Abbotsford – The City of Abbotsford and Abbotsford Downtown Business Association (ADBA) are hosting Business Walks on Thursday, September 28 in Abbotsford’s Historic Downtown to connect with local businesses and receive feedback on what opportunities and challenges they face operating in our community.
On this day, Mayor, members of Council and the ADBA board, City of Abbotsford staff and community volunteers will visit businesses, provide them with a package of resources and conduct a survey. The survey guides businesses through a series of questions that ask what they like most about operating in Abbotsford, what challenges they face, what the City should prioritize to make Historic Downtown more inviting, if safety and security issues affect their business, what types of support programs they would benefit from and more.
“As the cultural and economic Hub of the Fraser Valley, local businesses are at the heart of our community and the backbone of our economy, and we want to see them thrive,” said Mayor of Abbotsford Ross Siemens. “The City of Abbotsford is grateful to partner with the Abbotsford Downtown Business Association for the Business Walks to connect with business owners, operators and staff in Historic Downtown to learn more about what works well, the struggles they face and how we can make it easier on them to operate successfully in our community.”
Abbotsford’s Historic Downtown was selected for this year’s Business Walks as it is seeing a rapid number of changes, including a record number of new residential and mixed-use developments that are bringing more people and businesses into this commercial centre. The City of Abbotsford and Abbotsford Downtown Business Association want to learn more about how can work with businesses in this area so that they can continue to grow and thrive.
“Over the past few years, businesses have faced incredible economic challenges with increased costs, a global pandemic and a changing workforce,” said Executive Director of the Abbotsford Downtown Business Association Jennifer McEwan. “The Abbotsford Downtown Business Association is eager to learn, along with the City of Abbotsford, from businesses first-hand how we can best advocate for their needs and do all we can to make Historic Downtown a destination for shopping, eating and operating a business.”
This information gathered will build on the learning from the Mayor and Council walks that took place on June 21, 2023, and help inform the development of the City of Abbotsford’s Business Retention and Expansion Strategy.
To learn more about economic development in the City of Abbotsford, visit www.abbotsford.ca/economicdevelopment.
