can benefit the entire community.

This diversity is a gift, but it is not permanent if we do not invest into caring for it. Nurturing this diversity requires investment into largely three areas of work. Firstly, we have to develop a continuous and deep understanding of the key economic drivers (people, organizations, infrastructures, policies) that make up this diversity. Only by fully appreciating the fundamental make-up of the economic drivers can we determine what we need to protect and where we need to attract investment. Secondly, we need to be strategic. We have to prioritize where we focus our development efforts so that Strathcona’s local economy can connect to the priorities, policies and potential of the wider city and regional economy. Lastly, we need to be effective in telling the Strathcona story as an urban industrial district and an economic driver for regional industry clusters. We need to be articulating our vision, goals and the values that Strathcona brings so that we can further attract entrepreneurs, investment and talents to the district and to continue to add to the diversity of this urban industrial district.

I often view Strathcona as a microcosm of the City of Vancouver. The tensions found in Strathcona also manifest in a similar fashion in the city and across the metro Vancouver region. On the same level, the economic potential and constraints of Strathcona also point to the opportunities and challenges of the city and region with inaction being our biggest collective threat in the near term. If Strathcona is an indicator for Vancouver’s performance, I am undeniably optimistic about the future while staying realistic and pragmatic towards the range of issues that are part and parcel of an imperfect society. 

In the next 12 months, our team at SBIA looks forward to the chance of working closely with our members through a visioning and planning process as we strive to define our district’s economic development priorities. Participation, input, ideas and guidance from Strathcona BIA members will be critical in this process. I can’t wait to get to work.”  

Introducing Strathcona BIA’s New Leader.

The Strathcona BIA is privileged to have a long history of strong and dynamic leadership, a history that we are continuing to build upon. We are thrilled to announce that Vincent Kwan will be joining the Strathcona BIA as our new Executive Director starting November 1. 

Vincent joins us following the departure of our former Executive Director Theodora Lamb, who took on a new challenge as the Executive Director of Quest Food Exchange. Your Board of Directors and staff undertook a comprehensive search over the summer to find the Strathcona BIA’s new leader. The role attracted significant interest and many strong candidates, and the Board led a robust and thorough hiring process to find the right fit for the unique role of the SBIA’s Executive Director.

It is a tremendous honour for me to join the Strathcona BIA as the new Executive Director. To me, Strathcona has always been a community known for its creative energy, entrepreneurial spirit and hard work. It is also a community that takes pride for being diverse and inclusive. I can’t wait to roll-up my sleeves and start working with all SBIA members, the Board, staff, and volunteers to continue to build a resilient local economy that can both thrive with confidence and adapt with agility.

Vincent is the former Executive Director of the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Gardens in Chinatown, and comes to us from the City of Vancouver where he has been a Planner on the Chinatown Transformation Team. Vincent is deeply connected to the local community through his experience in the area. He brings significant experience in not-for-profit leadership, business development, programming, strategic planning, and governance. Vincent’s thoughtful demeanor, analytical approach, and business acumen will make him a strong advocate for Strathcona and the issues that matter to our members.

His experience working across cultures and business sectors has laid the groundwork for him to be an excellent bridge-builder between community and business. Vincent brings the skills and experience that are needed to help lead our district through the next steps of the pandemic and we are excited to see where his leadership takes Strathcona.

Please join us in welcoming Vincent Kwan to the Strathcona BIA!

A New Chapter.

This summer, the Strathcona Business Improvement Association will say goodbye to our Executive Director, Theodora Lamb. On behalf of the Strathcona BIA Board of Directors and staff, we want to express our thanks, gratitude, and appreciation for all of Theo’s hard work these past three years. We hope our members will join us in wishing her warmth and well wishes as she embarks on a new professional chapter!

Under Theo’s leadership over the last three years, the SBIA has enjoyed significant progress and innovation in advocacy, placemaking, and community development on behalf of our 840+ members. 

