Supporting the commercial areas in Westmount

Westmount City Council is concerned for its commercial streets. Our local shops and businesses constitute one of the pillars of our urban experience. They contribute to our quality of life and give Westmount its dynamic and friendly nature, which residents enjoy and love so much.

Expanding online sales, multi-sector supermarkets, warehouse club, shopping centres, and sharing economies: these are all ways consumers are acquiring goods and services outside of neighbourhood commercial arteries. Competition in the retail trade is fiercer than ever and the upheavals in consumer habits and behaviours affect all retail businesses, including Westmount’s.

To help our merchants and businesses, Westmount City Council agreed last fall to create the position of Economic Officer in 2017. The role and function of this position will be to support and promote commercial activities in the City of Westmount.

Within the framework of creating a strategic vision, the City of Westmount has given a preliminary mandate to the firm Artères to;

• Create databases of the existing merchants and building owners in the commercial areas;
• Work with the Greene Avenue and Victoria Village businesses with a view to foster joint projects and strategic actions that will stimulate the vitality of these commercial areas;
• Identify approaches to fill vacant units in the targeted sectors, in partnership with property owners and retailers;
• Poll residents to get their input on these issues.

Pierre Boudreault of Artères will be contacting merchants and building owners in February and March. The polling of residents should take place later in March. Artères will present a report of their findings and recommendations to Council in April.