City of Prince George
2018
After years of diminishing growth in the downtown core, the City of Prince George decided to take action and address the problem. The downtown revitalization project is a multi-year, multi-partner initiative aimed at "bringing life" back to the heart of the city. The project has many actions delivered and is supported by many partners.
Impacts of the Downtown Revitalization Project actions are:
• Over 25 Downtown Revitalization Tax Exemption projects, worth more than $50.5M
o $7.7M of incentives awarded
o 32 new multi-family units
o 151 multi-family units began construction in 2018
• 40 businesses improved their façade, since 2012, for projects totalling $2M
• Downtown Summerfest total vendor sales averaged over $39,000 per event, since 2011, and reached $59,000 for the one-day event in 2016
• Downtown Winterfest won the Award of Excellence at the 2018 Business Improvement Areas of British Columbia annual conference
• Foodie Fridays helped increase vendor sales by $500-$1,000 per event day
• Downtown vacancy rates are at a 7-year low
• 67 businesses promoted through Love Downtown PG
• 3 vacant City parcels sold in 2017 to be developed
• 45 new on-street parking stalls (30% increase)
o The City is expected to receive $38,000 from ICBC for improving road safety
The community is fully on board with revitalizing downtown, as evidenced by the number of new businesses, the number of investments in the downtown, decreasing vacancy rates, event participation, development interest in the downtown, and feedback from business owners and Prince George residents.
Downtown Revitalization for Prince George has taken many years but has also been extremely effective and successful.