According to C-Tran’s most recent proposal, the rail will enter Vancouver at 5th and Washington streets. Less than a block away at 5th and Columbia streets, Torque Coffee’s owner Ryan Palmer expects to be able to make it through any potential construction period, and looks forward to the increased exposure and opportunity for new customers. He does, however, have a caveat about the ground floor retail in the five-story Columbia Park & Ride planned to be across the street.
“It’ll be great for the area,” Palmer said, “as long as they don’t put in opportunistic, competing businesses that will actually hurt us.”
Tom Craig, owner of Sparks Furniture at Evergreen and Broadway, will be less than a block from a planned train platform. Craig said that “raising the sales tax again is really bad for the furniture business,” but the platform also has him concerned about managing transients. With a bus stop right outside his front door, he currently struggles daily with non-customers loitering and wanting to use his restroom.
“We can weather the storm during construction, but longer-term this isn’t great for us,” said Craig.
At Riverview Bank’s Evergreen and Washington location, Executive Vice President Kim Capeloto said, “I don’t think any business would look forward to the disruption during construction.” He does, however, feel that the benefits outweigh the negatives.
“At some point, those disruptions turn into enhancements, which are needed for a vibrant and thriving downtown,” he said.
Chelle Bennett owns Bennett Paper & Supply at Washington and 17th Streets, where a proposed four-story Mill Park & Ride would be just a block from her location – a fact that has Bennett concerned about safety.
“Transients sleep in those [Park & Ride] buildings and I’m not really comfortable with that,” she added.
Burnt Bridge Creek Cellars, which opened up a new tasting room at 15th Street and Broadway in May, sought out their downtown destination knowing that light rail could be on the way.
“We’re very positive about light rail,” said Burnt Bridge co-owner Mark Mahan. “We chose this location knowing full well it was potentially going to happen.” The construction, he added, “is a little scary. It could be very disruptive, but with any luck we’ll be okay.”
To help support businesses and property owners, Vancouver’s Downtown Association (VDA) has “already had discussions with both the CRC Project and with the city of Vancouver,” said Executive Director Lee Rafferty. VDA has received confirmation that mitigation funds will be available, to help with “promotion, signage, nimble communication, reliable information links and a strong commitment to the financial health of our downtown core,” said Rafferty. The organization is devoting its entire quarterly meeting on October 11 to the CRC project, and invites anyone with questions to attend to
hear directly from city and project staff.
Matt Ransom, city of Vancouver project development and policy manager, confirmed that he will attend the October meeting, and will offer “a status update on our current research and thoughts for programs
and services.”
Meantime, CRC Director Nancy Boyd emphasized that the project will define specific “construction zones,” so that they can sequence the work for minimum disruption.
“Prior to opening a zone, we’ll coordinate directly with businesses and property owners,” she said.
