2019 is the year in which the economic recession and subsequent loss of City tax revenue from downtown Calgary came home to roost. Two direct impacts on the Inglewood Business Area: (1) The Streetscape Master Plan, approved at the highest levels of the City, was shelved and (2) the redistribution of property taxes ($250M) to non-residential properties caused untenable property tax increases for some businesses.

Despite these hardships, Inglewood continues to be a magnet for people. They come to the retail shops, the restaurants, the microbreweries, the services, the events, the public spaces...they come to enjoy the higgledy-piggeldy vibe that thrives here. This year Inglewood welcomed many new businesses and in terms of (anecdotal) crowd analytics, 2019 was a very busy year for the pedestrian vibrancy of 9th Ave and the surrounding streets. Events like Sunfest and Night Markets reached peak numbers, and new events like the CCMAs “Off-Country” established that Inglewood is truly the heart of live music for Alberta. The popularity of Inglewood as the “It” neighborhood also means that pressures for development (and height) continue to increase, so retaining the much-loved flavor of the main street is more important than ever.

A bold and exciting move came with the City’s approval of a north side parking pilot to address the increasing pressures of Bus Rapid Transit and 9th Ave as a regional transportation corridor. This opens up patios and bike corals to 9th Ave. Other public realm improvements include Gopher Park and a planned activation for the parking lot next to Recordland. The BIA’s “Nobody Does Christmas Like Inglewood” video reached over 50,000 people, and this year Inglewood has hired a fresh marketing firm to build on successes. Inglewood is proud to be Calgary’s BOLDEST neighborhood.

BIA Year In Review 2019

Streetscaping ▪ New Banners ................................................ $19000

(design, printing, installation)

▪ Planters.......................................................$39,500 (48 seasonal plantings, watering, pruning, removal - shared with City)

▪ Trees (vaulted) replaced ........................................ 8

▪ Recycling bins maintenance ...........................$3000

▪ 9th Ave Xmas Lights replaced ..................... $13,000

▪ Tree lights installed ........................................... 300

▪ Graffiti and tagging removal ................................ 50

▪ Sidewalk cleaning ..........................................$6000

Streetscape Masterplan ▪ Project Charter for permanent curbside parking on the north side of 9th Avenue (patio pilot commencing spring 2020)

Parking ▪ Pilot for residential hybrid/permit-only parking to commence in 2020

▪ Pilot permanent parking on north side of 9th Ave

Inglewoodyyc.ca ▪ Current and updated events listing through MM partnership

▪ ‘It Happened In Inglewood’ page

▪ Continuousy updated content, updated general images, directory listings

Social Media & Marketing ▪ Hired local marketing agency Monitor, April 2019- present

▪ Jan-Sept in House;:SM hours 229 (29 per month)

▪ Instagram:: 6,174 Followers (increase of 26% from 2018)

▪ Facebook : 14,453 Followers (increase of 6% from 2018)

▪ Twitter: 20,200 Followers (increase of 2.5 %)

▪ Social Influencer hired (Kait Kucy)

▪ ‘It Happened in Inglewood’ campaign: 2000 website views, published in Livewire

▪ Highway Super Board (June) 97,000 daily impressions, 2.5 million vehicles per month

▪ 2 videos: total views 97,000, ‘Nobody Does Christmas Like Inglewood” video most impressions on BIA fb page

▪ I ♥ Inglewood, I ♥ MM, ‘Inglewood Has Pride’ door stickers

Awards ▪ Best of Calgary: Best Neighbourhood 2019

▪ 2019 Mayors Urban Design Award submission (Gopher Park)

Partners/memberships/ collaborations ▪ Music Mile (MM)

▪ Jazz YYC

▪ ICA

▪ Tourism Calgary

▪ International Downtown Association

▪ CBIZ

▪ BCBIA

Inglewood BIA Total Budget for 2019: $265,000

Research, Collaboration, Development ▪ Strategic Plan 2019-2022

▪ Development: Open Houses, BIA/ICA meetings, DPs and Land Use reviewed:19+

▪ Inglewood and Ramsay Stakeholder Group ( including all policies related to future projects, ARP, DAG, bridge replacement, Streetscape Plan, parking, etc)

▪ Tax Shift Policy Advocacy

▪ Farmers Market presence in Inglewood, connecting with vendors

Board volunteer hours ▪ Hours at Board Meetings ................................... 614

▪ Chair ................................................................. 260

▪ Total Board Hours ......................................... 874

Communications ▪ Merchant Newsletters ..........................................12

▪ ICA Newsletter articles ........................................11

▪ Member Engagement Session ............................... 2

▪ Member Patio Information Sessions .................(tbd)

Grants, Sponsorships, Donations ▪ CSF Grant .......................................................$5000

▪ CBIZ Conference grant ...................................$2000

▪ Sunfest Servus sponsorship ...........................$8000

▪ CPA Grant.......................................................$4000

▪ FX Film donation ............................................$2000

▪ Gopher Park ................................................ $51,000

▪ CIBC Office space .......................................$35,000

▪ Total: ...................................................$107,000

Public space activations ▪ North side Permanent Parking Pilot

▪ Parking Lot 43 Activation initiated

▪ Jack Long Park (ongoing due to archeological finds)

▪ Gopher Park

What brings people to Inglewood?

Events ▪ Sunfest 2019

▪ 5 Night Markets

▪ Fringe Festival

▪ 2 Jazz Walks

▪ Christmas in Inglewood

▪ Sled Island’s Block Party

▪ Art Walk

▪ Off-County (Music Mile)