Some of her contributions include:

• Advocacy to municipal staff and elected leaders on issues including commercial taxation, vacant storefront activation and policy, municipal policing, permitting, transportation and mobility, homeless encampments, rising graffiti rates, industrial land protection, and COVID-19 policy relief measures

• Developing a new district commercial brand through community consultation which resulted in a new Strathcona placebrand identity

• Developing a new partnership between the City of Vancouver, Vancouver Police Department, and other social service organizations to address issues of public drinking and its impact on community-serving retail

• Navigating COVID-19’s impacts on members through targeted, rapid communications, webinar events, matching grants, a safety patrol partnership with the Gastown and Hastings North BIAs, and participation in the COVID Community Response Network

• Launching a district-wide engagement campaign on safety and security across the district, capturing member priorities and preferred economic trade-offs

• Launching Crap Trapper, a social enterprise pilot project designed to address issues of human waste clean-up

• Expanding the SBIA sponsorship portfolio to build better relations with equity-seeking and social serving organizations based in Strathcona including the Eastside Culture Crawl, Indigenous Wellness Fair, and the WISH Drop-in Centre serving sex workers in the DTES

• Identifying and activating vacant storefront space in Vancouver society buildings as part of the SBIA and City of Vancouver partner-funded Chinese Benevolent Society Buildings and Community Serving Retail Study

• Creating the Strathcona Tax Empowerment Program (STEP) designed to help members navigate the property assessment appeal process and lighten the tax burden on business and commercial properties

Strathcona business leaders remain among the most creative, innovative, and resilient people I’ve ever had the honour of working alongside” reflects Theo. “I know the Strathcona BIA will continue to be led by strong and effective governors and that member needs remain in the capable hands of SBIA managers Sam Hamilton and Johanna Lauyanto.

Theo is moving on to new leadership opportunities with a well-recognized non-profit organization serving the Lower Mainland region.

“It has been a privilege to work with Theo and we are saddened to be losing her as our ED, but we know she’s moving on to accomplish great things in service to community” says Emma Carscadden, President of the Strathcona BIA.

In the meantime, the work to secure our next Executive Director is well underway and the Strathcona BIA Board of Directors looks forward to sharing more news regarding this soon.

Our vision is for Strtathcona members to thrive in a mixed-use, inclusive, resilient and prosperous local economy. Our mission is to promote a strong local economy through advocacy, cultivating relationships, supporting business participation in the community, delivering innovative programs, and fostering community leaders. As our members continue to run their businesses, oversee their properties, and navigate the challenges that COVID-19 continues to pose, the Strathcona BIA is here to support you. Don’t hesitate to reach out to info@strathconabia.com or phone us at 604-258-2727.

A spotlight on our advocacy and partnership work.

Partnership is critical to successful advocacy on behalf of our business members. Some of these partnerships have recently been in the media spotlight. In this post you’ll find:

• Details on what we’re doing to address street disorder on the 700 & 800 blocks of East Hastings and what a new parklet on Princess Avenue has to do with it.

• How activating empty storefronts in Chinatown leads to big wins for Strathcona businesses.

• The lowdown on Oppenheimer Park and everything we know about its path to re-opening.

East Hastings Street Disorder

In Strathcona, the path to how we arrive at a healthy and safe commercial district is complex. In partnership with the City of Vancouver, Portland Hotel Society, VANDU, Vancouver Police and other stakeholders, we’ve been working towards a solution to help address public drinking in front of the Astoria Hotel on East Hastings and at adjacent bus stops. After almost nine months of conflict, difficult conversations, trial and error, meetings with city engineers, and hard advocacy work, a pilot project has emerged. 

The full scope of the pilot project was captured by Dan Fumano, in his article last week and includes quotes from his interview with Strathcona BIA Executive Director Theodora Lamb. The article also dives into more detail about the harm-reduction model behind the parklet.

About the Pilot Project

The pilot project involves a city-sanctioned parklet on Princess Ave where folks who have been occupying the bus stops in front of the Astoria Hotel can go to drink safely and legally. A city-sanctioned parklet means there are social service supports on-hand, medical attention on site, and more attention from the City, the VPD, and the SBIA in ensuring that drinking activity is monitored, people are supported, and business concerns are addressed. What comes next will be efforts to move activity from the Hastings bus stops to the parklet (where the PHS-run Drinker’s Lounge has been operating for 10 years) and ensure businesses and property owners around the parklet are fully heard and supported. If that’s you, stay tuned for more from the SBIA and the City of Vancouver.

