The Uxbridge Downtown Revitalization Advisory Committee has completed the final recommendations for downtown revitalization.
The Uxbridge Downtown Strategic Plan and Action Plan was presented to council on March 28th by the Project Manager, Judy Risebrough. While there are recommendations that can be actioned in the short term, larger scale actions will require a 10-15 year commitment to complete, said a township statement.
Based on the project inputs, the recommendations are focused on:
- Dedicated leadership;
- Revitalization of the Lower Brock Street area;
- Creating a Safe, Walkable Downtown; and
- Creating a cohesive downtown as a destination for residents and tourists.
Actioning the recommendations will require leadership, physical improvements to buildings and infrastructure, economic development activities and marketing and promotional activities. Further, the action plan will require collaborative working relationships with strategic partners, including all levels of government, property owners, business owners, community groups and residents, said the statement.
The Strategic Plan and Action Plan was informed by the extensive consultation that was undertaken by the project team with the public and local businesses. The consultation allowed the project to deliver:
- Market Area Data Report;
- Customer Origin Study;
- Business Owner Survey Report; and
- A Resident Survey Report.
These collectively provide insight into future economic development activities. In addition, a Planning and Visualization Report was prepared that provided recommendations for how the future downtown might look. The reports and project information are available at www.uxbridge.ca/myuxbridgedowntown.
The project was launched in August 2020 with the aim of attracting more visitors and businesses to the downtown core.
The project budget of$200,000 included a 50 per cent contribution from the Government of Ontario Rural Economic Development (RED) Program, $7,500 from the Region of Durham and $1,500 from the Uxbridge Business Improvement Area (BIA).