MEET THE CITIZEN OF THE YEAR
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STUDENTS IN NEW WEST STATE OF MIND
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MIDDLE SCHOOL MOVES FORWARD
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WEDNESDAY
NOVEMBER 27 2013 www.newwestnewsleader.com
A 40-storey rental tower is a ‘golden opportunity’ for New Westminster, says Tom Lancaster. See Page A9
Court orders Club sale
GRANT GRANGER/NEWSLEADER
Uptown Business Association president Bart Slotman is proposing the creation of an Uptown Business Improvement Area to provide stable revenue for promotions and events in the retail district.
Uptown seeks to establish BIA Business association looks to become improvement area to make it more vibrant Grant Granger
ggranger@newwestnewsleader.com
Uptown wants to be like Downtown and form its own business improvement area (BIA). The Uptown Business Association (UBA) has approached the city about creating a BIA for the retail district to enable it to have stable funding for its initiatives.
UBA president Bart Slotman said his group currently has been funded on an ad hoc basis by a few businesses. But if a BIA is created the city would collect a levy from all the businesses and properties in the area and pass it on to the BIA. The association, said Slotman, wants to institute a four-pillar program: street beautification to create a more vibrant retail environment; street activity such as Uptown Live, festivals and seasonal concerts; common marketing and branding; and an outreach program
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to partner with community groups that would provide benefits to both sides. The levy would be based on lineal front footage—the length of each property’s frontage. Slotman said for what they want to do the initial budget would be $117,600, which works out to $19.38 per lineal foot or an annual cost of $387 for a retailer with a 20-foot frontage. While the Downtown New Westminster BIA has an office with staff, including an executive director, that promotes and advocates for the
area in addition to putting on street festivals such as StrEAT and Royal City Show & Shine, that’s not part of the initial vision for Uptown. “We’re seeing the BIA more as a funding mechanism to achieve [its goals]. What we do not want to do is become an administrative level,” said Slotman. The BIA’s work would be administered by members or contractors, though initiatives such as organizing the Uptown Live festival would be farmed out. Please see BUSINESSES, A26
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Although it’s been on the market more than 18 months, it appears the centuryold Westminster Club premises will finally be sold next week. A court-ordered sale involving a sealed-bid process for the 7,400-squarefoot top floor of the Westminster Building will occur Monday. With membership dwindling, the club’s facility was put on the market in May 2012 but it has yet to sell. The owner’s list price was $1.975 million while the lender price was $1.8 million. Bids are subject to court approval and must include a deposit. The sale is at the Vancouver Court House on Monday, Dec. 2, at 9:45 a.m. The club was founded in 1889 as a private gentleman’s club. Originally it resided in a block destroyed in the Great Fire of 1898. It moved around for several years before finally ending up on the penthouse floor of the brand-new Westminster Block in late 1912. The club bought the building in 1983 and turned it into strata ownership while retaining the top floor with its panoramic views of Downtown New Westminster and the Fraser River.