..Many local businesses are just making ends meet during the prolonged economic downturn, said Sundre's economic development officer.
But the town is “quite fortunate in that it has a diverse economy and that it is a sub regional economic hub, which has helped contribute to the demand for people to start up businesses in town,” Jon Allan recently told the Round Up.
Looking at Sundre's downtown core commercial district, Allan said the vacancy rate was sitting at about three per cent, which he called “exceptionally low. In fact, too low.”
While there has been some interest expressed by entrepreneurs interested in setting up shop downtown, there aren't spaces of adequate size available for them, he said.
“We just don't have the proper space because everything is taken up. We need to find commercial developers to build commercial, retail and office space.”
Reaching a bit beyond the immediate downtown core — roughly from the Best Western on the east to the town's office on the west — he said the vacancy rate crept up to 6.7 per cent.
There are a number of available commercial spaces within that extended district beyond the downtown core, but those are highly commercial so the permitted uses are a little different. Also, some of the properties that happen to be available right now are quite large. All of the units available in the combined area, save a few, are about 2,500 to 3,500 square feet. But the demand based on witnessed activity shows a need for some smaller locations, he said.
Business owners and entrepreneurs are seeing the opportunities in this town due to its quality of living, the amount of activity downtown and the diverse local economy, he said.
“There's a huge amount of opportunity in this community — people are taking advantage of that. Businesses aren't as flush with cash as they were during the good times, but at least we're seeing a good level of commercial confidence.”
The factors most relevant to economic development include quality of living, access to good labour, access to good infrastructure, costs, and the ability to borrow capital, he said, adding rates in Sundre are quite competitive.
“Most importantly, our quality of living and economic activity around town are driving interest into the community.”
When the economic development officer first started his position in 2014, the combined commercial vacancy rate of the downtown core and the area stretching just beyond it was about 10 per cent.
“It has now been essentially halved.”
In 2015, the Town of Sundre had issued more than 260 business licences. That figure does not necessarily reflect the total number of businesses as some have occasionally neglected to renew, “which is contrary to the bylaw and we do have to remind them,” he said.
“But 264 businesses did register with us (last year),” he added. “That includes home-based businesses, commercial storefronts, or businesses with a dedicated location, as well as businesses from out of town that conduct business operations in the town limits.”
As of last week, 255 businesses had registered with the town. That's just a handful fewer than 2015 with most of 2016 still ahead, he said.
“We're confident that we're going to surpass the number of business licences issued in 2015.”
Revenue gathered from business licence fees goes towards subsidizing the town's economic development department and its activities as well as the tourism department. In other words, the fees subsidize the business retention, expansion and attraction activities or tactics the town engages in, as well as tourism development and marketing, he said.
