Schomberg Main Street Revitalization Strategy
King Township, in partnership with the Schomberg community, has developed a strategy to ensure the vitality of the commercial core of Schomberg’s Main Street.
The project was made possible thanks to $52,000 secured in partnership funding from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) through the Rural Economic Development (RED) program. This program funds projects that stimulate economic growth in Ontario’s rural communities by helping to grow the local economy and remove barriers to economic development.
In 2018, the RED funding was approved over a 2 year timeframe together with matched funds from the Township. The purpose of the funding was to support the development of a Main Street Revitalization Strategy for Schomberg in the first year and to develop detailed Activation Plans for Main Street together with a Marketing Plan over the second year of funding.
On May 13th, 2019, Council endorsed the Schomberg Main Street Revitalization Strategy and Plan through Administration Report No. ED-2019-02. The Revitalization Strategy included an Action Plan with 65 action items to be implemented over the short, medium and long term. Implementation of these action items has and continues to require involvement and support from across all Township Departments. At this time, considerable progress has taken place and approximately 60% of the action items have been completed, 35% are underway and 5% are being considered and planned.
Following Council’s endorsement of the Schomberg Main Street Revitalization Strategy and Plan on May 13th, 2019, the development of the next phase of the RED funding continued with the development of Activation Plans for Main Street and a Marketing Plan.
Four comprehensive and robust Schomberg Main Street Activation Plans were created with an additional Activation Plan for the Schomberg Fair Grounds together with a Marketing, Promotion and Website Plan. The four Activation Plans are themed, each with a specific timeframe including: May – August (Summer), September (Art), October (Scarecrow Festival), and mid-November – december (Festive Season).
We are pleased to report that the requirements of the RED funding project were met and the Township received an additional $69,702 to execute the strategy in June 2021
The RED funding through 2021 – 2023 has successfully been completed
The Township of King received it’s first RED funding from 2018 – 2020, followed by its second RED funding from 2021 – 2023. Throughout each funding, business surveys and interviews were completed to evaluate the effectiveness of programming and improvements on Schomberg Main Street.
Through the help of this funding, King has been able to, and will continue to, draw substantial visitor’s to King. This funding has supported enhancing the experience of 4,171 tourists visiting the downtown core during activation days on Schomberg’s Main Street, directly and positively impacting the business community and several community organizations. Many attendees visited businesses, which is supported by an increase in visitors and sales.
One of the priorities of the Main Street Revitalization Strategy is to increase the number of activation days on Main Street in Schomberg. The funding received allowed for the marketing, promotion, event planning and execution of several new activation days on Main Street. There were 61 additional days of events throughout the course of this program, improving the tourism readiness of King Township by drawing new foot traffic to businesses during events. The number of trips to Main Street per tourist has more than doubled in comparison to 2021 (3.4 – 2021 vs. 7.05 – 2022, as per data from CCT geo-fencing).
The substantial increase in tourists to Main Street benefited multiple sectors, and the Schomberg community, by marketing Schomberg as a destination, and increasing the awareness of Main Street’s historic charm and specialty shops and restaurants.
Strategy Subject Area
The study area included all properties on Main Street from Church Street to Dr. Kay Drive. It also include 1, 6, & 7 Church Street, the old Arena and the Agricultural Fairgrounds.
A Strong Four Point Approach is in Place
A strong four point approach provides a solid foundation by leveraging assets already in place so that they work together. There are a number of initiatives currently underway under each of these pillars.
Click on each icon to learn more about the role it is playing in the revitalization.
Research Findings
The project has collected information from a resident survey, business survey and trade area analysis, as well as mapping out the physical profile of Main Street.
Click on each icon to learn more about the role it is playing in the revitalization.
Tracking Our Progress
To measure the success of this project, it is important to establish metrics to measure. In 2017, a full audit of Main Street was completed to give a baseline of commercial properties, number of jobs, programming and assessed property value.
In 2018, Main Street’s trade area was measured to establish where people who visit Schomberg come from and the total population size.
2018 was primarily focused on developing the strategy and now the implementation of the strategy is underway following Council’s endorsement of the Schomberg Main Street Revitalization Strategy and Plan in May 2019. We have seen progress in job creation, new business openings and new commercial development on Main Street since the start of the project. The implementation of the Main Street Revitalization project will continue through working to achieve the 65 Action Items, increasing activation on Main Street through the direction of the Activation Plans and promoting Schomberg Main Street through the Marketing, Promotion and Website Plan.
The Tracker Below Was Updated December 10, 2020
* In 2020, the COVID-19 Pandemic had a significant effect on businesses and very much altered the delivery of the Main Street Revitalization project and the implementation of the Activation Plans. Despite the challenges caused by the Pandemic, Main Street Schomberg saw the opening of three new businesses in 2020 and no businesses to date have permanently closed. The number of full and part time jobs along Main Street would have experienced fluctuations throughout the year.
** The Activation Plans for Schomberg have three goals, one of which specifically speaks to increasing the annual days of activation and programming taking place on Main Street each year (identified in the table above). In addition to those programmed days, additional adjustments were made to the Activation Plans for Main Street when the Pandemic began and new opportunities were examined and implemented while taking into consideration the public health and safety guidelines. For example, a new Pop-up Patio Pilot Program was launched in August through to November 2020 to provide physically distant outdoor seating opportunities and additional space for pedestrian movement along the sidewalks, allowing customers to visit and enjoy Main Street in a safe way. A Shop Main Street Campaign was also launched in June 2020 with bright sidewalk decals and window signs to promote businesses that were able to reopen for business.