We’ve heard loud and clear that more consultation is required and that our members, time and again, end up having to support the solutions to Strathcona’s complex social challenges on their own.

While we believe that Strathcona businesses will play a big role in solutions, the SBIA is doing everything in its power to ensure the advocacy work and heavy lifting does not rest on your shoulders, but on ours.

Additional Safety Measures

Meanwhile, our safety patrol team will be increasing their checks of the parklet starting this week and up to four times a day, seven days a week. Regular meetings will be scheduled with the VPD regarding parklet activity. Additional street cleaning resources will be directed to the area and, for those members in and around the parklet and who desire it,  regular communication will be set up. 

The Parklet is an imperfect solution. But we believe this group of unlikely allies, who first came together to address the concerns of businesses, have the attention of the right decision makers and a vision for a safer community.

If you’re a business or property owner operating in and around 111 Princess Ave and you want to ensure we don’t miss you in our outreach, please email us at info@strathconabia.com to be added to the parklet impact listserv.

Activating Vacant Storefront Spaces

You may have heard about Kam Wai Dim Sum opening up in Chinatown a couple weeks ago. Their reopening is part of a pilot project that the Strathcona BIA sponsors called the Community-Serving Retail Project. This project was launched to address vacant space in Chinese Benevolent Society Buildings, of which about 50 or so remain spread out evenly across both Strathcona and Chinatown BIAs. The first successful pilot landed in Chinatown, and there are several future locations underway, including in Strathcona. 

How This Initiative Works

This initiative is a partnership between the Strathcona BIA, Dunefield, and Youth Collaborative for Chinatown where the aim is to partner with Chinese Society Buildings and other non-profit buildings in Strathcona and Chinatown that have underused commercial space.  The project team supports the non-profit building owners with property management challenges, building and space improvements, and assists them with finding reliable tenants including restaurants, eateries, retail, and production businesses. It’s a remarkable story of storefront activation that is helping create affordable space opportunities for community-serving retail businesses in both Strathcona and Chinatown.

The funding for this project comes from the City of Vancouver, specifically, the DTES Capital Grants program which awards funds annually to community projects just like this. As an organization, we’ve had tremendous success in applying for these funds. As project sponsor, the funds flow through, not from, the Strathcona BIA – a registered non-profit society – to the project team for the pilot locations.

Do you want to start or expand a community-serving business in Chinatown or Strathcona, and are in need of affordable space and other support? Does your society or not-for-profit have underused commercial space that could accommodate community-serving business? Get in touch with us at info@strathconabia.com to learn more about the program.

Oppenheimer Park Reopening

Both Oppenheimer and Strathcona Parks have had their fair share of newsworthy headlines over the last few years. The work to de-camp Strathcona Park and house the residents currently living in its homeless camp is happening right now. 

If you’re wondering about Oppenheimer Park, when it will reopen, and what the plan is to ensure it remains the public green space it was always meant to be, you’re not alone. The Strathcona BIA reached out to Parks Board staff to get the low-down on what businesses in and around the park can expect in the coming weeks and months. According to Ian Stewart, Manager of Park Development with the Vancouver Parks Board, there is no firm reopening date set yet.

Stewart’s team is responsible for park development. They’ve been busy implementing a number of restoration improvements since the Park’s decampment last May. “We have embarked on a series of conversations with park users to determine how to ensure that a park reopening can be conducted safely, and best serve local residents who desire access to the park’s amenities” says Stewart. 

The Strathcona BIA has requested a meeting with Stewart and his team to discuss how local business members will be consulted about the Park’s re-opening. As soon as we know more, we’ll be reaching out to members regarding that engagement. 

If you’re a business or property owner operating in and around Oppenheimer Park and you want to be directly looped into the Park reopening news, please reach out to us at info@strathconabia.com to be added to an outreach list.