Downtown Yonge Business Improvement Area

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The Downtown Yonge Business Improvement Area, founded in 2001, is the association of business and property owners serving a portion of downtown Toronto, Ontario in Canada.

The association’s mandate is to improve and promote the Downtown Yonge area through investment and advocacy to maintain its position as Toronto's premier business, shopping and entertainment destination. Its aim is to maintain the vitality of the area and protect new and existing investment that attracts shoppers, diners, tourists, businesses and employees. The association provides a means of funding local initiatives that provide a noticeable impact to the area in terms of safety, cleanliness, streetscape and marketing the area as a visitor destination and a thriving place for business.

The Downtown Yonge district is bounded by Richmond Street to the south; Grosvenor & Alexander Streets to the north; Bay Street to the west; and portions of Church Street, Victoria Street, and Bond Street to the east. All property owners and commercial tenants within these boundaries are members of the association. The area is accessible from the Toronto Transit Commission’s Queen, Dundas, and College subway stations.

[edit] Attractions

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The Downtown Yonge area is best known as the home of the Toronto Eaton Centre, Toronto’s largest and most visited tourist attraction. The area includes other shopping and office complexes including the Atrium on Bay [1], College Park [2], Toronto Life Square [3] that will feature a 24-screen AMC theatre, and the Hudson Bay Company’s [4] flagship store and head office.

The downtown portion of Yonge Street, as Toronto’s main street, is also well know for shopping, including music retailers, mid-priced fashion stores, and jewelers.

The district is home to a number of performance venues including the Canon Theatre [5], the Carlu [6], Elgin-Wintergarden Theatre Centre [7], and Massey Hall [8].

There are eight hotels within the Downtown Yonge boundaries, which include the Bond Place [9], Days Inn Hotel [10], Delta Chelsea [11], Courtyard by Marriott [12], Horizon on Bay Corporate Suites [13], Marriott Downtown Eaton Centre [14], Minto Plaza Furnished Suites, and the Pantages Suites & Spa [15].

In addition to the Toronto Eaton Centre, popular visitor sites include Yonge-Dundas Square [16], Mackenzie House [17], and the Toronto Police Museum.

While not usually open to the public, the area’s heritage properties, include such notable sites as the Arts & Letters Club [18], Maple Leaf Gardens, and Old City Hall.

[edit] Association Details

The Downtown Yonge district is a registered Business Improvement Area, funded by 2,000 businesses and property owners who constitute the membership. There is a volunteer Board that sets the strategic direction of the association. The Board has fourteen seats, which includes twelve members of the association and two City of Toronto representatives, specifically the local City Councillor (Kyle Rae). There is a committee structure that reports to the Board and a small number of staff and service providers who implement the association’s initiatives.

The focus of the Downtown Yonge Business Improvement Area is on key areas that include clean streets, safe streets, social improvement, streetscape improvements, and marketing. Some of the most notable initiatives include:

-Clean Streets Team – A full time street cleaning team, hired by the Downtown Yonge is responsible for graffiti removal, poster removal, litter sweeping, and sidewalk pressure washing. The crew supplements the work of the City and has been operating since January 2002.

-Police Foot Patrols – A dedicated presence of police foot patrol officers add to the safety of Downtown Yonge streets. Improvements have been made in such areas as street crime, drugs, and illegal vending. The Downtown Yonge B.I.A. hires the officers to supplement the existing levels of policing in the area. The program has been operating since April 2002.

-Social Improvement – Businesses, social service agencies, the City of Toronto, and other community interests are working together to expand outreach support to the homeless in the Downtown Yonge area, equip businesses with tools to deal with situations, and advocating for long term solutions.

-Holiday Openings – The Downtown Yonge area is the first district in Toronto to be officially designated a tourist area. This allows retailers the option of legally opening on statutory holidays. The area realized this status in June 2002.

-Streetscape Improvements – The identity and sense of place in Downtown Yonge is being enhanced through traffic poles that are branded with the association’s logo at major Yonge Street intersections. Holiday decorations suspended above Yonge Street add to the festive atmosphere of the district annually in November and December.

-Discovery Team – A mobile ambassador program during the summer months was launched in May 2005. A multi-lingual group of trained visitors services personnel help the public meet their business, shopping, and entertainment needs in the Downtown Yonge area.