Item - 2020.EC17.7

The Economic and Community Development Committee:

1.  Received the report (October 27, 2020) from the General Manager, Economic Development and Culture, for information.

The General Manager, Economic Development and Culture, and the Manager, Business Improvement Areas, Economic Development and Culture, gave a presentation on Retail Main Streets - Update on Support for the Retail Sector.

Retail businesses are at the heart of Toronto's main streets, fostering a unique sense of place and belonging, and serving as a leading employer and economic driver. However, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions put in place to reduce infection have had significant impacts on the retail sector, including but not limited to sudden drops in revenue and consumer traffic, difficulty covering fixed expenses such as rent, changes to store footprints to adapt to public health protocols, and the need to rapidly adapt to new business models.

This report provides an update on a number of ongoing and new City initiatives to support retail main streets. These efforts have focused on providing one-on-one support to those businesses most impacted by the pandemic, supporting the work of BIAs to provide an environment for businesses to succeed, and improving our understanding of the issues affecting main streets. These compound pre-existing challenges that Council has asked staff to examine.

A more extensive report on additional strategies to support the retail sector both to address ongoing issues and to deal with the full impacts of COVID will be brought to the Economic and Community Development Committee in 2021 when more is known about the short and longer-term impacts of the pandemic.