The Conversation: Downtown Van CEO Jane Talbot on revitalizing the area and growing Granville Street

Jane Talbot has been the CEO of Downtown Vancouver’s business improvement association for about a year and a half. In total, she’s been with the organization for over seven years. Downtown Van, as it’s called, is the largest BIA in Western Canada, with some 40 employees. We met at her office to talk about the challenges the area is facing and what she hopes to accomplish

You’ve officially been CEO for about a year and a half. What are some things the BIA has done over that time that you’re especially proud of?

One of the main priorities when I got into the role was that we needed to develop a new five-year strategic plan—ours had expired. We met with so many members and organizations and heard directly what our members needed. We developed five priorities: create a safer downtown, provide reasons for people to come downtown, reduce barriers to doing business downtown, strengthen relationships with stakeholders and champion a thriving Granville Street. Those are the five areas that we’re now focusing on.

For a variety of reasons, people’s opinions of Vancouver’s downtown area right now aren’t the rosiest. How do you go about fixing that?

I’m going to answer this in two ways. The most visible answer is our downtown safety ambassadors. We have boots on the ground from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. seven days a week, 363 days a year. We offer programs through the ambassadors, like our SafeWalk service if anyone is feeling uneasy and would like to be walked safely to their car. They also serve as eyes and ears for the community and for the Vancouver Police Department. And our clean team is out from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day providing a presence. Cleanliness is a big part of the perception of downtown.

And then, last summer, as a result of escalating concerns in the downtown core around safety, we convened a group of local business leaders to discuss the issue. That group has turned into the Downtown Safety Task Force. We met with attorney general Niki Sharma and public safety -minister Mike Farnworth. We’re pushing for systemic and measurable change in our district. As you can imagine, it’s a heavy task, but it’s so important.

You mentioned Granville Street. When I was growing up, we used to go down there all the time. It was a thriving strip with all kinds of businesses. You walk down now and there are empty storefronts all around. What can you do there? Why wouldn’t a prospective business owner go to Mount Pleasant or somewhere else?

Let’s talk about storefront vacancies, since you brought it up. The storefront vacancy rate in Vancouver is 11.1 percent. In Downtown Vancouver, it’s 13.7 percent. On Granville Street, 22 percent. That’s one in five storefronts that sit empty.

Pretty high.

Yeah. But one of the things I’ve been so deeply impressed with about our business owners on Granville Street is their strong desire to be on and remain on Granville Street. They choose their location carefully, as all business owners do. Making that choice to come in on Granville Street was a decision they didn’t make lightly. I’ve been impressed with how deeply committed they are to the street. And how they want to stay on that street. We have another group, the Granville Stakeholder Committee, that meets regularly. They come together and talk about issues and solutions for Granville Street. They’re so tenacious, so committed, and are realists who have to lean optimistic. That’s my assessment of them.

Do they have reason to lean to that optimistic side?

Well, a great deal of trust has been put in the city around the [city’s Granville Street plan that seeks to revitalize the area. Phase one of the plan was centred on public feedback and recently closed.] We all see the Granville plan as an opportunity to get that street back on track and turn it around. So why would business owners set up on Granville Street and not Mount Pleasant? Because they want to be there and they believe in the street.

Who are some of those business owners that have impressed you?

I don’t like to name just one because there are so many that we talk to all the time. But Tom Lee Music—my conversations with them are a key reason why the Downtown Safety Task Force got off the ground. It’s an iconic business on an iconic street. When [they called] and I had that conversation…it wasn’t that different from many of the other conversations that took place, it’s just that they were all happening at the same time and that one call was like, okay, we have to get these people together. We’re all wanting the same thing.

Nordstrom leaving the region has left a bit of a hole in the middle of downtown. What was the day like when you found out that news, and what do you anticipate will fill the space eventually?

Well, I remember where I was. I was sitting in that chair right beside you. We were in a meeting with a stakeholder group and all of a sudden everyone’s phones start going off. Within half an hour we had media lined up waiting to talk to us. It was such a tough day. You have to remember that while Nordstrom wasn’t performing well across Canada, the Downtown Vancouver location was doing well, outperforming some of their other flagship stores in the U.S. So I’m hoping that narrative is out there for other organizations and businesses that are thinking of coming in. As for what’s coming in, I can’t speak to it, but I know the folks at Cadillac Fairview are working so hard to find the right tenant.

You’re from Pennsylvania originally but you’ve been in Vancouver for almost 25 years. You’re obviously passionate about the city. What sparked that?

I grew up in a town that was a dot on the map. And I was obsessed with cities; I just knew that I would live in a city someday. I was living in Ithaca, New York, when my then-husband came home from work one day and said that his company was selling to a Canadian company based in Burnaby. So we came here on a six-month transition contract and I’ve been here ever since. He went his separate way and isn’t in Vancouver anymore but I just love it. Love the energy, the mountains, how it’s all tightly packed together.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

Quick Hits

Hobby

Between hobbies, currently considering a return to pottery

Pet peeve

Texting during meetings

Guilty pleasure

Rainy day re-runs of Virgin River

First job

Server at Pizza Hut

Most memorable concert

Zac Brown Band at the Gorge in Washington State

If I had a superpower it would be…

Resilience

Favourite place in B.C.

Tofino

Last book I read

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole