Building and beautifying Nelson

The City of Nelson is undergoing construction, infrastructure upgrades and beautification

by Marie Milner — June 24, 2015

Construction workers renovate Nelson's old CPR station

Renovation and repurposing of the old CPR station is one of many improvement projects going on in Nelson, B.C. — Photo courtesy Nelson & District Chamber of Commerce

The economic development partners in Nelson, B.C., know that the current downtown improvement projects have the city on the right track, and they plan to continue the trend.

“The feeling is we have a vibrant and exciting downtown, but we want to continue to look for improvements,” said Tom Thomson, executive director of the Nelson & District Chamber of Commerce.

The Economic Development Partnership (EDP) began in 2006 and is made up of the chamber of commerce, Community Futures of Central Kootenay, the City of Nelson and central Kootenay electoral areas E and F. Its goals and objectives for the coming year include updating the 2010 business retention and expansion survey to better provide potential new businesses with relocation information and support.

Future focus

Thomson said that another program will be rolled out soon to further improve the downtown.

“The EDP will be working with various stakeholders including business owners, Nelson Kootenay Lake Tourism and the City of Nelson, looking at longer term planning,” he said. “We’ll focus on keeping the positive momentum going based on the Stores to Shores program, the downtown waterfront master plan, Nelson Commons, the new Savoy Hotel and the CPR station renovation. We’ll see how we can improve on these and move forward.”

Thomson has observed that when visitors decide they’d like to live in Nelson, they look for job or business opportunities, and many entrepreneurs and consultants have found Nelson to be an ideal place to settle, work and play. The recent installation of broadband in the downtown core has provided the advanced infrastructure needed to attract and support technology-dependent businesses. Along with 470 centrally located businesses having access to the fiber, Nelson’s schools and colleges are connected to broadband. Though broadband is not yet available to all residences, the existing wireless service is more than adequate for most homes.

Support through communication

In collaboration with the Economic Development Partnership, the Chamber hosts sector consultations with the business sectors of the area.

“The 12-at-12 sector consultations has the Chamber Board of Directors meeting with 12 businesses owners from food and beverage, retail or manufacturing, for example, who meet for lunch at 12:00,” Thomson said. “We talk about successes, challenges and how we can advocate for them and assist with any challenges.”

Lines of communication are open and mechanisms are in place for continued improvement of services provided for and by businesses in Nelson.