Marda Loop companies are calling for financial assistance in construction

Business owners in the southwest Calgary community of Marda Loop are asking the city for financial help after months of construction delays caused a steep loss of revenue.

Upgrades to Main Street began in June 2023 and are not expected to be completed until 2025.

According to the city, traffic is restricted this week along 19th Street to the back lane north of 34th Avenue to support Enmax work.

Back alley access will be maintained on the east side of 18th Street, but the west side of 19th Street will remain closed during this time.

“Year after year, we've gone down quite a bit,” said Cameron Fraser, owner of Fraser & Fig.

“We saw the impact of about a 20-30% loss last year, and with this massive build-out, it's probably a 50% drop in sales now.”

Business owners in the southwest Calgary community of Marda Loop are asking the city for financial help after months of construction delays caused a steep loss of revenue.

Marty Venneri, owner of F45 Marda Loop, says many of his clients are unable to attend classes because of lack of parking.

“There are so many people missing classes and so many showing up, people are taking more than 30 minutes to find a parking spot,” he said.

“There is no communication from the city about when, how long the construction will last and how it will be affected. There was no correspondence about how they could help us. “

Youngmin Kang, manager of Wow Bakery, says many people avoid her shop altogether because a large blue tarp covers the entrance where excavation is underway.

“A lot of people don't know our doors are open,” he said.

“A lot of people think we're closed.”

Business owners in the southwest Calgary community of Marda Loop are asking the city for financial help after months of construction delays have caused a steep loss of revenue.

Fraser, Vennery and Kang are part of a group of 20 small business owners who wrote an open letter to Mayor Jyoti Gondek and the City Council calling for financial assistance.

“We are encouraged by Mayor Gondek's comments that he should take a closer look at what other municipalities are doing to see if a similar approach could benefit local businesses in Calgary,” the letter said.

And Councilor Walcott said, “The call for relief for small businesses in the face of construction is a fair and reasonable request to ensure that small businesses stay afloat during construction turbulence.” However, since these announcements were made in June, construction in Marda Lop continues without relief for business owners and we are seeing impacts in the form of business closures.”

So far only one business, Apt. 22 Beauty Boutique was forced to close its doors due to construction.

Business owners in the southwest Calgary community of Marda Loop are asking the city for financial help after months of construction delays caused a steep loss of revenue.

The city is working as fast as possible: advisor

Courtney Walcott, councilor for the city's Eighth Ward, says an update will be coming soon from the administration to the council to explore ways other municipalities are dealing with major construction issues.

“Some of the areas that we're looking at are, of course, simple things like tax deferral, tax support. And of course we're looking at much more targeted approaches like what we're seeing in Montreal — they have grants of $5,000 to $40,000 that have significant challenges associated with them.” – he said.

“So we're taking models that other cities are doing, and we're trying to make sure that it works here and that we can accelerate it and roll it out quickly to support a place like Marda Loop.”

When asked how soon financial relief might be available to businesses affected by the construction, Walcott said the city is working as quickly as possible.

“The truth would be 'quickly' last year,” he said.

“So it's just making sure we're as honest and fast as possible this year before the major construction starts again.

“Right now Marda Loop is doing utility upgrades, so Atco and Enmax. We want to make sure we have something on the books before we start plowing the road again to finish the pedestrian upgrades.”

Upgrades include creating multi-use trails and improving crosswalks.

Business owners in the southwest Calgary community of Marda Loop are asking the city for financial help after months of construction delays caused a steep loss of revenue.

Annie Dormuth, executive director of the Alberta branch of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), says the city needs to pick up the pace.

“We encourage direct financial assistance not just to property owners, but directly to business owners, which is why the Montreal program is effective,” he said.

“This is a $5,000 grant that goes directly to business owners. If it can be done in Montreal, I ask why not in Calgary.”

Business owners in the southwest Calgary community of Marda Loop are asking the city for financial help after months of construction delays caused a steep loss of revenue.

The BIA encourages local purchasing

Bob van Wegen, executive director of the Marda Loop Business Improvement District, says the concerns of small business owners affected by the construction are “very legitimate.”

He says construction jobs in the area will come in the long term, but his team is working on short-term jobs to minimize the financial strain.

“We're working with the city to access the area and continue to promote the area as a great place to come down even with this construction,” van Wegen said.

“We've put up a lot of signs in the community with our construction mascot Cony to have some fun with the challenge of handing out gift certificates, but we have other campaigns. help business”.

The City of Calgary website notes that construction plans for 2024 in the Marda Loop area are still being confirmed.

“While we do our best to plan appropriately to minimize impacts to residents, construction in an older community like Marda Loop means that sometimes we're in for some surprises,” the city's website says.

“We expect to see adjustments to our schedule throughout the construction season, and you will see this page regularly updated with any schedule changes.”