Aldershot needs more and bigger retail stores.
At the annual meeting of the Aldershot Village Business Improvement Area (B.I.A.), held virtually on March 25, several members said that they could not find vacant stores large enough to permit expansion of their operations.
The comments gained momentum during an open discussion toward the end of the meeting.
Councillor Kelvin Galbraith, who also serves on the B.I.A. board, said there are fifteen “major” new developments in various proposal stages for Aldershot. He described them as “residential towers with retail at the bottom.”
“I think part of our role as a B.I.A. is to continue to advocate to the city and to these developers to include large size, more useable retail space for a variety of different businesses.”
Galbraith added that planning is not yet complete for the area around the GO station (technically known as a Major Transit Station Area, or MTSA). “There will be retail and commercial space in there somewhere. It’s our role to advocate for larger-sized units.”
“We need to get in their face,” said the B.I.A. board Chair Sonia Pagliuso, referring to city council and the developers.
Executive Director Judy Worsley added: “I’m very excited about the MTSA. It could be a game changer for us, especially if we get the larger [retail] units there.”
Partnership and collaboration among Burlington business groups was the main theme of the annual meeting. During 2020, the Aldershot B.I.A. helped strengthen the Team Burlington group, took part in the Burlington Economic Recovery Network, and participated in the Burlington COVID-19 Task Force.
“We have been rowing in the same direction,” said Carla Nell, guest speaker and president of the Burlington Chamber of Commerce. She thanked the Aldershot B.I.A. for its work.
“Every member of this team has done their part. That diversity of thought, perspective, and resources has proven to be our greatest strength. Building relationships and partnerships has been absolutely key.”
